What to wear to bridal boutique when going as a guy?

Hello everyone, I have few questions and wanted your opinions please.

I have an appointment at an oxfam thrift shop that specialises in bridal and I was wondering what to wear and take in with me. I will be going as a guy (never done makeup or wig). My plan is to buy a bridesmaid dress or evening gown, I would ask to try a wedding dress but not buy one and I will make cash donation if I don't purchase anything. I will explain this upfront to the SA. She knows I am shopping for a dress already.

I was thinking of the following:
Strapless bra - black
Double push up bra - black (dont have forms)
Really tight control pants - for good tuck and smooth fitting dress
Tights, black & opaque - I have hairy legs and saving is not an option
High heels - my only pair of shoes

Should I take a different colour bra? I dont have a white one maybe I need one? Also I will close shave my face and I think I will shave my armpits.

Any other suggestions or thoughts?

Jon_mtf, I think you need a white strapless longline bra. Black would spoil the effect if it showed much. However, since it might be expensive, a white strapless padded bra would be good. Shove some padding into it. Or wear two for added projection. Wear one upside down if that fills out the cups better.
There is no law that says you cannot wear a bra with straps. Sure they would show--so what?

Also the shop might have a bra you can try on that fits your situation.

Bridesmaid dresses do not get worn much. They are usually inexpensive. (If you like polyester satin long dresses.)

jon_mtf a girl can not wear a white wedding dress with a black bra as for the forms you can always make your own ie bird seed, 2 balloons and a pair of old tights there will be a thread
on here about how you do it if not come back to us and we will tell you how to do it.
good luck and don't for get the camera.

Carolyn

Thanks both, 2/2 on the black bra means its a no no. I have just bought some white bras from amazon, a mix of longline, strapless and padded. I do want forms but never had them so dont really want first time wearing them for any length of time to be in front of a stranger, I will be nervous enough as it is.

Now my black control pants wont match! Surely they wont be visible underneath so I can get away with them.

The first time in a dress shop / bridal salon turned out great. I went in with a smile and open mind. I knew nothing (was in a blue bra) but by the time I left I was functional. I was told to wear a nude bra.

A week later, the woman at the lingerie store agreed and found me a bra that held my forms perfectly, with and without the removable straps. She even let me bring in three different dresses to make sure the bra would work.

20+ bridal visits later and that advice has not been challenged. I bring forms, shoes and other accessories in with me or leave them in the car to retrieve later.

One salon did recommend a nude squeem to help keep things in place but other problems may arise if the dress is fairly form fitting.

White or nude underwear is essential.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tracy Irving

20+ bridal visits later and that advice has not been challenged.

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That's a lot of visits for a bridal fitting. Do you buy a dress each time? If you just go to try on for fun, do you realise that time is money to a retailer?

Jon,
So the first question is what do you want to achieve by doing this ?

I know it's often that secret dream of most CDers to wear bridal wear , I admit I loved bridesmaid dresses more than wedding dresses .

I do think maybe you should delay the outing until you have the items in hand and decided on how you want your body to look. It may be better to start with more everyday wear, that is dresses , skirts and blouses and become familiar with using changing rooms to do that .

It's also worth asking about suitable underwear to wear with bridal dresses , most shops like you've described will have items available which I feel you should be prepared to buy , they don't usually cost that much and then you have them for the next outing .

I have done this in drab it was lovely but then my body was still shaved and I mostly underdress . If you don't have forms then do what I do and use double layered balloons filled with water ( PM me if you want to know how to ) .Somewhere in the archives there is a picture of me in a strapless gown which I wore without a bra and just inserted my forms in the bust shaping of the dress, it all stayed in place even when dancing .

I have found wedding dresses look lovely but aren't always that comfortable to wear , besides where are you going to go in them ? whereas bridesmaid dresses cross the boundaries of prom/ ballgown and cocktail dresses so they are very wearable for a special night out .

I don't want to spoil your fun but you may enjoy it more if you get the basics sorted , you have asked the right questions you just need to implement some of the answers .

Hi Teresa,

Thank you for your feedback although I am not sure I understand some of your points, for example when you say to become more familiar with dressing rooms everyday wear.

I do have a bit of experience with dressing rooms and dresses already, I own 4 lovely evening gowns/prom dresses and have tried on a fair few more. I also have other casualwear such as skirts, dresses and skinny jeans, I dont have loads but my collection takes up a fair bit of room. As for my bust I find for my size a double push up bra is enough as I am uk size 10 and 5 11. I have tried water baloons and stacking bras but prefer the smaller bust. I am happy with how my body looks in a nice dress despite no wig or makeup.

My main reason to go is to try on posh gowns and hopefully purchase one.

I feel it will for good for my confidence to spend time with a person that isn’t bothered by me shopping and wearing a dress, this will be a first for me having never had help from a SA before. In my other post I explain how we already met and she came across extremely nice and as it turns out open to cds.

Like many crossdressers wedding dresses are a fantasy item, I would happy just looking through the racks and being close to such beautiful dresses. If there is a chance to try one then thats a bonus.

Another reason to go is to do as you say and ask about suitable underwear for future outings, if I don’t go I can't ask. Going wearing black bra could actually make me come across as clueless as I actually am!

Tracey,

Thanks for the info, nude bra seems to be the way to go so will add that to my list. I only seem to own black and pink bras, need to expand the collection!

I went to a bridal store back in November and let them know I was looking for myself. There is no need to buy unless you really want the dress. Many women visit multiple stores to find the right dress. That being said I would wear white or nude lingerie. I found a cheap white corset on Amazon so I could have a cinched waist and support for forms without straps. I wore a gaff for better lines along the front but also a white ruffle panty so I didn’t show too much of my backside. I did wear some lace top stockings with the garters because, why not. With that ensemble I was able to wear a cute dress that was easy to remove, and some low heels to the store. Don’t wear makeup though, you don’t want to accidentally leave anything on their sample dresses.

Lastly, they do want to sell you something, so be ready for the hard pitch if you seem like you really like a specific dress. If they try to see what it looks like with a veil, that is their go to move to finalize the sale. It does work and I ended up buying that dress.

Mostly just enjoy the experience and let them do their job. They know what’s looks good and will ask you questions to see what you like. I ended up trying on about 6 or 7 dresses, before going down to 2, and then the final choice I had tried on 3 tmes before saying yes.

Every time this subject comes up, I'm reminded of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRjhts_p1H8 , Lucy's tale about the Belle dress.

I think that you are overthinking, when I shopped for wedding dresses I carried a wig and forms in a carry bag.

The rest they supplied, high heeled shoes and all accessories, even jewellery to accent the dress.

When other women see you just cover your face with a veil.