2 Attachment(s)
Danielle's first public outing!
Eek, I finally went out in public as Danielle, and it was amazing!
So not long after my birthday last year I was having a conversation with my Wife about my dressing. I'd only recently confessed to dressing regularly during the day (as opposed to the "bedroom dressing" which she's always known I'd liked). I'd said that ultimately I'd want to go out in public while dressed, so on the spot she did some online booking and said she'd found a Pride event that was the same week as my birthday the following year - which'd be my 50th - and had booked a hotel.
She said she'd be more comfortable if it were at an event like that rather than just "going out", and I agreed.
It's felt like a long wait, but it finally happened this weekend.
The event was in Birmingham (UK) and had a ticketed part which was a bit like a festival, with live music, dance tent etc. as well as the usual parade and street party.
So we arrived Friday afternoon and took a look around, went for a steak (birthday) dinner where I ate far too much, then had a reasonable bed time around midnight with the aim of getting up around 8:30 (the joys of having no children with you!)
Saturday morning I woke around 7 and couldn't get back to sleep; far too excited! I tried not to disturb her and eventually we did get up around the planned time.
I was amazed that I really didn't feel too nervous. It definitely helped that it was a Pride event; after our steak dinner we'd walked around some of the pre-event festivities and seen crossdressers (and some drag-queens) which had kind of normalised the idea of dressing up.
I dressed in hipster jeans with a cropped mesh top and a bralette underneath, with dark blue trainers (sneakers!). A clip on belly piercing and magnetic stud earrings for jewellery, the wig was a cheap Amazon one which I'd never been completely happy with but thought would do.
After a shave I did eyebrows, eyeliner, blue eyeshadow to go with the blue nails I'd painted before going to bed, and a purple lipstick. I didn't use foundation and I was sparing with the shadow... I was trying to keep it subtle.
We'd booked a table for breakfast at a specific place that catered for our dietary requirements at 10am and of course I hadn't counted on having to walk 15 minutes across the town that early in the morning while dressed as what my Wife later described as "a teenage girl".
Being completely honest, looking at the pics now I don't think I looked great in the daytime outfit... but it was my first experience outdoors in public so it definitely served it's purpose.
And she was right of course though: I would never have dressed like that for a daytime outing under "normal" circumstances, but given it was Pride I'd decided to go further. Exposed belly? Sure! Though I felt a bit bloaty after too much steak from the night before and my belly wasn't quite as flat as I'd hoped; the rowing and sittups I'd been doing for nearly a year seemed almost a waste!
Leaving the hotel I barely felt nervous at all, I think the fact I was wearing trousers rather than an dress or skirt made the difference. But the walk to breakfast left us both a little conscious. It felt like a normal Saturday morning in any town and I did feel a little out of place.
But after breakfast, as we walked and more people who were attending the parade were evident on the streets it lessened. I was far from the most remarkably dressed person around!
I really didn't like my wig though. Every time I caught my reflection in a shop window it just looked so... fake. I'd mentioned it a couple of times when my Wife asked "Are there any wig shops in town?"
Twenty minutes later we were buying a wig each, a very dark red for me and ginger with highlights for her, then after a further look around town we headed off for an early dinner.
Then the time came for The Main Event.
My makeup was similar to before but the shadow was sparkly brown and gold, the lipstick bright red, and I'd used foundation. I've never gotten on with mascara but personally think that it's barely visible when you're wearing glasses so didn't feel I was missing out. I cleaned the blue Polish from my nails and stuck on the much longer fake nails that I'd pre-painted in a red that matched my outfit. I also had some beautiful silver and diamante dangling ear rings (to match my clip-on belly piercing) but with my wig they were barely visible. I tried my Wife's wig on and they weren't really visible either, but it looked so much better on me than the one I'd intended to wear so we switched.
Going out earlier in jeans and a top, albeit with a wig and makeup wasn't as "obvious" as what I was about to step out in. Eek! I was about to do this!
Leaving the hotel room I had a little nervousness in my tummy, hitting the lobby just a little more, and then walking through the door to the outside... felt the most amazing thing I'd experienced in such a long time! It really felt like the most natural thing in the world. I suppose it helped that we were at Pride and I didn't feel out of place at all, but I think it would have felt amazing anywhere.
I won't describe the outfit other than to say my Wife insisted I buy white trainers to go with it, and I think they worked just great.
We spent most of the evening in the live music area. I'm pretty sure that on a "regular" night out I wouldn't have had acknowledgement from other dressers but being Pride I passed by a few - some were in drag but others just dressed like me - who told me I looked fabulous. That really was amazing!
When the end of the night came I was absolutely buzzing. We went back to the hotel for a few drinks before bed. The barman immediately addressed us as "ladies", and when I needed to use the bathroom (which was locked with a keypad to avoid people coming in off the street to use it) he gave me the code for the ladies room. Another "eek!"
It was an incredible experience and I hope not the last. My Wife enjoyed and said she'd do it again, and my sister (who looked after our son for the weekend) wants us to have a night out together too.
Thank you to all you ladies on this site - I don't think I'd have had the courage to do it without having read your stories of stepping out in public!
