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Thread: $$$$!!!!! Crossdressing is expensive! Any money saving tricks?

  1. #1
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    Question $$$$!!!!! Crossdressing is expensive! Any money saving tricks?

    As I go along improving my crossdressing presentation gets more and more expensive.
    I do like to have my hair and makeup done professionally. It's part of the fun. I can do my own.
    Any money savers you've discovered?

  2. #2
    Adventuress Kate Simmons's Avatar
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    Other than going to thrift shops and swap meets, nope. It's not cheap being a girl by any means.
    Second star to the right and straight on till morning

  3. #3
    Platinum Member Beverley Sims's Avatar
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    Only thrift shops and sales.

    Black Friday last year was hazardous for me in Chicago.
    Work on your elegance,
    and beauty will follow.

  4. #4
    Senior Member Angela Marie's Avatar
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    It is very expensive. When I first started dressing extensively I ordered some clothes online but they tended to be of very poor quality. Now I just shop where most GG's shop. Clearly more expensive but well worth the it.

  5. #5
    Full Geek Status Adriana Moretti's Avatar
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    Yes....you have to be "Thrifty"......and if you shop online utilize the promo emails for 10-50% off when they pop up. Makeup is cheap to maintain after you make the first haul. And clothing wise, buy smart, build off what you have and mix and match, you will create more looks, and get more wears out of less xoxo

  6. #6
    Senior Member Jaymees22's Avatar
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    I'm such a good customer at Macys and Lord & Taylor I've reached Premier Status. See the more you spend the more you save, probably not the answer you were looking for. Hugs Jaymee
    I enjoy being a boy, being a GIRL like me!!!

  7. #7
    Ragin Cajun meganmartin's Avatar
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    It is a very expensive hobby, wife gives me grief all the time.

    Just cut corners where you can is all I can suggest.
    Megan Martin

    " some guys play golf, I play girl"

  8. #8
    Member queenie's Avatar
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    Incorporate pieces into your everyday wardrobe and it won't be so expensive since you'll actually be using it all the time instead of just once in a blue moon.

  9. #9
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    You are correct Ophelia. I will search for bargains and take sales where I can find them. But I do not compromise for quality.

    My wife would have a fit if she knew how much I had invested in my wardrobe!

    Cindy

  10. #10
    happy to be her Sarah Doepner's Avatar
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    I do a lot of shopping at thrift stores, looking for coordinates that can be used to create new combinations. Don't compromise on things like foundation and hair or spend money on shoes or clothing that might fit better later.
    Sarah
    Being transgender isn't a lifestyle choice. How you deal with it is.

  11. #11
    Call me Pam pamela7's Avatar
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    fabric shop + willing seamstress wife ?
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJFyz73MRcg
    I used to believe this, now I'm in the company of many tiggers. A tigger does not wonder why she is a tigger, she just is a tigger.

    thanks to krististeph: tigger = TG'er .. T-I-GG-er

  12. #12
    Aspiring Member Michelle 78's Avatar
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    I totally agree that dressing is more expensive than any other hobby I've ever had, I've spent a fortune on everything to be Michelle. There is always something else to get it's never ending, I can understand why women love to shop as I do now too.

  13. #13
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    When I need makeup I start checking Big Lots. They usually have high quality makeup of many name brands, Cover Girl, L'Oriel, etc.
    I have never spent more that $4.00 for anything to wear except for jeans. I buy most of my heels from Just Fab, about $39.00. Surprisingly these shoe fit well and wear as well as more expensive shoes.
    You just have to do a little shopping.

    Rhanda

  14. #14
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    My wife would get her hair done once a month minimal; more if there was a special event.
    The only thing was her daughter was a hair dresser, So we went over there to get her hair done.
    My wife would always give her $ 50.00 each time; well it was her daughter. I was OK with that.
    Being a Girl is an expensive profession.
    Rader

  15. #15
    MIDI warrior princess Amy Fakley's Avatar
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    Yeah I dunno, crossdressing isn't really THAT expensive. I've spent far more on Music gear over the years. But like anything, you can just about spend as much as you want to on it.

    Breastforms, pads and wigs are really the most expensive part. You could score all three on amazon for probably less than $150 if you tried. Up your budget to $250 and you can look at nicer wigs, which in my opinion are really the best bang for your crossdressing buck.

    Spend about $50 in Sephora and you can get a decent look going. You can do it for far less at Walmart, actually ... but who doesn't love shopping at a real makeup store?

    Clothes don't have to be expensive. As mentioned, there's thrift shops and goodwill etc, but honestly ... if you like shopping (I do) and you're patient (I am) you can get far better deals at the mall on the clearance racks ... and now is the time, sisters! The changing of the seasons is upon us :-) seriously, I scored my very favorite dress for $35 or so. In fact, I scored my third favorite for $4.35 at JC Penney, lol. My second favorite was a splurge though :-)
    "Why shouldn't art be pretty? There are enough unpleasant things in the world." -Pierre-Auguste Renoir

  16. #16
    Rachel Rachelakld's Avatar
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    I find it the cheapest hobby,

    I use about $3 makeup each outing, my clothes are generally from budget shops or daughters collection and we need clothes anyway, and $2 for petrol, maybe $10 for a relaxing brunch (I tend to eat even when not dressed up), so my bill is less than $20 a week, and only about $10 more than my normal weekly spend.

    Had I done Martial Arts, would have cost me $25 per week, RC aeroplane flying about $20 petrol, plus expensive outlay, motor racing nearly made me bankrupt, parachuting got to expensive.
    All these expensive hobbies would have me away from my family, something that crossdressing doesn't do.
    See all my photos, read many stories of my outings and my early days at
    http://rachelsauckland.blogspot.co.nz

  17. #17
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    I used to buy stuff without a discerning eye towards price, but then I started seeing the same stuff on the clearance racks for much less. Now, I never buy unless there is a sale of some sort going on. i always head for the clearance rack first. If they have a customer loyalty program, I enroll. At White House Black Market, I get an automatic 5% discount, plus if I fill out a shopping survey, I get $25 off a $100 purchase. Shoes and nylons are probably the only things I don't wait for a sale.

  18. #18
    Martini Girl Katey888's Avatar
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    I'm not sure about saving... with the exception of the good advice about thrift shops and eBay (on which I've bought some gems and some howlers both...)

    I think sometimes you just get what you pay for...

    Katey x
    "Put some lipstick on - Perfume your neck and slip your high heels on
    Rinse and curl your hair - Loosen your hips, and get a dress to wear"
    Stefani Germanotta

  19. #19
    Aspiring Member Sarah-RT's Avatar
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    I buy most of my stuff from Amazon so it's fairly cheapish, but obviously equal in quality. I don't really have any expensive hobbies apart from drinking and smoking so I can afford to throw down 20 quid on a pair of jeans and a top.

    I bought breast forms for 40.00 off amazon which are so normal feeling than just a bra or those push up gel inserts but I've wanted to get an expensive pair, assuming they make more of a difference.
    I kind of treat my wigs as disposable since I've to hide them so I'll wear them for a few weeks and bin them when they get knotted or whatever and buy another one for 15-20 quid. But again is like to have an expensive good quality one, it's just not practical right now though

  20. #20
    Aspiring drama queen Isabella Ross's Avatar
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    Thrift shops. Ross Dress for Less. And ebay...if you're a good bidder with a sharp eye, and an appetite for risk, there are some good buys there as well.

  21. #21
    Genny iGenny's Avatar
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    I started with thrift shops, just to learn. Now I look for clearance sales at brick-and mortar stores - what can I buy now on-the-cheap that will look good next year.

    I'll hit Kohl's and Target clearance racks. Loyalty cards, like shopyourway at Sears and Kmart, have special discounts for members. I'm buying stuff cheaper on clearance than it would cost at thrift stores.

    You can get quality at a lower cost if you're very patient.

  22. #22
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    Sales of course and thrift shops.

  23. #23
    Silver Member Rhonda Jean's Avatar
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    I used to have a hangup about buying used clothes. Not any more. Probably 75% of all my clothes, M & F, other than underwear, comes from thrift stores. The rest comes from TJ Maxx, Stein Mart, and department store sale racks. Also, I just buy less stuff. When I used to have to cram all my dressing into one weekend a month I bought a ton more stuff, much of it never seeing the light of day. Now I don't buy anything I don't intend to wear out. A big key has also been to find things/styles that work and stick with them. A lot less experimentation. I have a foundation that I've used for years. I experiment with lipsticks and eyeshadows, but the basics stay the same. Bras were a weakness for me for years. I still have fun buying something new and different at TJ Maxx, where a $60 Wacoal can be found for about $10, but when I find a particular brand and style that really works I can usually find more at Herroom online. Bras are discontinued quickly. When I had long hair and was doing a ton of hair stuff I went to a beauty school for those services. I still splurge on nails. I have my brows waxed, but that's not expensive unless I get them tinted. My one splurge clothing-wise is purses. Once I started carrying really nice purses I'm just not interested in any of the others. A great purse can dress up a lot of otherwise ordinary clothes. Worth it, to me.

  24. #24
    Carole carhill2mn's Avatar
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    Some things that can quickly become expensive are cosmetics. In any cases "drug store" brands are just aw good and much cheaper. Also, look for sale specials.
    Hugs, Carole

  25. #25
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    I am surprised no one has mentioned it yet.......Don't Purge!!!!!!

    I quite purging a couple of decades ago. Still it is an expensive hobby for me. All shoes are special order, many of my cloths have been, or need to be altered. It goes on and on. But you can get by on the cheep if you pay attention to sales and if you happen to be roughly the size of a typical GG

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