With some small amount of envy , I have enjoyed reading posts on the forum about the shopping adventures of members. I am in the closet by necessity, and can not risk shopping openly for makeup and clothes in my community. And truth be told, based upon my own paranoia, even if I could, I have not had the courage to do so.
As a result, I have acquired my wardrobe and makeup primarily from two sources - the internet and my wife shopping on my behalf.
Until now, that is! I have spent the last week several hundred miles away from home with my family. A few days ago, my wife and I spent an afternoon together shopping. I was determined to be involved in the process this time. When my wife goes shopping, it is intense! She really gets into it, and becomes incredibly focused. In several stores, we sorted through dresses, tops, skirts, etc. together. She occassionally held a dress up against my body to eyeball the size! Of course, there were others around, and I can not help but think they had to have noticed, but after reading the stories here, I was determined to do it.
I know my face turned red several times, which my wife thoroughly enjoyed and good-naturedly had fun with at my expense. LOL! But I did it! For the first time, I actually did it!
Having gone that far (an easy thing for many of you, I know, but not me), I visited another clothing store yesterday - by myself! Granted, I was several hundred miles away from home with no chance of being recognized, but my heart was still pounding hard - I was quite nervous! The store was far from empty, but I figured if I did not just jump in and start shopping, I would not do it at all. So I did just that! I started with dresses, going through them all, and pulling out the ones that interested me, and moved on from there with other clothes. I did received a few odd looks from a couple of female shoppers, but I just quickly (and nervously) smiled and continued on. When I purchased my new treasures at the cash register, the SA did not blink an eye.
I must admit, it was a fantastic experience! It was also an experience that was made possible by reading the stories here about shopping. Rationally, I have always recognized that it is silly to be fearful of doing such things in public when there is no risk of being discovered in my community. Be that as it may, until now, I simply have been unable to get past my own fear and discomfort. So to those that have posted such stories and offered advice as to how to shop in public - thank you! I am already looking forward to the next time I leave town!