transretrogurl

Hello again, sweeties. As promised, more of a femm-y post this time, less of the Gothic meanderings of him and more of her gushy, giggly fashionista thoughts.

But first, decided to start labelling the blog entries. I’m aware that some people just want to hear about the fabric of the frocks, how it shimmers and glides in a frictionless way across stockings over hairless legs, and not about how dark T-life can be on occasions, or discussions on cross-gender sexuality and, you know, *those* urges. Sooo, to make it easy I’m going to label the title of each blog from now on – [Fashion] means I will go on like a panel member on Loose Women about flounces and frills, [NSFW] means I will be delving into the sexuality questions, and [Philosophy] will be one of those ‘black lace gloves and dark eyeshadow’ posts.

So, the fashion-sense is on me again. Booked another fabulous session mid January with my accomplice-in-femininity, Cindy, and been shopping online as per usual.

And I want to talk about style. In particular, I want to talk about the styles that T-Girls seem to choose.

I’m not your standard tranny, by a long shot. For one, I still think I’m in the 80s in my head, so I’m attracted to the big-shoulder, power-dressing suits girls tended to choose then. And secondly I’ve lost track of what is meant by ‘fashion’ nowadays.

I’m a retro-girl at heart, the idea of a tight house-dress, a mid-calf flower-patterned tea-dress or a very short sixties mini-frock, that does it for me. Polka-dots, patterns, big hair, always high heels, long nails, the works.

But when I shop I see something different, and when I look on Flickr I’m always surprised at the fashion choices the majority of T-Girls make. Not in a bad way, I love all femininity, especially when it is used to replace masculinity, but there’s some patterns I can’t really work out.

For a start, body-con dresses. With lace shoulders/neck-lines and mid-thigh pencil skirts. I’ve worn a couple and they feel like a second skin, but where’s the flowing skirts, the collars?

And it seems I’m in a minority. Like all fashionistas on Flickr I claim to ignore the ‘favourite’ counts and put up what I think is sexy, but, as I’m making an effort not to lie to myself nowadays, of course I look at the favourite counts. And they tell an interesting tale.

A picture of a slender gurl in high heels, black lace topped body-con dress, drink in one hand, a man on the other, 100+ faves. Some of my personal favourites (mine and others) with period dresses, period make-up, 20+ faves.

I’ve always managed to miss the point when it comes to fashion – the only time I was fashionable as him was when the mainstream adopted the heavy metal look in the late 80s, early 90s, and it felt wrong to be part of it.

Now, skater dresses, that’s different. Love those to pieces and they really go down well on Flickr. But I wonder why I don’t find the idea the of a body-con dress appealing.

Is it because it is turning into the effective uniform for a girl on-the-pull? No, not at all. I think, from my perspective, it is because it is mainstream, the outfit that the average man on the street finds attractive and appealing.

And also it’s too easy 🙂

By easy I mean it’s a single piece dress, pull-on, zip, away you go. Minimal effort to wear, gives you freedom of movement and has a degree of sex appeal. But where’s the fun in that?

I like frocks that take an effort to get into. Maybe it’s something a little fetish-y, but the idea of being zipped, belted and buttoned into a frock makes me feel good. And a little ill at ease.

But I digress as always. For my session in mid January I’m going to try a standard look, body-con dress, black probably. See what Sarah looks like as just another girl on the pull in a trendy club or pub. But just for one outfit, I have some fun plans for the rest.

For a start Marks and Spencer’s have finally brought out a 1970s inspired high collar, frilled sleeves and collar, blouse which I have purchased with a black pencil skirt. Standard 1980s office wear, so that will be fun. Needs a pair of glasses and maybe a long bob hairdo. I’ll probably end-up looking like one of those ‘quiet girls’ in every 80s flick who ends up on the dance floor after a makeover. Just before the makeover.

Also bought a really cute little fit and flare black dress, decorated with brown flowers, with a ruffled front. Tried it on last night and it was gorgeous, see-through and flouncy sleeves with flared cuffs and two buttons at the back of the collar. Feels like a going-out frock, albeit one that would require tights and it comes down to just above mid-thigh level. Sitting down might be fun.

And then I have two interesting choices for outfits. I got my hands on one of the new Star Trek female uniforms, which is so comfy to wear. And I bought a maternity dress because, well, I’ve always fancied doing a photo shoot with a bump. Just to see what Sarah would look like. Yeah, we’re trending towards NSFW but I still have a number of bucket-list *and* standard-tranny checklist items I haven’t done yet and intend to do.

So, rant over on body-cons. The beauty of beauty is that it is in the eye of the beholder and everyone has a different take on what makes attractiveness. Me, if every girl and gurl took to wearing floral swing-dresses, 1940s tea-dresses and flouncy, petticoated full 1950s frocks I’d be a happy girl. Very happy.

Anyway, stay beautiful sweeties, no matter how you choose to dress. Sarah the retro-gurl loves you all.