was I or wasn't I?

[Lorileah]

Just had a thought. OK I know it is unusual and that is why I am writing it down right now.

The reasons people crossdress are many and varied. That is a given. Why do I crossdress? Probably more towards the transsexual side but not totally. I like how I look in the clothes. So there we have established that.

Now my thought. Can we crossdress and really not be crossdressing? Is it cross dressing if a skirt/dress/ wig and makeup isn't involved?

Here is why I ask. I volunteer bar tend a few times a month. There is no dress code except that you should wear things that you know will get dirty. On any given day I wear 50-100% clothing from the female departments of the stores. I do this without going through the whole make up wig yada yada. In my mind it is no different than most GG's do. It is just what I wear.

So anyway last night was the first night since I started working where I could wear shorts while I worked. They are women's mid thigh khaki shorts. You can tell they are made for women because the zipper is backward but no one ever looks at that. I also wore the sandals I chose for the summer which are yes again, for women. Tan Huarache with a 1" wedge heel. I knew none of the patrons would notice the subtlety of all this and was not concerned at all about anyone saying anything about the gender of the clothing.

What I didn't expect was the attention I received from the women in the bar. I got compliments all night about how nice my legs looked. Even the "yours look better than mine" line.

So the question is, since I keep my legs smooth, tanned and I was wearing a slight heel, was I cross dressed? Or was I just looking for extra tips?

[Kate Simmons]

It totally depends upon our mindset Hon.

[wadevikingfan]

did you get any tips??? i have noticed that men have better looking legs than some women...and keeping it tan, is a big plus...you do have to remember you were tending bar, and the women were having drinks and such a pretty person in front of them and the hormones were working..just consider it a huge compliment...

wendy

[Nikki A.]

I don't think it's cding. You were wearing clothes you were comfortable in, who cares what side of the store they were sold in.
Last week I needed to get a car on my day off for a customer, I planned on being in the store for just a few mins and then be on my way. Like you I wore tan Khaki mid-thigh shorts and the flowered shirt I wore buttoned the other way. Turns out I ran into problems and stayed at work for 4-5 hrs hoping we could fix the problem that day. Was I cross dressing? Maybe you could say I was in that they were women's clothes but I was still presenting as male and I didn't think so and nobody even noticed other than my boss complementing me on the shirt.

[Raychel]

It sounds like to me that you were wearing the clothes that you like the most, And I commend you for that. As far as the tips, A nice set of legs and maybe a bit of cleavege will definitly get you more tips from some people. Although the cleagege will probably not woprk so well from the women.

[Sophie86]

Yesterday was Hawaiian shirt day at the place where my wife works. She doesn't have a Hawaiian shirt, so she wore one of mine (a male shirt) with a pair of capri pants. She's also wearing her hair kind of short these days, so was she crossdressed? Compared to this, I would have to say yes. Compared to this, maybe not.

I tend to say that if you're wearing clothes made for the opposite sex, then you're crossdressing. That's the answer I give to people who say, "I only wear panties. Does that make me a crossdresser?" That response is driven more by my irritation with their fear of the CD label, though, than anything else. If I took that approach with you, then I'd say you were crossdressing. Your question doesn't have the same motivation, though, so I don't think that would be a very enlightening answer. In your case, I would say that the better question to ask is whether your attire that night leaned towards feminine or masculine, or fell somewhere in the middle. To some extent, that's a subjective judgment. The two images I linked above are extreme examples, and are, imo, very clear cut, but when the attire moves into the middle, there can be different opinions on what the overall impression is. That you were getting compliments from women suggests that it was more towards the femme side: Women will compliment each other in that sort of setting before they will compliment a guy, so I'm guessing they read you as being very femme, hence safe. I wasn't there, though, so I could be totally off base. Did the compliments seem flirty, or more like girl talk?

[Kaitlyn Michele]

its your ts nature imho...

we all know that we can't fight tg feelings, and as you are not transitioning you express yourself as best you can in whatever context exists at the moment... i think it's great... if your bar clothes needs a label i'd suggest lorileah's bartender outfit..

i checked out the wedges online and i'm getting them!! i see white skinny jeans in my crystal to go with.

[sissystephanie]

Yes, you were crossdressing!! That is, wearing the clothing of the opposite sex, but who cares? You were comfortable, and besides you got tips and compliments!! I wear feminine clothes about 85% of the time, both under and outer! I never hear anything but compliments on my outfits, even though I am never wearing a wig or makeup. so I am definitely a guy in a female outfit!!

[Cynthia Anne]

Cross dressed or not! Who knows! Some one once told me, to cross dress was to wear clothes of the oppetsite sex! But then again, I am the oppetsite sex! Go figure!

[Wendy_Marie]

sounds to me like you were just dressed in a manner in which you felt comfortable....Wearing clothing which was designed and cut for the feminine figure feels natural to me as I know from reading your posts it does to you.
I don't consider myself crossdressed so much as I do wearing gender correcting clothing. In my mind and my mentality I am a female born in the wrong body...clothing is just one manner in which I feel I can correct the mistake made by being born in this body...So No, you weren't crossdressed.

[david]

hi i believe you wear what you want when you want and to hell with what other people think i i wear fem jeans out to shops some times a fem top people either dont care maybe they dont want to ask but as a rule i have never been asked why i am wearing fem gear .So realy i dont care anyway as this is how i am and girl i am feeling great other half hhas just bought me another outfit blouse slacks/femtype so be what you are and enjoy it.

[deebra]

From the waist down you were a crossdresser, from the waist up you were not, but overall since you were wearing clothing of the oppasit sex you would be a crossdresser. I am so so glad you dressed that way to "get it out there" so society will see it and start to accept it us. Next time add a little more up top and let us know. I'm proud of you Lorileah for dressing and going public.

[deebra]

Having thought on this a little more, lets suppose a woman comes into the bar wearing her brothers sandals, jeans and Tshirt because they were comfortable and she liked the look; no one in the bar would see or call her a crossdresser, but in the same bar, same time I think most people in the bar would label Lori a crossdresser and assume she was probially gay. I think its all in how society has been trained to "think", what a rotten double-standard.

[Fab Karen]

If you were really looking for good tips, you woulda worn the CFM heels

[marny]

Definetly! And I'm sure you looked gorgeous. Paint your toes hon!

[Shananigans]

It's up to you!!! Well, were you crossdressing??? But, for now, I'll leave you with this...

[wantstocrossdress]

2 articles of women's clothing... u were crossdressed, but so what?

kinda OT but...
my ex bought me a used green-white striped shirt. she gave it to me but i was too busy to try it on so i put it on my bag, got washed, then into the closet. i wore it to work, then back to the wash n closet. it was a bit short but didn't really mind as it wasnt that tight and fitted on me. i felt odd and only realized that i was holding the buttons with my left hand and the front side with with the holes with my right on the second time i wore it. it was a ladies' shirt!

[Gerrijerry]

You already know before you asked that you were crossdressed. So did everyone else and no one really cared. That is really what counts. Wear what you want enjoy.