Not such a great antique show this year...

...at least as far as Mandy is concerned.  There weren't the same opportunities as at some of the previous events.   I guess that's to be expected - especially for something I've been doing for so many years.  

Following is the outfit I wore to dinner on the second night of my trip...

Bear in mind that when I checked into the hotel, wearing the same top, shoes and jewelry but with stirrup pants instead of the capris, I was addressed as "Sir" by the two 20something female desk clerks.  When I entered the hotel restaurant that second night, dressed as above, I may have confused the staff.  A rather generic "You may sit wherever you wish" was my first instruction.  And the server was similarly neutral.  It be took a while for her to figure things out, but by then she apparently went off duty and I didn't see her again for the rest of my meal - at my, or at any - table.

A different server (40something male) took over the table and addressed me properly - as female.   The meal portion was large enough that I couldn't eat it all, so I got a box from the kitchen and took it back to the room - which had a refrigerator and microwave.  (And I brought utensils with me...just in case I might need them.)

For my third day, when I again dressed in stirrup pants, with nylons and a turtleneck, flats and the silver necklace and bracelet shown above, the wife of one of the vendors sought me out to tell me that she owns a couple of pairs of shoes just like mine.  Then she asked how I like them, and initiated a brief but girly discussion, including how comfortable they are (very),  who made them (Clarks), where we both got ours (on line), and so on.  Maybe two minutes of chatter.  The vendor knows my birth gender, and now he's probably been made aware that I wear women's clothes.    But the outfit I had on is the same as I wear everyday, so it really doesn't matter.

And I was addressed as Ma'am a number of times by female attendees who don't  know me...

On that third evening, once again I was not wearing a skirt.  I just wasn't feeling up to par, and with the rain and heavy city traffic, it made no sense to fight the elements.   So, I just stayed in my room.  (And ate the leftovers from the night before.  Yummy!)

In short, I can look forward to next year....when presumably things will be better.

But once back home, the above didn't dim my enthusiasm...at a store and dressed as above, I used my wife's discount card.  And once again, was addressed by her name.  Happens a lot.  Nice!