Saturday, March 7, 2015

It's a quiet period...

Life has been busy during this particularly nasty winter, but there has been next to no opportunity to dress.  Accordingly, my posts are rather sparse.  And though hopefully the weather will be better this spring...dressing may be similarly sparse. 

We're planning two driving trips to see our son in Tennessee, one of which is for his wedding.   My forecast is for less-than normal femininity on those trips.  I've already been told that my nails are too long for the trips, so I will have the tech shorten them a bit.  And my forecast is that my long hair will be some sort of issue.  Time will tell.

A couple things relating to my wedding attire have been determined...so far, it appears that a tux won't be necessary.  And, after trying on the one men's suit I still own - last worn over 5 years ago - my wife decided that it's too tight.  So I tried on the only other suit I own... she's surprised it has an elastic waist and doesn't have pockets, but apparently doesn't challenge it as women's - or perhaps doesn't care?  (Again, time will tell.)  Her opinion was that the coat fit much better over my breasts and tummy than the other one.  And its pants are just the right length to work well with my dressy ballet flats, which I'll have to wear as they're the least feminine of all my shoes.  The only thing we need to work on is buying a contemporary top - the blouse that came with it has a narrow, blunt collar and it probably wouldn't work with a bridal-color-coordinated tie, which I'll have to wear.

We'll see how this develops...

A couple of pictures from the recent rounds of bad weather:

That's a lotta ice...


 The icicles are all natural, not cheap plastic decorations!



A little warm weather will perk up this poor, snowbound shrub...


Happy Spring (it IS coming!)

Mandy


6 comments:

  1. Mandy -

    I've never seen a man's suit without pants pockets.....

    Do the pants have a fly? And on what side of the jacket are the buttons?

    Does your post mean that little of your traditionally male attire fits anymore?

    M

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    1. Hi Marian,

      I bought the suit on-line from one of the women's shops about six (M/L) years ago, and had it altered to fit. Then it sat quietly in my garment bag, behind my men's suits. One of those went away at retirement - I kept the other, which fit better at the time. Not so much any more. Now the women's suit fits better...

      In answer to your questions, there isn't much left of my male wardrobe. I can't find any men's pants. I have several pairs of women's dress pants, for any rare occasions when I might need to dress up. There are still a few men's shirts, particularly with my former employer's logo embroidered on them. Can't give those away.

      Some of my male stuff disappeared because it didn't fit. Other things went away as having not been worn in a long time. What still exists and generally fits, are my outer coats and jackets. I still use them, even the ones with an employer logo. They're too good to toss...

      As for my suit pants, yes, they have a "fly". But it''s very short and thin. More like a "side zipper" that's on the front instead - for fastening, not really functional. Coat buttons are on the right, with the flap on the left, like men's. But it has the Jessica London label inside, and is sized 22W. My theory is that it may have been from the beginning of the "boyfriend" or "menswear" look for women...and I stumbled into it. That button issue could be why my wife hasn't gigged my wearing it. Yet. And at some point, it'll be too late to change her mind!

      As for my weight...you've seen my recent pictures, and I'm a big girl. My weight has fluctuated within a 10 pound range for years. What you haven't seen (and probably never will) are the few pictures which exist from the 1970's, when I dieted severely and was down to 150 pounds. In retrospect, I lost too much, too fast, and looked too thin - almost like I was sick. But it would have been nice to find a happy medium to settle on. Instead, here I am...

      In the present, if I could lose 20 pounds or so, it would be ideal...without necessarily requiring a new wardrobe, due to most everything having those lovely and forgiving elastic waistbands! Plus, I'd drop a couple of dress sizes, which would help with finding stylish new fashions!

      That's a goal...but one which may or may not be achieved!

      Cheers,

      Mandy

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  2. Your wife may know that the suit without pockets came from the ladies side of the aisle but if it is a nice suit she likely figures it was worth saving $400 on the cost of a new suit for a one time only event and that most people will not think it is a woman's suit.

    My wife easily recognizes what I wear as being from the men's department. She remains vigilent if I am out in a situation where I may be made but has become fairly accepting of my presenting in dresses and heels, etc. around the house.

    When it comes to crossdressing you just cannot coach size. I am a tall large man. I think I would be more likely to pass as a woman if I could lose 30 lbs but that is easier said than done.

    Good luck with the trips. Driving should be fine.

    Pat

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    1. Thanks, looking forward to them - I think. Unfortunately, it's 750+ miles each way! Not to mention local driving and a couple of trips to Chattanooga....it'll be a high-mileage vacation! Fortunately gas prices are still relatively low, and the car will get 35 mpg... That helps.

      The issue of my suit isn't over yet.

      Yesterday we had errands to run on the other side of the Bay Bridge, and she noticed a couple of stores for up-sized men. (Something we never had reason to check before.)

      One was marked for a $149 suit sale. She commented that we should stop there once we get back home. Apparently the allure of a cheap "men's" suit may be too much to resist. So as the famous statement goes, "It ain't over till the fat lady sings..." Time will tell...

      Mandy

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  3. This is a situation where I think I would eschew the ladies suit and go with a new, modestly priced, men's suit. I am sure there will be photos and the picture album will be a keepsake for the kids for the rest of their life.
    My recommendation would be for you to get a new men's suit to wear on the day of the wedding. Every wedding that I have been to lately has a 'rehearsal' dinner that is traditionally paid for by the groom's parents. I would wear the Jessica London outfit to the rehearsal dinner. You cannot wear the same outfit two days in a row.
    Happy and safe travels. 750 miles is doable.
    Pat

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    1. Great suggestion, and I don't mind the idea of the inexpensive suit, even if it happens to be men's. Hopefully it will be able to be altered to fit well...

      However...the rehearsal dinner, will be very "casual," at a casual venue, for over 50 people. For that, hopefully a pair of shorts or capris will suffice! (Even though we'll drive, we probably won't want to haul a suit around that won't be worn.)

      Mandy

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