Practical cross-dressing

[OrdinaryAverageGuy]

I wear women's socks exclusively, because I like the patterns. No one knows they're for women, and I'm not sure what the real difference is since feet are all pretty much shaped the same. I also wear women's jeans exclusively because they're more comfortable. Same for underwear. I really don't consider myself crossdressing when I'm at the sports bar in those things. I wear racerback tanks to work often, marketed for women, but I see other men in racerbacks too. The women's are softer and more comfortable.
Leggings are pushing the boundaries, but when I travel in black leggings I really don't feel like I'm crossdressing either. I've noticed more and more people travelling in pajamas, I'm assuming for the same reason I'm in leggings: comfort.

BUT, I'll admit wearing such things also somewhat calms the pink fog, because at some level I know I'm wearing stuff that a "real" man wouldn't.

AND last weekend my best friend was hanging out with us, he made a joking comment about my "yoga pants" (they were leggings, I don't really know the difference.) I told him my wife plays with my butt more when I'm in leggings. My wife readily agreed. He accepted his loss and had to agree that it wasn't so gay after all.

[rachellegsep]

Definately the long sleeve T shirts as they are softer have more stretch (cotton mix with elastane ?) so fit better. There is nothing worse than wearing a cotton mens long sleeve T that goes baggy around the wrist area. Also footless tights / thick pantihose under jeans for a cold day on the motorbike.

[Nyla F]

First I must assume "is that crossdressing?" is asking if MOST OTHER people would perceive it as crossdressing. Because if it is just for oneself, one man could wear women's leggings as a practical choice, another could wear them as a form of gender expression.

I'm also going to assume that by "practical" you mean you are choosing women's clothing which is not only functional but also is not overtly feminine. i.e. the women's long sleeved shirt is in a style and color similar to men's tee shirts.

I know a guy who is so skinny he must buy women's clothes to find something that fits, but he buys styles and colors that are very close to the men's versions. And even though I know some of his clothes were bought in the women's department, I don't consider it crossdressing. His public presentation does not cross gender boundaries even though he wears women's jeans and a women's jacket.

So it comes down to this: If I see a man wearing something that I suspect is women's clothing I'm going to try to guess your motivation for doing so. If the man is sticking to unisex styles, or is mixing some slightly feminine styles with men's clothing, I'll probably assume this is either for practical or personal style reasons. [Man in a dress or man in a bra (i.e. overtly feminine) would probably make me think crossdressing.] But then there comes a point where the presentation is completely feminine (but they have some male physical characteristics) that I would assume they are trans rather than crossdressing.

12/523 Edit: I'm questioning the part in brackets above based on a response I made to a different question. Maybe a better way to put it is that because I identify as a crossdresser, then I am predisposed to seeing others in that light, wanting to see that I'm not the only one. But I would not say anything about these thoughts. As far as how I act around others, I want to take your presentation at face value without assumptions about your gender identity or sexuality.

[Maid_Marion]

My wife suggested buying women's clothes when we couldn't find men's clothes that fit. I told her I was transgender before we got married but continued to wear men's clothing for about ten years.
When I started buying women's clothes that looked like men's clothes I started wearing Victoria's Secret PJs to bed, and we had that talk setting boundaries of how far I'd be able to transition before having another talk about boundaries.

It wasn't until she passed that I bought my first bra and kitten heels at the nearest Target.

I've completely transitioned to wearing distinctly women's clothes all the time. Pink is my favorite color. Though I've been more neutral and pastel colors that also have a feminine vibe.
My latest purchase, a winter jacket for golfing, is very form fitting and shows off my thin waist!

Marion

[JackieD]

Come on, stop tge craziness. You can find men?s clothing to function the same as women clothes. Men?s compression pants, same as pantiehose . You can put on two, three, four pair on. We dress in woman?s clothing because we have to. We don?t look for men?s clothes, Wecfeel better in woman?s clothing. That why we are cross dress

[April Rose]

I purposely look for women's clothes that look similar to men's clothes, so I can wear women's clothes in public. I am a practical crossdresser.

[Kitty Sue]

When I was in the army during jungle training supposedly some guys would wear panty hose to help keep the leaches off their skin. I never did. During road marches some guys would wear those short womens sock like stockings to help prevent getting blisters.

Me? Well I would wear panties under my uniform because I liked the way they felt.