Timing is everything.

• Sweater: Maurices
• Cami: Maurices
• Skirt: Maurices (previously)
• Boots: Indigo by Clarks via Amazon
• Pantyhose: Just My Size via Walmart
• Coat: Kohl's
• Scarf: Kohl's (came with the coat)

This is one of my favorite outfits. Its one of the first outfits we bought at Maurices after I got "okay" with my interest in fashion. I saw it on one of the store displays and bought it "as is" off the mannequin. The boots weren't with it, of course, I bought those later. They are actually one of my favorite pairs of boots too. I really like their dark brown color, and while they aren't leather, I found them on Amazon and watched them until they went on clearance for $25 (they were originally around $125). I really love how they look and they are extremely comfortable to boot! I have been waiting for the "right" occasion to wear this outfit since I started the blog. Unfortunately, I have had several opportunities lately to go out dressed and socialize, but various things interrupted those opportunities at the last minute. So this past weekend, we finally got dressed up to go out, even though we had no real plan.

Now, while we had no plan for the day, it still worked out that almost nothing went according to our un-plan. How that works, I'm not sure, but that's what happened. We started off by getting a late start. We had tried contacting a friend or two, but it was a holiday weekend, so everyone was either busy or didn't get the message until too late. And why I thought one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year would be a great time to discreetly sneak out... I'm still not really sure what I was thinking actually. The evolving un-plan for the day ended up being: take some outdoor pictures and go to an uncrowded restaurant with a couple of friends and eat a quiet meal while dressed up. Or something like that.

In addition to all the shopping traffic, on the way to the nearby larger city we discovered a sporting event was letting out. We discovered this because interstate traffic slowed to less than ten miles an hour for... most of the evening actually. In addition, due to our late start, we were rapidly running out of daylight (made worse by the traffic delays). At least the outdoor shots that turned out much better than I feared they would.

The shopping traffic plus the event traffic also meant every restaurant was packed, even the typically quiet restaurants we had picked out had lines. Ultimately I decided to put on the change of clothes I brought and wash off my makeup and so we wouldn't have to worry about the crowds.

On the whole, I'm not that disappointed. I think I would have gone in to a restaurant if pretty much any of the stuff that went awry had gone a little different, and the pictures did turn out nicely.

And of course, somehow, I had this idea I would get caught up over the holiday weekend here, and it turns out, I'm more behind than ever. I have not given up yet, and we'll see what this week brings. I hope this week brings me time take some outfit pictures, do some more posts, and read everyone's awesome blogs I have been missing. And of course I must add that my patient and wonderful wife took today's pictures (and she did my hair and makeup too).

Seven little secrets.

• Top: Torrid (previously)
• Cardigan: Old Navy (previously)
• Skinny Jeans: Z. Cavaricci via Torrid (previously)
• Belt: Torrid (previously)
• Boots: Payless

Our weekend went a little off the rails, and so pictures didn't quite happen like they were supposed to, among other things. This outfit also turned out better than I thought it would, although I realized in writing up what I wore, that I wore this cardigan with these skinny jeans last time too. I need to fix that next time! I'm not sure the belt ended up quite right either, but the big question I have is about the boots. I ordered these boots last year in the wide calf version so I could hopefully wear them with skirts and with jeans tucked into them. Unfortunately, the calf is REALLY wide, so wide that I don't really like how they look with a skirt at all, and I think they're too big even with jeans tucked into them. The toe also ended up be a little more pointed that I usually prefer as well, but its mostly the calf size that I dislike. As everyone who read the previous post is aware, when it comes to shoes I have a serious addiction, and so I am trying to occasionally post pairs I'm thinking about putting in the thrift pile. So definitely feel free to tell me what you think!

Also, several people have asked if I really do welcome questions. I always enjoy questions and trying to answer them, so please feel free to ask away in the comments (or by email!). I will try to do my best to figure out some way to answer your questions if possible. In that vein, Megan Mae from the wonderful blog Daily Waifu Snapshot tagged me to post Seven Little Secrets. This actually turned out to be harder than I thought it would be. The biggest "secret" I have is that I'm a crossdresser, but I assume everyone reading this post already knew that, so that's no fun to list. On the other hand, I'm trying to remain pseudonymous as well, and so it was a little tricky coming up with interesting things that people who know me in real life wouldn't know as well.

1. I've never been to a drag show. I figured I would mention this one because this really seems to surprise people. I also don't know any other crossdressers in real life either.
2. I have a love/hate relationship with TV. I like some TV shows, and do occasionally enjoy watching TV, but if it was up to me, the TV would almost never be on. In addition, when a TV is on, it will almost constantly distract me from anything else in the room, even if I hate what's on. I also have a serious dislike of watching reruns.
3. Someday, I would like to have the opportunity to go to a formal event in a cocktail dress/formal-wear. I'm pretty open minded about this and what sort of event would work, but I want this to be a legitimate "normal" event for formal wear, so I would definitely not count a Halloween costume party. I would even consider, if I was asked, being a bridesmaid... er man... er... is there even a term for that?
4. I have visited 39 US states.
5. I could probably list several style related quirks like this, but I used to have a seriously irrational dislike of open toed shoes. I don't even remember why to be honest. Now I love them of course, and have ... too many pairs. Maybe this quirk should actually be "unhealthy obsession with shoes in general". Although, I will add that attractive shoes in my size tend to not make it to clearance, and can be tricky to find in the first place, so that added a bit of a compulsion to buying pairs without thinking things through. I'm doing better now though!
6. I usually enjoy anime. I'm not at the obsession level though, but there are some series I follow and movies that I enjoy a lot.
7. I tend to live my life as an open book. I don't actually have that many secrets, and most people who know me, know the sort of quirky things that end up in a list like this. This isn't really a cop out, because as I was thinking of things I could list, I kept realizing that a lot of people who I wouldn't want to know about this know these things, and while some of stuff I could have listed would be quite interesting, it would also make it pretty easy for people I know in real life to figure out. So I'll go with "slightly neurotic about being honest and open" as the seventh secret.

I know I'm supposed to tag seven other bloggers now, but it seems like a lot of people have already been tagged, and I'm a little pressed for time, so I really want to avoid tagging someone twice.

And of course my wonderful wife took the pictures today.

A peek in the closet.

• Dress: Lane Bryant (here)
• Tights: Lane Bryant
• Pumps: Lane Bryant (here)
• Pearl Necklace: Torrid

Okay, this week has been incredibly busy, and that was before I got short notice that a friend who I haven't seen in years was going to be in town. But I've missed the style blogging world, and I'm incredibly behind on reading blogs (again), and I've really wanted to post more than twice this week, but we've barely had time for outfit pictures even. I will definitely be trying to take pictures earlier next week, and put some color back in my outfits as well (I can clearly see that I've gotten in a bit of rut lately...)! I'm so behind that I even have two questions to answer in this post. Luckily, they are related... er, well, I'm going to make them related enough to fit in the same post. And of course, questions are always welcome, and I will do my best to figure out some way to answer them (even if it takes a few days to write the post).

First, Lisa from the awesome blog respect the shoes asked here: This is the second pairing I've seen of someone wearing a filmy printed blouse under a LBD - I think it is a great combo and totally works. You look great! (I'm curious (and you don't have to answer if you don't want to) - how big is your closet? Do you keep two different wardrobes?)

The next question comes from Becca who posts at the really cool blog Free Honey, and she asked: Hi Matt! I don't have much expertise in the area of cross-dressing, but I always notice that they have tons of large sized shoes at Nordstrom Rack. I don't know if they have one in your area, but it would be a total treasure trove. I always wondered who was buying up the size 13 cherry red patent peep toe pumps!
Also, while you're taking questions - I have to ask you, do you cross dress all the time? Do you wear women's clothes at the office or in the store or do you generally just wear them around the house. I'm thinking that if you wore you're best clothes out to the stores, no one would think twice about you trying on ladies clothes. Hide in plain sight!

I do keep my "masculine" labeled clothes separate from my "feminine" labeled clothes. Some of this is because I happen to enjoy sorting things: in addition to being sorted by gender label, I try to also keep everything sorted by color, season, type of clothes, and any other category that strikes my mood at the moment. I would say that I have "1.5 wardrobes": I actually have a lot more "women's clothes" than "men's" (uh, I am a male, so I think it's also fair to claim they are all a man's clothes, because I own them...).

In terms of physical space, I have one closet in our apartment dedicated to "women's" clothing, and two racks for my shoes (one for shoes that no longer have a box, and a shelf for shoes that still have their box). I have a shelf of accessories, and a canvas tote of tights and pantyhose. I also have a small stand alone "wardrobe" for my articles of "men's" clothing, and a chest of drawers that contain fold up clothes and underwear of both "masculine" and "feminine" origin.

There are a lot of reasons for the lack of masculine clothes. I tend to have more fun shopping for "women's" clothes and shoes (uh... based on the numbers, too much fun shoe shopping, apparently...). I have also let my more masculine wardrobe atrophy for a lot of reasons (e.g. I work from home most days), and while I do have a plan to balance things out a little more evenly with future purchases (and to just generally have more fun and liberty with male fashions), it takes time to make major shifts in wardrobes. Another reason why things are a little out of balance, and this gets to Becca's question, is that I usually crossdress some every day. At this point, I only have one pair of men's jeans, for instance. I also have some women's shoes that are more ambiguous that I wear frequently, and I actually have a preference for panties (uh... so much for the boxers or briefs question... I hope this wasn't TMI...).

For the type of outfits I post here though, I generally only wear them around the house. I also work from home, and if I'm not meeting clients or running errands or have some other reason to leave the house, I do take advantage of this to dress through the "work day", but I suppose that's not exactly the same as wearing my clothes to the office. I am trying to find more opportunities to go out "socially dressed", and I have some friends that have no problems with my clothing preferences, and that does afford some opportunities to go out.

Since starting this blog I have felt more secure about going outside though. I spent many years dealing with extreme amounts of shame for my interest in feminine clothes and shoes, and I spent plenty of that time being furtive, stealing glances at clothes I wanted, and trying, in secret, to wear them. I'm not interested in that anymore: it's not pleasant, and it wore me down emotionally and didn't help me become a better person. I would also point out that it's not my goal to be perceived as a female. If someone did, I would certainly take it as a compliment, because I know how I'm dressing is "coded" female by most people, and see why someone would think that, but still, it's not why I want to dress this way.

Writing this blog has helped me see that plenty of people would be fairly cool with how I'm dressed. I'm also quite sure that some people would not be cool, but many of those people would also have enough manners to keep it to themselves in most situations. I suspect some people would probably be inclined to make comments, or laugh at me, and I won't lie, that's not something I want to experience, but at the end of the days it's not the worst thing that could happen. I do know that if I go out, some attention would be inevitable: I'm 6 feet tall in flats (and those would usually be size 12 flats...). While I know men and women come in all shapes and sizes (and I think that's a great thing actually!), and I even personally know women who are taller than me, bigger than me, with bigger feet than mine, I still think due to my height and size that I would get some unwanted attention and scrutiny. I also have a few concerns, whether they are rational or not. I worry about that "one" person: the person who will be bothered enough by what I'm doing to take matters into their own hands and go beyond verbal reproach. My other concern is related to where we live. We don't live in a huge city and that means I frequently run into people I actually know in public, and I have plenty of acquaintances and family I could encounter that I really just don't want to discuss this with.

When it comes to shopping, I do have another concern. To my knowledge, crossdressing is not illegal, but dressing rooms are a place where there is some expectation of privacy. My license says "male", and while a clerk, or most shoppers even, might "read" me as female, if one person didn't, and took offense, the perception that I was engaging in a "deception" might not end well. If I'm not trying to pass myself off as a female, then there is no deception, and that just feels more honest and safer to me. I guess I partially think of dressing rooms as a bit like public restrooms: Seriously crossdressed, I would be uncomfortable using the men's restroom, but it would likewise be inappropriate for me to use the women's restroom, and while unisex and "family" restrooms are more common these days, they aren't universal.

It would be nice to go out more often. But I do get opportunities occasionally. It's sometimes a frustration to me that I don't feel like I can just dress up and waltz out the door. If I want to go out dressed up, it ends up being the dominating factor in our plans, and I would rather it fade into the background a little more. And maybe it will as time goes on and we find opportunities and places where it's no big deal. Sharing with other style bloggers has been an amazing outlet for me though, and frankly, writing this blog is probably more fun than going out on a regular basis.

And of course, the outfit pictures today were taken by my amazing wife.

More dark neutrals.

• Sweater Dress: Torrid
• Pumps: Payless
• Pantyhose: Just My Size from Walmart

This dress was a prize from last year's end of season sales, and I got it for under $10. At first, my wife wasn't so sure it would be such a great purchase, but its turned out to be one of my favorites, and its really comfortable too. The only thing that would make it better is if the "top" and "dress" were separates, but for under $10, its pretty great I think. I know I'm continuing with the theme of dark neutrals lately, but it just seems to be what I end up pulling out of the closet. I also realize that I have way too many pairs of black heels, but every time I try to decide which pair to part with, I end remembering why I bought them all (besides the fact that they fit... which is actually pretty high on my list of reasons to justify shoe purchases....). On the other hand, some of them don't fit quite as well as they ought, which is helping me decide on some pairs to get rid of, and I'm trying to always remember to remind myself how many pairs of black heels I own when I'm shoe shopping.

I'm slowly getting caught up on blogs, even though things have still been pretty busy in our household. I'm hoping that thing will slow down after Thanksgiving, but we'll see. Unfortunately, we didn't get to take pictures until after sundown, so the lighting wasn't the best, but I think the pictures turned out mostly okay. And of course, as always, today's pictures were taken by my awesome wife.

More on retail therapy.

• Top: Maurices
• Blazer: Maurices
• Skirt: Maurices
• Tights: Lane Bryant
• Pumps: Payless

I surprised myself by how much I really liked this outfit. I know this has turned out to be a neutral heavy week here, but its fun to mix things up, and I have been inspired by similar combos on several other bloggers lately. I have trouble styling this blazer though. I like the cut on it a lot, but unlike my other blazer it has a row of hook and eye closures instead of buttons to close it. I should have made a picture with it closed for this post. I know I could always just leave it "unbuttoned" like here, but I always enjoy hearing other people's ideas.

Pamela of the awesome blog Call Me Ishmael asked a question in a comment: #1: Ummm ... do you wear a padded bra? If not, what do you do? #2: Do you try out women's clothes when you go out shopping? Have you had to answer (or ignore, lol) questioning looks or straight up questions? First, I want to say that I love answering reader questions, and I will always try to do my best to answer them.

Part 1 - I have experimented a lot over the years, and my current approach is pretty close to what Pamela guessed. I usually buy padded push-up bras with molded cups. The cup size I buy is probably a bit generous, but thanks to a complete lack of visits to the gym and a diet that is at times questionable, I definitely have more curves in the chest than average. When wearing these bras, there is some extra empty space to fill, so I also use 2-3 "cleavage enhancer" pads I bought at Walmart to "stuff" the bra.

I have actually found that plenty of my tops enhance the appearance of my bust even without a bra, and I do have a "properly" sized bra with smaller soft cups that I sometimes wear that also helps with that "illusion" as well (I haven't worn that one in any outfits on this blog though). Its interesting: normally I am a bit self conscious about my chest when dressed in a masculine fashion, but in feminine clothes I hardly think about it. I have sometimes considered not wearing a bra, and for this blog I have an ongoing a debate in my head about whether or not to "enhance" my bust. Ultimately, I like the look though, and it does help my tops fit better. I have trouble fitting tops because I have a large-but-flat chest, and tops in my size tend to be cut for a more generous bust, so the stuffed bra helps account for that too.

I has occurred to me that the human chest, male and female, comes in all shapes and sizes, and that's pretty great actually. I don't think there is anything wrong with anyone, male or female, being flat chested, or having a large bust, or anything in between. Everything I have bought to enhance my appearance is an item marketed in common stores to help people change their appearance in a similar way. There is nothing inherently gendered or wrong with wanting to play with the curves and lines in a person's figure. And while I think some people would encourage doing this to hide physical features they don't like or enhancing physical features that they approve of, I don't think it has to be that way. I want people to be happy with their bodies, but I don't think being happy with your body has to exclude you from using clothes to change aspects of your appearance.

Part 2 - I have talked about some of this before in Retail therapy, and I even had some notes for a follow-up entry, so I get to answer Pamela's question and write that follow-up post! I always want to try on clothes before buying them, but its hit or miss on whether I will get to. It depends on how adventurous I'm feeling, how my wife is feeling, whether the dressing rooms are unattended, the specific store, and quite possibly the phase of the moon (okay, not really...). In stores like Target or Old Navy that stock men's clothes, most of the time I just try to discreetly fold up the clothes with something less obvious like a sweater or a button-down on the outside and use the men's dressing rooms, although I did have an awkward experience at Target recently. The dressing room was attended and the associate was a little shocked and said, "Oh, for a minute I thought those were women's clothes" but she let me go on in. In general though, I've found the store staff to usually be more understanding, and I even got to go back in the stock room at a Nine West once (it was mostly because the store only had 6 shoes in stock in my size, and it was just simpler for her to show me what they had rather than let me wander around the store asking her if they had a shoe in my size only to discover, repeatedly, that the answer was "no"). I asked that particular sales associate if this had happened before and her answer was "all the time".

At stores like Maurices or Torrid that stock only women's clothes, my wife has gotten reasonably good at trying things on and making a guess about whether or not it will fit. Recently, however, I noticed that some stores have allowed male companions to share the changing room: I presume its about minimizing dressing room traffic, but it might just be a sense of futility about keeping them out. Since then, we've asked a couple of times at stores if it was okay for me to go back, and the associate always said yes, and we were both escorted to the dressing room. The most common questions we get are from associates during checkout expressing surprise about the sizing. I suppose some associates get pretty good at sizing people visually and correctly guess that my wife is not that size, but they don't question it too much, and we've never told them the truth about who the garment was for. I've also had associates discuss how wonderful it is that I love to shop with my wife while I'm waiting outside the dressing rooms. Oh, if only they knew! :) For what its worth, I really appreciate my wife's help in this, and it makes shopping a lot easier for me.

I also need to say I do a lot of online shopping too. And its not entirely about trying stuff on. Sometimes its hard to find my size in stores. For instance, Payless almost never stocks my size, so I'll often visit the store just to see what a shoe looks like, and then go home and order it. Sometimes they have my size, but usually not. At this point, I'm pretty familiar with store return policies, and we do try to take advantage of stores that take returns from online sales and free shipping to store locations as well. Also, there are several brands and stores that I can trust to be pretty consistent with the sizing, and I can usually get away without trying their stuff on.

I usually feel extremely self conscious while shopping for myself in the women's department, and I tend to think everyone is staring at me. I really don't like lying, and if I were shopping on my own it would be really easy to say I was shopping for my wife, it definitely feels more unusual to say that about shoes and clothes rather than jewelry and other more traditional gifts. It is interesting though, sometimes I do shop for my wife and I have shopped for other women in my life before, and I definitely experience a lot less apprehension. In discussing this with a friend, she told me a story about shopping in the men's department for clothes for herself once. She actually mentioned experiencing feelings that sounded similar to my own, although her reasons were more about practicality and fit rather than style. My wife also has several items of menswear that she has bought for practical reasons and without a second thought. On the other hand, I know that plenty of women do shop for clothes for the men in their lives, and shop for themselves in the men's department as well, and it does seem more socially acceptable. I always find asymmetries like this to be really interesting to think about. I've said it before, but I'm personally a fan of moving past gender labels and clothing.

I love answering questions, but I have some questions for anyone reading this today who feels like answering. (If you don't want to, that's great too!) I'm curious if anyone has encountered crossdressers while shopping? Also, for anyone who has worked in retail, I'm curious if you've ever had a crossdresser ask about dressing rooms or if stores that only stock women's clothing have policies about crossdressers? Also, if you have shopped for men in your life and shopped for yourself in the men's department, do you experience any differences in how you feel while doing so?

Again, I always love answering questions, and questions are always welcome! I will try to do the best I can to answer any question if I can. Oh and of course today's pictures were taken by my fantastic wife.

I'm not a lumberjack.

• Top: Maurices
• Denim Skirt: Maurices
• Socks: Target (previously)
• Boots: Payless

This outfit turned out far better than I imagined and it was extremely comfortable too! I really like plaids, but I have trouble finding plaid tops that work out, and that don't make me feel like I look like a lumberjack, but this one worked out pretty great I think (Not that its bad to look like a lumberjack, its just not the look I'm going for! ;) ). I was also a little nervous about the pattern mixing with the socks and the top, but I thought it worked out pretty great too. These boots are also a little different since they have zippers on the outside instead of the inside. Every time I pull them out of the box, I still find myself surprised by this and only remember because I'm trying to put them on backwards.

Oh, I'm still catching up on blogs, I haven't reached the "mark all as read" futility stage yet! :) And of course, my hair was done and today's pictures were taken by my beautiful wife.

Wow, it got cold outside...

• Sweater Dress: Isaac Mizrahi for Target
• Belt: Torrid (previously)
• Tights: Lane Bryant
• Pumps: Isaac Mizrahi for Target
• Necklace: Maurices

After a bit of an off week last week, I'm mostly feeling better, and I can't say how much I appreciate all your comments! And after a hectic weekend interspersed with some retail therapy, hopefully things will be back to normal soon. Uh, well, other than the 250 posts I have in Google Reader... that will probably take a few more days to deal with... :). About the retail therapy: I had some coupons to Torrid that expire this week, and so we set out to spend them. Unfortunately, the mall was crazy, and Torrid was extremely crowded, so I decided it wasn't worth fighting the crowds, and since we were already out and about, we wandered into Lane Bryant because it was relatively empty and we've never really shopped there. I actually surprised myself by finding a few things I really liked, and since they were also having a 40% off of everything in the store sale, we walked out with more bags than I anticipated.

It's finally also actually cold here, so for today's outfit I broke out the tights and sweater dress. Its a shame Target doesn't continue to have the Isaac Mizrahi collaboration they had a few years ago, because the shoes were really fun, and the skirts and dresses were generally cut in a way that fit me. And while this outfit is only grays and blacks, it was really warm and comfortable and made me generally happy. And of course, my patient and wonderful wife did my hair and took the pictures.

My extra late halloween post.

My Halloween Costume

• Top: Maurices
• Skirt: Torrid
• Petticoat: Torrid (here)
• "Knee" High socks: We Love Colors (here)
• Shoes: Payless (here)
• Other shoes: Gabriella Rocha via Zappos(here)

My Wife's Halloween Costume

• Top: JC Penney
• Skirt: Hot Topic
• Tights: JC Penney
• Shoes: Payless (here)

We decided that our costume this year would be "twin" school girls. Since the party was going to involve a lot of dancing, my wife and I chose to wear identical flats. On Saturday, my wife was going to wear a different costume (I guess that one will just roll over to next year), and I was going to wear a nice pair of Mary Jane style heels with this costume. I'm glad I took both pairs of shoes for the pictures, because I really like the heels and I've been saving them back from the blog for this costume.

Earlier this year, my wife and I found a really cool hair salon from a friend's recommendation, unfortunately after our one and only visit, we found when booking another appointment that our totally awesome hair stylist no longer worked there. Instead of asking for a different stylist, we just did what most people do when presented with a frustrating low priority task: procrastinate until its a high priority. We ended up not booking another appointment until last week. We had both arrived at the point of really needing a haircut and I had a brilliant idea.

Brilliant ideas are a scary thing right? Thankfully this brilliant idea didn't involve Nair, and turned out much better. We booked our hair appointment the day of the party we attended. When booking the appointment, I asked if it was okay for us to come in costume. They said yes. Emboldened, I sheepishly asked if it was okay for me to come in crossdressed in costume. Silence. Oops was the thought that flashed in my mind. Followed by getting put on hold. Apparently, that request prompted her to ask her superviser. But she said that was also okay.

Fast forward to the day of the party. We arrived at the hair salon, and the stylists later said they were impressed with my confidence. I didn't point out that sudden moves, loud noises, or even a stiff breeze would have revealed how thin my confidence truly was. I was aware that some of the customers in the salon were staring a hole in me. Thankfully it was a fairly light crowd that afternoon. We lucked out with our new stylists. They were awesome, and just like the first visit, the real shocker turned out to be that I'm straight. The stylist had neighbors and friends that are drag queens, so crossdressing was no big deal to her. We mostly ended up talking about clothes and shopping. The stylists did an awesome job with our hair, and we were both extremely pleased.

After the hair appointment, we had some time before the party for pictures in an obscure nearby park. Since this really is a special post, and because I was exceptionally happy with my makeup and hair, I cropped the pictures a little higher (um, we also forgot to get a few planned shots in all the excitement, and yes, my amazing wife took all the pictures, except the ones of her, I took those). Since I've discussed hair removal before, some notes on these pictures: I just shaved really good with a new blade, and then we used concealer, and covered it with a powder foundation. This actually worked great, but the concealer showed through in some pictures later in the night when we used the flash. The problem is partially that I don't like full coverage foundation, and we've had trouble matching my skin tone as well. It kinda gets expensive to keep trying different foundations too.

We ended up getting there a bit early, and the first batch of attendees were mostly not in costume. That did change as the night went on, but it was still surprisingly light on people in costume. We didn't know anyone at the party. Honestly, it was probably easier that way. However, I was not the only guy in a skirt. There was a guy who seemed to fit the comedian category, and there were a couple of guys in kilts (Seems like I missed a category in my previous post).

While we were sitting out a song and watching other people dance, I was approached by a guy who asked me to dance. At first I thought it was just someone being silly and I said, "Noooo". Feeling a little awkward, my wife did jump up and agree to dance with him. He seemed a little off put, so my wife later reported the conversation something like this:
Wife: "Oh, don't worry, you just surprised him."
Guy: "Him?"
Wife: "Yeah."
Guy: "Uh... that's a pretty good costume" trailing into nervous laughter.

One woman forgot that it was costume night and asked if we were dressed for a sorority function. Another guy was teaching some dance lessons and asked if we "ladies" wanted to join the lesson. We declined. One woman told me, "You make a convincing girl". It was becoming clear that while not everyone was fooled, that some people really did think I was a female.

The main event turned out to be the costume contest judging. They asked the girls to line up so they could "strut their stuff". Quite reasonably, I thought, not every girl wanted to "strut their stuff" and so there were some holdouts hiding in the audience. The girls in line started cajoling their peers to get in line too, most of them eventually acquiesced. Finally, they started calling out to me.

At first, I thought it was a joke, I really did. But it was apparent that at least some of them were serious. I finally told them that I was a guy in front of everyone, and after a bit of pause one of them pointed out that I was in a "very confusing state". After that, I decided a low profile was best and didn't join in the men's line. Honestly though, I was also hoping that if we were going to be judged that it would be for a "ensemble" costume since my wife and I went together. I also found it interesting that several of the guys who got in line were not in costumes, unlike the women's line. The comedian crossdresser ended up placing second, and in strutting his stuff, did some comedic overplaying of femininity, and that's not something I was interested in doing, so ultimately, I'm glad I didn't participate in the contest.

I certainly take it as a compliment that some people thought I was a female, and I even admit that I enjoyed it. I want to point out though, that even if I were go out on a "regular" night dressed to the nines, being counted as a girl is not my goal. In conversations with my wife, I mentioned that I felt that I was getting stared at a lot. My wife pointed out that it felt more like being out with one of her female friends from college, in particular, the way males were looking us over. On a lighter note, I have never danced in a skirt, that part was also lot of fun. The spinning was one of my favorite parts! A lot of the people who did figure it out were extremely cool about it. The night ended up being a lot of fun, and this year ended up being a lot different than last year.