Spent almost two days dressed. A few observations

[Lucy23]

As I mentioned in previous posts, last Monday I moved out and started living on my own and alone as well. Aside from some other perks, it meant that no longer I had to hide my women's clothing. It was quite funny actually, seeing right next to my leather boots a cute pair of ballet flats. Anyway, the most important thing of course being that I could dress whenever I wanted. Before, my dressing sessions were limited to an hour or two tops when no one was around which was maybe a day or two in a given week. It wasn't that bad actually, I can go for a longer stretches of time without dressing. And I cherished the few moments more.

The very first day I put on a little fashion show for myself, enjoying almost all the clothes I have. And I finally settled for an outfit to lounge around in - a longer top, leggings, chunky or over the knee socks. Speaking of leggings, to say that I was totally astonished at how comfortable they are as an everyday wear would be an understatement. There is no way I'm going back to sweatpants! Warm and so light, I even wear them with my ordinary t-shirts.

For a long time I have dreamed about going to work in one of my business outfits; that dream came true, at least to a certain degree. We are allowed to work from home if we either begin in early morning or work late into night. So I put on my favourite dress, tights, heels, a cute necklace, and for a few hours I enjoyed working in those beautiful clothes. But being dressed like that came with something I never realized - I had to mind the way I sat to avoid wrinkling the skirt as well as keeping my legs closer or crossed, not to mention that after seven hours I has quite happy to take off the heels.

Aside from a few errands out, I spent the most of the days dressed, even in underwear. I also had a bra the whole time. I still don't understand why I love wearing them since I don't want to present as a woman. (Any ideas as to why?) Although I have one or two that give off the image of a bigger bust (I buy bras with B cups because smaller are hard to come by in size 38), I pretty much prefer the ones that are lightly padded, have no rigid parts, and while it's clear that I have a bra, the whole look is more subtle, like an A or AA cup bra. At the end of day one I was glad I put it down, although I was looking forward the next morning to put it back on. However at the end of day two, I was more than happy to put it away and be without it.

The same can be said about panties. Although surprisingly comfortable even for the longer stretch of time, I was happy to return to my boxer briefs. Aside from the cut, the material actually felt the same.

On a side note, is it possible that a bra of a single product line can feel rather tight than another, although when you compare them, the one's band that feels tighter is actually a little longer?

Anyway, sorry for the longer post, just wanted to share this. Do you remember your first days after moving out? What did you do or wanted to do?

[susan54]

This a reply to a bit of the thread. I spend a high proportion of my waking hours dressed but mainly at home - living alone is fantastic. Even after a recent spell of ten days fully dressed below the neck I found that the clothes became less comfortable only after about 15 hours. If you wear the right size of bra (I am 38B) it should be perfectly comfortable all day unless you buy from supermarkets. I would admit that even two bras that are the same model can differ in comfort levels. Panties are not designed to support our anatomy but you could say the same about boxer shorts, which should be but aren't! Here the design is everything and big pants usually work. I find heels fine but I always buy leather because it makes a huge difference to comfort. However if you walk on carpets at home heels are fine but on marble floors in a mall even quality medium heels can be torture after a couple of hours. I find male trousers acutely uncomfortable around the groin - the discomfort of panties and tights is a fraction of this and I ALWAYS find a skirt or dress better for long periods of wear. If you wear shape wear comfort is not its main purpose and I have no need or desire to wear it because it is way too tight. Sony message is that all day comfort is down to good quality well fitting clothes (and how much you walk on very hard flooring). Clip on earrings are almost always sore after even a couple of hours with very rare exceptions like the silver dangly ones I am currently wearing - I bought them from a proper silversmith.

[windshear]

IIRC, it was a similar experience for me. Suddenly I had more dressing time than I knew what to do with- or cared to use. Nobody to sneak around, no need for caution. I am also able to work from home a few times a week and when I do , I often do it dressed in the first half of the day. At noon I tend to switch to drab to go out for errands and lunch, come back and finish up. Later in the night I shower and switch back to femme mode to wind down and relax.

When hit by the pink fog its a real struggle to switch back to drab. Other times, I have no urge to dress at all.

[Sometimes Chelsea]

I have never in my life lived alone, at home with the parents, then college roommates, then with my (supporting) wife. I do love the work at home days though. Sitting in the office chair with a skirt just seems so much nicer than slacks. Enjoy your dressing time!

[Billy]

Thanks for posting! Keep us updated. I have a couple of threads questioning if the thrill to dress would diminish if you could openly dress whenever you wanted and another questioning if you would dress all the time if everyone knew. I am interested in how your freedom affects your dressing.

Edit: I also have another thread that address my desire to dress openly in front of family rather than sneaking around or hiding in your own home.

[Lucy23]

Even after a recent spell of ten days fully dressed below the neck I found that the clothes became less comfortable only after about 15 hours. If you wear the right size of bra (I am 38B) it should be perfectly comfortable all day unless you buy from supermarkets. I would admit that even two bras that are the same model can differ in comfort levels.

Susan, although I have never been fitted, based on various fitting techniques I determined my size is 38B (I may still be wrong about this one). This was the first time I felt the bra being tighter than usual, so I was rather surprised as there wasn't any problem before. And I buy my bras in lingerie stores.

As for panties, I buy them in the same chain store. Despite not designed to fit us, the simple cotton ones in medium size are a best possible fit a I could get and felt no discomfort even after two days in leggings. It was just that I felt I should return to my ordinary clothes.

But as I've said, this was the first time I was dressed for such a long time, or worn heels for seven hours straight. I'll probably get used to that with further dressing.

Enjoy your dressing time!

I will, thank you!

Thanks for posting! Keep us updated.

Billy, I will. But I think I posted an answer to your thread regarding dressing around if everyone knew. Anyway, you can leave me a message if you have any questions.

[Billy]

You may have. I have been reading so much. I am excited to hear about your practical experience!

[phili]

I was astonished and disappointed to find that the thrill/heightened awareness/special enjoyment of wearing even my most exciting outfits was quite fragile. Dressing for the mirror, with maybe an hour doing little errands around the house, it is easy to sustain the emotional arousal connected with the clothing and its messages to me and my imaginary world. But as soon as I become preoccupied with the work I am doing, the clothes become clothes and sometimes start to feel like anonymous layers of fabric. I'm really working on this now, because I want to keep feeling the excitement!

I am reluctant to admit to myself that putting tights on ruins the sensation of the skirt ruffling on my thighs. That the waist elastics of my ruffled half slips, on to hide my non tucking sufficiently, starts to get away from the lightness. That using panties over tights to hold them up works, but is about as confining as pants. If I don't move around, I can't feel my clothes at all. And I can't tell what kind of underwear I am wearing between my men's low cut cotton Jockey briefs and my Chinese silk panties with lace and bows.

That doesn't stop me from underdressing, for symbolic reasons and for the enjoyment when I do notice.That I am sweating from the nylon of my slips! The list goes on- none of which was evident when I was only experiencing crossdressing as a brief sexually charged moment with my feminine self.

I've been using sock glue with cut off tights to make high thigh highs, and so far I still like the feeling of having my waist to crotch unencumbered. It is something others can't see, but still feels like a special thing, so is kind of an underdressing thing, where the impact of clothes is just for ourselves. With heels, I found a new way to sustain the feeling of special excitement, since being up on heels is reinforced with every step and affects posture and the sound we make- it is an active process to walk in heels. Being alone with our dressing allows all sorts of room for mental or physical interactions with clothes, but it is hard to sustain all day, or with others.

Now that I have given myself the freedom to dress in women's clothes in public, the whole thing has become more pictorial, rather than just satisfyingly sensual,- and I see why a lot of women don't bother any more.

I am more calculating in terms of how I look, since it rapidly becomes all about interacting with others, and this is harder for me than many here, since I am making my own reference standard- nice looking genderqueer! I'm uncertain about that.

[Barbara Black]

During the short time that I lived alone, prior to marriage, I was too busy hiding from myself. So while I had to opportunity, and I was dressing for short spurts, I never went out and bought any kind of dresses or skirts to wear. I'm very saddened for the missed opportunity due to societal pressure on my own opinions.
Phili: it's after sitting for a while in a skirt or heels that I notice them the first time I move, bringing back the feeling that we love so much, well, at least I do... ha ha

[Billy]

I am attempting to face societal pressure head on. I think the more often I face it the stronger I get.

[Stephanie47]

For several years I had the opportunity to dress 24/7 for an extended period of time. My wife would visit one of our kids in the mid west. It gave me an opportunity to hang many of my dresses and slips in the closet; line up my heels at the foot of the bed; fill my armoire draws full of panties and bras. All my clothes are comfortable. I do not buy dresses that are form fitting. I stay with wraps, empire waists, sheaths and dresses with some spandex or lycra. These give me ease of movement. I wore three inch heels. None were tiring or hurt my feet. The best were shoes were with a "clunky" heel. Yes, being en femme does require adopting certain body movements because dresses are, well, different than pants; knees kept together; smoothing the skirt of the dress when sitting; brushing away that loose strand of hair from your face; getting into a car seat butt first.

I minimized my need to don my male clothes by having adequate food in the house. I got my mail en femme in the evening. I ran errands to the library return slot. I went to the post office to mail letters. I went for casual strolls in the early evening.

After a while a dress and everything else do become just clothes. They do loose the "thrill" that is suppose to occur when wearing them.

As to the fit of a bra I'd say if you have the right band size and there is enough elasticity in the band there should not be much discomfort. I see a lot of women on the street wearing bras that dig into their flesh. I've had no problems. I'm on the cheap side when it comes to filling a bra. I do fine with twelve inch water balloons filled to a size I want to be for the moment... b cup, c cup, d cup. Even with the weight of the water which does approximate human body water content I have no discomfort. Of course I choose to wear a full coverage bra with appropriate support.

As to whether I would throw out all my male clothes except for a bare minimum I don't think so. Clothing becomes something to wear to coordinate with a certain mind set. Many times I am more comfortable with a pair of beat up men's jeans, ratty tee shirt and white sweat socks. Doesn't a natural women feel the same? Some times everything seems the same as a man's clothing except for a bra, and, then that's really not a requirement.

[Helen_Highwater]

Argh, working from home. Fond memories.

Lucy,

So pleased for your new found freedom. Carry on the good work.

I can remember those hours spent sitting in a skirt or dress, as you say, remembering to smooth it out before sitting. Yep, tired feet after just sitting for most of the time in heels. Halcyon days! I must admit that I got to the point were being dressed enfemme had lost any thrill it had. It became the norm, a place were I just felt comfortable. My natural state. There were days were I stayed in drab but that was as much just just a different change of clothes.