Hey All-
So after many years of evolution, and a few outings over those years with mall-walking and low-level (McDonalds drive-thru) contact with people, I finally did the full-on Julie experience. I know many have been down this road and posted here, but read on if you like..this could be long!
I've read many posts here in years past and recently about rewarding shopping trips, buying en femme etc, but never thought I would get there myself. At 6' tall with large hands, it's a challenge to present as female, which in my case was an important part of being confident enough to do this. But with much experimentation, and encouragement and tips from a wonderful woman who does transformations not too far from me, I got to the point where I felt, and she convinced me, that I could be believable for the most part, though I'm well aware that to truly "pass" is rare, especially for a 6' gurl. Nevertheless, I was finally ready to give it a shot.
So, armed with my girlie shape thanks to homemade foam hip pads, cinched waist and #6's (lol!), I donned my size 14 Kohl's misses tall jeans, black v-neck long sleeved top, lavendar zip-up hoodie with sleeves that cover a lot of my hands, flats, and headed for my morning makeover appointment with the transformation lady. After an hour in her makeup chair, while we chatted and I practiced the fairly passable female voice I've worked on for years, she applied some French nails for me, trimmed and styled the awesome wig she had picked out for me, put my jewelry back on, and spun me around to face the mirror..and there was Julie looking back at me, a well put together middle aged woman! Wow. Those of you who've done this know this feeling, and those of you who hope to experience it, keep at it, you will get there. It was amazing for me.
Anyway, with a little more help from my "coach"(I love her!) arranging a scarf which finished off the look (and hid my adams apple!), off I went. First stop was a convenience store, where I gassed up the car and went in to get a couple of bottled waters, essential to keep the girl voice useable all day. I was nervous, but stepped up to the register and put the water and my purse on the counter. The 20-ish male clerk rang it up, then looked at me and said "will that be all maam?". I said "yes, thanks" in my best Julie voice. "That'll be $2.50 today" he said. I dug in my wallet, handed over a bill, and took the change. "Have a nice day maam" he said. I said "thanks, you too", grabbed my purse, and walked out to the car. I got in and caught my breath..oh my god, did that just happen? Knowing that men are not very observant, if he noticed anything out of the ordinary, there was no indication at all, nor from the other people in line. Justified or not, it was a huge confidence boost. Next stop..Penny's!
I had plans for the evening involving wearing a skirt, which I did not have(I purged a while back, so all the clothes were new). I planned to shop for one en femme to force myself to do it, and so I could follow through with the evening. I parked in the parking garage, tuned up my lipstick in the car mirror, and walked into the mall. On the way through the mall to the store, I stopped and browsed various items in a candle shop, kitchen gadget store, etc. When the sales help asked if they could help me find something, I replied "just looking thanks"..all eneventful encounters. When walking by a couple of groups of teenage girls, I tried to stay calm and confident, though I looked elsewhere as I passed them closely. No reaction that I could see. More confidence.
With a deep breath, I went in to Penny's and found the skirt racks. I browsed and held a couple against me as I had observed women doing for years, then selected a mid-calf black skirt and took it into the dressing rooms, which were not monitored. I tried it on and it fit perfectly, another thrill! So the time had come to go to the register, where I knew I would be interacting with a female clerk. Despite the success the far, this was a big step for me. I looked around for the registers, and from about 30 feet away a clerk called to me "checking out maam?". Another deep breath, and I walked up and put the skirt on the counter. " Did you find everything you were looking for today?" she asked . "Yes, thank you" I replied. She then said "oh, I love these skirts, I have one myself." I said "yes, they're great." She then asked if I had a store charge card , and when I said no she asked if I wanted to open one, to which I said no thank you (Julie does have her own credit card, an added user on "his" account just for this purpose!). She then had me swipe, the card, and I signed Julie's name, a first ever. She handed me the bag and said "enjoy the rest of your shopping maam". I said "thank you", and walked out. Wow.
Next stop was Payless, just for the experience of shoe shopping en femme. I have Men's 12 feet, so didn't expect to find anything, but low and behold, there were a pair of 12 Wide 2" heeled strappy sandals, open toe..this could work. I sat down on the stool to try them on, and the 40ish sales lady came around the corner, looked at me and said "it's 1/2 off a second pair". I said thanks and she moved on. I tried them on, and being open they fit well enough! I stood up, walked back and forth, and checked myself out in front of the full length mirror..no reaction whatsoever from other customers (I almost said "other women"..goes to show the mindset that kicks in with this!). Though I planned to wear my flats that nite, these would be great, and not very high, so I boxed them up and stepped up to the register. "2nd pair 1/2 off today if you can find anything else" she said. "Thanks, I'm all set" I said. My throat was dry and "set" came out a little hoarse. She then looked straight at me, and I caught something in her face suddenly..she knew. But..she didn't miss a beat. She reached over to a rack, and grabbed some stick-on pads and put them in the box."I always use these when I wear heels, they're only a dollar..they're great". I thanked her, swiped the card, and walked out.
So..the first encounter it felt like she thought I was a woman, second encounter she may have at first but then clearly figured it out..but couldn't have been more gracious. I finally fully relaxed, and realized what many have stated here..if you do want to blend in, if you give it your best shot and act like a lady, people will treat you as one, and wether you fool them or not is basically irrelevant. It was still an amazing experience, and enlightening. Since part of the fun for me is pulling off the illusion, I would not intentionally have a lenghty face to face conversation with a woman, if one happens and she reads me, I'm finally OK with that.
Anyway, from there it was off to Home Depot where I was greeted many times, asked and answered questions with both male and female sales help, used the ladies room with other women (lol) present, all with no noticeable reaction. On my way out, a man coming in held the door for me and said "after you maam", to which I replied, "why thank you", now fully comfortable in Julie mode. Late in the afternoon it was back to the transformation lady where (after a quick removal of the lower half of my makeup and another close shave..talk about break the mood!)she re-did my makeup for the evening, which included darker lips and false lashes..wow. I showed her what I bought, and a couple of options of tops I had brought along(all long sleeved of course). She selected a red cowl-neck top with built-in lace cami, and I went and changed into that with the new black skirt and heels I had bought, along with some flesh colored dance tights(I can't shave my legs, dance tights hide everything. I came out and she said, "god girl, you look gorgeous". Now I get why women love compliments..I didn't expect to feel so good about that! Anyway, i topped it off with a black pea coat I had ordered on line, which actually fit me, and off I went to a large upscale hotel where I knew I would not be overdressed, having checked it out in advance.
My original plan had been to order a drink at the bar, but upon arrival and seeing the women there, I lost my nerve to put myself under that kind of scrutiny, which seemed yet another step up from the mall encounters that I didn't quite feel ready for. So I found a soft chair in a lounge area of the lobby. There were a few magazines on a table, and I found a Woman's Day and sat down to read it for a while, then checked email on my phone and returned a couple..lol. I realized I had to pee, so I went up to the (male) clerk at the desk and asked if he could tel me where the ladies' room was. He said, "certainly maam, it's down that hall on your left". I thanked him, and went down the hall. Two women came out just as I was coming in, and one said, "oh, excuse me, I'm sorry" and stepped back to make room for me to go in. "Thank you" I said, then went immediately into a stall (an aside, I've worked out a way to pee sitting down and still keep everything together, if you know what I mean!) I just glace at myself in the mirror, adjust my hair and went back to the car.
I went through the McD drive through, ordered dinner, all young female help, all maam's and no incident. Did I fool them? Who knows. At that point I didn't care.
I followed that up with some window shopping, downtown, as stores were closing. Fun to see my reflection in the store windows.
My final stop was the grocery store, and though I would normally never go there in a skirt and heels, it was almost 10PM by now, and very few people were in the store. I bought some stuff for the morning, the young female clerk rang me up, I swiped my card, signed Julie's name, and with a..knowing?..smile she said "have a nice evening maam". I said "thanks, you too". "Thank you" she said. Women are so polite! I could learn a thing or two from them.
Thanks to all with the patience to read this. It was a rewarding and educational experience. Julie's on hiatus now for about 6 months..but I already have her next outing planned!
Best wishes to you all.
Julie
Sounds like you had a wonderful time out!
If you don't like the way I'm livin', you just leave this long haired country girl alone:
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