Sunday, June 9, 2013

Lost in the Ozone

Recently I tried to post an Asian cross dressing video to the Crysti's Condo big screen.  Due to some sort of techno ineptitude on my part, the video just disappeared - Poof! I could find no record of it ever existing.

One of my faithful readers,  Alice actually saw the intro  I wrote but no video.I was relieved and figured at least I wasn't making the whole thing up in the deep dark recesses of my noggin.

At that point, I sat out to locate the video on YouTube.  Easier said than done.  I think there are more videos dealing with Asian cross dressing and transgender subjects on YouTube than China has people!

If nothing else Alice, I am persistent. Let's try it again!

Fashion Stages

Along the way perhaps you have heard of the term cross dresser puberty.  Loosely translated the term can be applied to a crosser  dresser or transgender woman of any age. The stereotypical example is the overweight guy at the mall teetering along in a micro mini skirt and heels typically worn by a teen aged girl.

 I too tried to dress that way into my mid 30's until I grew out of my adolescance the way most do- with  tons of pain and suffering! Much of my problem stemmed from comments on my "fabulous legs".  Nice of course but as I looked around, lots of men have good feminine looking legs- cross dressed or not.  My problem was and is-what are my two legs attached to?

I could write tons of words on the topic but where I was heading is- what is the next step we should take our fashion to?

I found a rather short and to the point look which came from Katie Couric and fashion expert Gretta Monahan:



"Dressing your age can be an ambiguous road to travel, as there is a fine line between a fashion choice that makes you look younger and clothes that are simply too young for you.

Fashion expert Gretta Monahan gave us tips for women to look and feel their best at any age. She encourages women to avoid giving a message of insecurity with their style choices –they should be comfortable with their age and stage in life. A woman in her 20s is going through what Monahan calls her "first impression period," so it is important to give the right impression and not "get trapped by the trends." Invest in one great trend piece -- a classic jacket or handbag -- and build a wardrobe that can be mixed and matched. Mixing your work and weekend wear is a must for a woman on the go in her 20s. And Monahan encourages women in their 20s to embrace their youth and have fun with their wardrobe.

The 30s are a time for a woman to make a sophisticated shift in her image. To do this, Monahan recommends having fun with necklines, whether it's a deep V-neck, a one-shouldered top or a strapless dress. As leather is timelessness yet trendy, Monahan says it's important to have a go-to statement leather piece such as a belt, cuff or cropped jacket. This is a time when women should avoid playing it safe.

When a woman enters her 40s, she should look for energizing colors and prints in figure- flattering shapes. Avoiding baggy and ill fitting clothes is essential, and women in their 40s should not be afraid to raise their hemline a little

As women enter their 50s, they should add versatile wrap dresses to their closet and keep their eye out for flattering three-quarter sleeved tops. Monahan recommends that as women age, they should tone down their makeup but add youthful touches to their hairstyle – such as highlights or bangs. This is the age to invest in a quality support bra and a well-fitted pair of jeans, avoiding "mom" jeans that tend to ride too high and have a tapered leg. Monahan’s overall tip for women and their fashion choices is to avoid being matchy-matchy – never match your handbag to your shoes or overcoordinate your accessories. This will age you no matter what stage of your life you are in As Monahan says, fashion is about presenting your best self and being comfortable with the woman you are – so have fun."

For more go here.

The Little Black Dress and the Trans Woman

Well girlfriends, there is damn " little"  about any part of my body but that doesn't stop me from coveting my own "dee-licious" fun version of a "little black dress"  Speaking of fun-check Sherry's version on the Cyrsti's Condo big screen:


Saturday, June 8, 2013

Before and After HRT

Every once in a while here in Cyrsti's Condo I like to slide in a very good "before" and an even better HRT "after:


The Boy who Would be Queen?

Way back in "not so jolly" old England it seems there is a bit of an idea being discussed again over tea (or Ale) across the pond. Was the "Virgin Queen- Elizabeth I"  in reality a cross dressing male?  Nothing really new about this idea. Such "unknowns" as Bram Stoker of Dracula fame included the theory in his book "Impostors". Now there is a push to solve the mystery once and for all by opening the Queen's tomb and rooting around for DNA.   Here's  this story from  The GuardianOnline" :

"The bones of Elizabeth I, Good Queen Bess, lie mingled with those of her sister, Bloody Mary, in a single tomb at Westminster Abbey. But are they really royal remains — or evidence of the greatest conspiracy in English history? If that is not the skeleton of Elizabeth Tudor, the past four centuries of British history have been founded on a lie. And according to a controversial new book, the lie began on an autumn morning 470 years ago, when panic swept through a little group of courtiers in a manor house in the Cotswold village of Bisley in Gloucestershire."

To cut to the chase, The not so warm and fuzzy Henry VIII was coming to visit his daughter Elizabeth- who in fact was dead. The problem was her governess and guardian would most certainly face the King's wrath for "letting" his heir pass away.  Here's an example:

"They would be bound and dragged through the mud for a mile to the scaffold. There they would be hanged, cut down and disembowelled. Their entrails would be hauled from their bodies and held in front of their faces as they died, and then their limbs would be hacked off and displayed on spikes, to be picked bare by the birds."

No walk in the park to be sure and compounding their problems, there were no comparable young female matches in the village to Elizabeth, but - you guessed it. There was a boy from a local family called Neville. He was a gawky, angular youth a year or so younger than Elizabeth, who had been the princess’s companion and fellow pupil for the past few weeks. And with no time to look further afield for a stand-in, Parry and Lady Ashley took the desperate measure of forcing the boy to don his dead friend’s clothes. The deception worked and the two started in earnest to train the boy to be a princess.

My only comment , where's the problem here with Princess training?  The village kid probably always wanted to be a princess like most of us. Unlike most of us though,  we didn't all go on to be queens!

I've teased you enough with the story, go here for more.


What I Really Learned at Halloween

Kenny Eliason image from UnSplash.  Sadly, since I have lived over ten years as a full-time transgender woman, Halloween has become just ano...