So, I had occasion to go back to a place I used to live, I was looking forward to visiting one place in particular that I had spent a lot of time and money at. It was a kitchy cool consignment shop in a suburb outside one of Florida’s big cities. I went in 3 or 4 times a month and I got to know the owner and the staff/SA’s well, well enough that the owner would let me go in an hour before opening and shop in private. I’d call her when I knew I would be off and setup a day and time. I’d go in, look through the racks, pick out things in my size and then go and try them on.

One of the SA’s and I developed a friendship, she was totally cool with crossdressers and liked to give me fashion advice and her opinion on what looked good on me and what I should stay away from. A couple of times she pointed me toward some of her dresses that she had on consignment, even commented that one of them looked better on me, much better than it ever had on her, of course I bought it. The owner would send me an email whenever they got items in that she knew I liked, and this was where I tried on my first wedding dress. She sent me an email and told me that she had a dress in that was my size and asked if I wanted to take a look at it – I emailed her back that yes, yes, I did, could we do a before opening shopping trip the next day. She emailed me back and said no problem, the SA I was friends with would see me at 9am. So, I called in sick to work and showed up just before 9, walked up to the door and knocked … my friend opened the door, let me in and there it was, an absolutely gorgeous wedding dress.

I told her I loved it and looked at every stitch and seam, felt the softness of the fabric and the daintiness of the lace. It was wonderful. I asked if I could try it on and she said of course, but the dress and me would not fit in the dressing room. The store didn’t have overly large dressing rooms like you would find at a bridal store, so she said I could just try it on right there in the showroom if I wanted to by the mirrors which were off to the side. She laughed and said I could treat it like a real wedding dress fitting, she would help me get into the dress. She had seen me in bra and panties before when I was in a dressing room , so, I pulled off my jeans and shirt and had a fabulous experience. Standing there in my bra and panties, then being helped into this beautiful dress. She buttoned up the back and helped me get the veil on then let me look at myself in the mirrors … I was speechless. It was amazing, the dress was just a little too big for me in the bust, so it puffed out a little, but I didn’t care, I was hooked. She helped me out of it and we looked at it some more, I was head over heels for the dress. She took me over to the racks and we found a strapless bra and a pair of white stockings to go with it. She asked me if I had a garter belt, yes I do at home, so I was set to go.

She put it back in the dress bag and put the stockings and bra in a bag and then went to ring me up. That’s when she told me even better news, the owner was going to sell me the dress for half off the price. The dress belonged to her niece and her niece just wanted it out of the closet. Being a consignment shop they didn’t usually have discounts, but she had told her niece she knew someone who was a great customer at the shop and would probably buy it. She had been asking $200, I got it for $100, I was thrilled.

That was a great memory and I was looking forward to seeing the shop and the owner again. So after my training was over I packed up and headed over to the shop … or I should say where the shop had been. It was gone, now it was a salon. I went and asked about the consignment shop and found out that they had closed about 6 years ago. Memories are all that’s left of the store, I still have the dress my friend said looked better on me than her, and that wedding dress is still hanging in my closet.