En femme at the nail salon
As mentioned, I no longer write about most of my outings, but this one counts as "special."
I've been getting manicures and pedicures at a local salon for about a year now -- and yes that does include getting color on my toes -- and the nail techs not only know about my crossdressing but always want to know if I've got new photos. Last time, one of them asked when they were going to see me en femme, so....
Yesterday I came en femme. Some of the reactions were priceless. I did get a bit of a second-take at the reception desk -- but that's OK because while I blend in crowd, I don't have any illusions about being mistaken for female in up-close interaction.
One of the nail techs, Cammie, came out because it was time for my appointment and it tok her a minute to recognize me -- then was "OMG!" Unfortunately, she tipped off the others, so I wasn't able to get their candid reactions. (One of the hair stylists also told me she didn't recognize me until she stared at me for a minute.)
There was a woman in her 20s getting a manicure, who did a brief double-take initially, but then treated it as no big deal. The nail techs wanted to know if I did my own make-up -- and they were oohing and ahhing over it once I told them that yes I did. (Personally, I still think I've got a bit to learn, but it's not the first time I've gotten compliments on it.) The other woman commented that she'd never really learned to do make-up herself. I replied that I wasn't born knowing it either, it was just a matter of practice, if she cared to learn.
So it just like another day at the nail salon with all of us chatting. Sally, one of the other techs, commented that she kept forgetting I wasn't a woman. Another tech Chrissie -- who in the past had asked all sort of friendly questions -- said she missed having me in guy mode. I told not to worry, I took requests so I could come back en homme next month. Chrissie mentioned that maybe I could alternate.
The first woman and left another client, Krystal, came in to fix a broken nail. She didn't bat an eye, but she'd been there before when I'd talked about my crossdressing. Then came the thing I totally didn't expect -- I got upstaged by Krystal! I'm not sure how they got on the topic, but Krystal started showing Chrissie some dirty pictures and animations (such as Fred and Wilma like you'd never seen them on TV) that were on her cell phone. Pretty soon, several of the other hairstylists were coming over to take a look and asking Krystal to forward them to their phones.
I'd made the mistake of wearing closed-toe shoes, so I had to wait around about 30 minutes for the polish to fully dry (and I still got a smudge, grrr). In that time Krystal left and a mother came in with her twin nine-year-old daughters, who were having a birthday pedicure. I got a little nervous, knowing moms can get protective of their children, but if she noticed that I was a guy in dress, she didn't let on. (The two girls did sneak an occasional peek in my direction.) However, I would've loved to have been a fly on the wall after I left... Guess I'll find out next time.
Standard disclaimer: Going out of the house was right for me, it may or may not be right for you. If you've got no desire to leave the house, that's fine, I'm not trying to push you out the door. But for those who've been yearning to do so, I just want to let you the world may not be as scary a place as you think.
