I really must stop doing this !!

[DMichele]

Teresa,
I love your OP; you are so benevolently bad! I love the approach. I can relate to this approach.
You go girl and have fun and enjoy!

[ReineD]

Ah, the honeymoon of going out dressed. Everything is new, everything is exciting, everything is FUN! I remember when my SO went through this 10 years ago. The best part, I think, was having to expand the wardrobe!

As to asking whether or not it would be OK to show up somewhere dressed, Shelly I respectfully disagree with you. Although things may be different in the UK (and certainly they are in urban areas generally), there are places here where it is best to ask ahead of time than to have a negative experience while there dressed. We've been to places that felt downright uncomfortable and no fun was had at all. My SO hasn't asked restaurants and bars so much as people performing personal services such as hair cuts and manicures. But, we've gone to restaurants and bars ahead of time in guy mode to get a feel for the place first and there have been a few that we've decided not to go to dressed.

[alwayshave]

Teresa, Seems like your comfortable in your own skin, enough so to push other peoples buttons.

[Teresa]

Reine,
I'm sure your SO found it easier to dress up rather than dress down for everyday , there are some gorgeous clothes to be had off the racks but as one SA put it , " All dressed up up and nowhere to go , all my husband wants to do is go for a pint at the pub !"

It's not so easy to shop alone but at least you develop your own style but the SAs have so far been friendly and helpful, despite the comment I did appreciate the lady customer giving some advice on thge fit of the jacket I bought , the conversation that followed was a real woman to woman one , she had no problems with telling what clothes worked for her and why .



No matter what country we live in there are going to be some venues that may not be friendly towards the LGBT community but from the comments made from the US members it does read as if the UK is more accepting .

[Helen_Highwater]

I to get the impression that generally the UK is more accepting and I think that in no small measure is due to the fact we have the protection of the law. Pubs, hotels, shops can't discriminate. There was the highly publicized case of a Gay couple who were getting married who went into a cake shop to order the wedding cake and were turned away by the proprietors due to their religious beliefs. That was contested and the shop lost as did a B&B who turned a gay couple away for the same reason. Calling someone a "Puff" or "a queer" in public is something that can get you arrested on a hate crime charge. This principal is really only upholding the idea that we're all equal under the law.

That said that doesn't deal with every situation or individual we may encounter. Someone who verbally abuses you or even physically attacks you may feel the full weight of the law but that doesn't take away the fact the event happened. Teresa is being prudent to ask of the pub if it's OK to go there if only because it gives her a chance to scope the place out. In truth the landlord won't say no because he/she could as with the cases above, fall foul of the law.

It would be wrong for any of us to say that it's 100% safe out there. In drab it's not 100% safe. What we can say is that the number of knuckle dragging morons is small and with a bit of common sense there's a world of decent people who will treat us with the same respect as they would anyone else. Teresa's recent sorties have amply demonstrated this and more power to her elbow.

Simple rule of thumb. If you find yourself in a place/time that's likely to appear in a reality cop program on tv then you're in the wrong place and trouble could be moments away. Time to leave.

[Rogina B]

Teresa,You needn't be concerned for "your group". You just got outside your door..seriously. The thing about "groups" is that one person can spoil it for all,sometimes. For you and a friend or two to go into any place for a "bite" or a drink,etc is a non event that permission is foolish to ask for. Stick to a friend or two..