I went out today in a men's polo top, ladies black shorts, black 1" heels (rather androgenous looking shoes) and taupe pantyhose. I have worn something similar in public before a couple times, and I was quite afraid to be seen. However, I wore the outfit once to my barber. I thought she noticed the (I think) rather obvious hose that time.
Well, I tried it again. I went to my barber first. She either saw my hosed legs and was polite, or she never noticed... I never saw any indication that she saw my outfit as being anything other than normal. I asked her before I left if my outfit looked OK or if it was tacky. She said I looked good and that I was "tall and thin and a good looking man." So, I don't know if it wasn't that obvious or what.
Next, I went to the mall. I went into a big anchor store. I was confident. I went down the wide, main, center aisles. No one seemed to pay me any attention. I spoke to a couple store employees about items in the store. When talking to the lady in the hosiery section, I said I was looking for something prettier than what I had on. I later asked her if she noticed my outfit before I pointed it out to her and she said no. I'm pretty sure that the second clerk that I spoke to in that store never had a clue.
I proceeded to walk into the main mall area. I was looking for a specific store. I noticed people glancing at my legs/feet, but not many. I stopped in a couple stores on my way to my target. I was functioning as confidently and normally as I could. I was just running errands. When I got to my target store, I spoke with the sales man for 10 minutes about the expensive item I am considering buying. He acted like he noticed nothing unusual.
I stopped for lunch. The girl who gave me my food looked down at my lower half as I walked toward the counter. Then she looked at my face. Then she went back to working and paid me no further attention. Avoiding the crowd, I was eating an early lunch. No one was in the restaurant the whole time I was there.
I walked the complete mall with several people looking at my lower half, but no negative reactions from anyone. One woman, a customer at a shoe store, looked me up and down as I was walking in and she made eye contact with me and I smiled and said hi. She gave me a very friendly (and pretty) smile and said hi back to me. She paid me no further attention even though I was not that far away from her.
What self respecting CD would have a day out and not try on clothes if they could?? I went to a friendly store (I haven't found many which are not friendly,) and started shopping around. I found some capris and a top I wanted to try on. I asked If I could use a dressing room and the lady let me into one. I tried on the outfit and stepped out of the dressing room to look at myself in the three way mirror to see myself in each item. No one paid me any attention. The clerk came back to see how I was doing when I was finishing up. I asked her if I could try on a dress. I wasn't sure if I had enough nerve to stand out in front of the mirror in a dress, but I still wanted to see what they had. She showed me a black dress that I decided to try. We went back to the dressing room. I put on the dress. I stepped out to take a look. The clerk was coming into the dressing area with another customer who must have seen me in the dress. She didn't seem to pay me any attention. I stepped out and examined myself. Then I asked the clerk if I could walk out into the main part of the store. She said "Sure!" I walked out, into a small store with 5-8 customers in it, and browsed around. No one ever looked my way. It was wonderful feeling the swish of my hosed legs against each other while I walked around in a dress in public and not on Halloween! I asked her if she had anything I could wear to cover my unshaven chest. She walked me to some lacy frenged tops. She selected one in my size and we walked back toward the dressing rooms. Me, still in a pretty black dress that came just below my knees. I started noticing that the dress was too big for me in the backside. I tried on the top with the dress and came back out. I walked around the store again. This time, when I walked to the front edge of the store (I was among the racks) as I turned around, I realized a couple (man and woman) were walking out of the store and they were both looking over at me. I smiled and nodded hello. They just kept on walking. No mean looks or anything, just "shock and awe." I walked back over to the dressing area, not wanting to take off the dress. Two other female customers who had been talking a lot realized something uncommon was going on. They stopped talking and looked my way as the clerk spoke to me about the top I had on under the dress. If they saw anything, it was from the shoulders up. It wasn't hard to realize I was a CD, it was a women's only clothing store! I changed back into my clothes, made my purchase and headed home.
It was a wonderful and comfortable day out and about. People are mostly blind.
Joe
