Practice makes perfect.

[Helen_Highwater]

When you?ve been CD?ing for a long time it?s not unusual to experience various changes to both mind and body.

Getting dressed the other day after showering the first thing I did was to tuck. Years ago this would have been a carefully done process but years of the same action has given me what I suppose you could call muscle memory. I don?t have to coach things into place, they?ve learned their way and having what is now a natural ease of transition, losing the token of my manhood is a line I step over. It?s hugely symbolic, as if at that moment, Helen appears.

Now at this point I need to state that this post isn?t about how you tuck; what tape, rope, glue, staples, wrenches, screws, nails or pins you use to achieve your tuck. There?s a sticky for that. I'm talking about tucking due to the significant effect that particular action has on me. For others, it's likely to be something else.

I?m talking about changes to your body or things that trigger a change in mind-set as if a switch is thrown. I suppose at the other end of the ?getting ready? process is the putting on of a wig. Many have commented in the past just how that signals a change from one mode to another. However, that is an external factor, the addition of an artefact.

So I suppose my question is, is there something for you that signals change, something you do or something within you that marks the start of your temporary transition from M2F. Something either in mind and/or body, an action that time has made semi-automatic, a learned response?

[TamT]

I haven't dressed for more than a year, and I cannot do it at home (non supportive wife), but what I do everyday is to tuck. I don't use any kind of tape, neither a gaf... things have learned where to go with a single movement when I put my male slip (bikini type), and they stay there. It is a trigger for my female side, and it makes me feel comfort in that way.

[Geena75]

For me, it seems like the most advanced thing I do really brings on the feminine feeling. Originally, it was the pantyhose, then pulling on the dress, then standing up in the heels, then donning the wig, lately it has been the false eyelashes. Next, it will be putting on the earrings. Whatever marks the furthest I have gone in my look.

[Candy]

I am not sure what triggers the desire to dress feminine and go through all the steps.. I do find myself grinning openly when I am in full dress around the house I do feel happy. I also am comfortable with my male side as well.. definitely a paradox

[kimdl93]

I had to think about this a bit. I suppose each stage in the process has a significance in putting the male aside and revealing the woman within. I am still not sure I really do not see myself. I won’t complete the metamorphosis until my makeup is done and wig donned, I am just not there.

[candykowal]

I have fixed the hot and cold feeling about the change from M to F but it has not been easy.
It has been a process for those around me to accept the changes I have done to keep that feminine feeling inside me.
I am almost always femme in my mind today as I have longer nails to worry about breaking, silky undies I usually wear under unisex outerwear, hair free arms and legs, perform a morning moisturize ritual, perfume myself and wear lip gloss at times.
When my wife is at work and cannot see the femme me.....
I am a homemaker and am able to go shopping dressed as my feminine self for groceries and sundries.
I wear a apron from my apron collection when I cook, clean, dust and do laundry.
It's a chore to get into guy or husband mode at times as I can't wear a bra, dress or a skirt and high heels.
I have to wear gloves while working on the cars, or in the garage, or working on simple things, for fear I will break a fingernail.
As soon as I can pull off my guy work jeans, I am instantly back in feminine mode in dress slacks and silk shirts for a lot of other chores.
I have conditioned my life to make that transition a lot less harsh.

[DianeT]

The tucking aspect of dressing is something that saddens my wife to no end. She finds it cruel and pointless.
Apart from that, there is no tipping point in the process where I suddenly switch to Diane, because there is no Diane really. It's more a continuous process that gets gradually astonishing. But what Geena said resonates. Putting the wig and earrings, then standing up in heels, yes, these moments are special, I feel different suddenly, even if I am still me. This eerie sensation has always been my main driver for dressing, an escape to some fantasy land, while being awake.

[CynthiaD]

Yeah. I call these moments my "Goodbye Uncle Charlie, Hello Aunt Jane" moments. I have several. I wear firm control panties most of the time. Tucking has always been easy for me, so I slip on clean panties and stand in front of the mirror with legs crossed. When I see the nice smooth V in front. I think, Hello Aunt Jane! Some firm control panties are firmer than others, but all-over control pantyhose will cure any remaining problems. When you get runs in your pantyhose, don’t throw them away. Cut the legs off and save the top. It makes a wonderful gaff! For you athletes, it will give you better support than a traditional athletic supporter too.
My Second moment is putting on a bra. When I don’t want to use breastforms I slip into a sports bra. Otherwise it’s under wired lace — usually. Even with empty cups it’s a Hello Aunt Jane moment. Adding breastforms gives me another moment. And finally the wig. And there she is. Me. Looking back at me from the mirror.
There are other moments. I recently started wearing corsets. Cinching my corset and seeing my narrow waist and wide hips appear — Hello Aunt Jane! Then Putting on a tight bodycon dress, with a belt to show off my waist. My recent weight-loss has taken me from a 44-44-44 figure to a 42-38-42, without the corset. With the corset, waist — 35. Now that I’ve got curves, I love showing them off!
Despite all this, I don’t wear female clothing for the thrill. I wear female clothing because I’m female, and these are my clothes. But each step in the process is a confirmation of the truth: I’m female, and the woman looking back at me from the mirror is the real me.

[MonicaPVD]

The switch in my mind flips when I'm done putting on most makeup, put my wig on, and complete the process by applying lip liner and lipstick. Magic. That is the instant where Monica completely takes over. Until then, it's all a very mechanical process. Undergarments / shape wear / breast plate / bra / outfit / shoes / makeup / wig / lipstick / life.

[jazmine]

Helen_Highwater. I know what you mean about tucking. It's so easy now since I've been doing for as long as I have. It's almost as if it just wants to go there. For me, It seems my female mind is always present. At least these days since the days-gone of hanging out with the neighborhood kids and my classmates, where you're always trying to impress with your assigned gender. These days, my normal clothes are panties, nylons, bra and something from my beloved jean,cargo/khaki, T-shirt collection. It's not until (for whatever reason), I don't wear a bra that I realize I'm making a "mode-change". I don't know if that makes sense. Also spending a long time on makeup or hair, or even putting on one of my various wigs sparks a mode-change sensation.....