Cyrsti's Condo Fashion Beat

No part of the transgender woman or cross dresser's body can be as frustrating as our arms. By comparison, our legs are usually an asset which can be covered or shaved and covered by pants during our male lives.

Thick wrists, biceps and thick shoulder areas are just problems which just don't easily go away but like in everything else can be camouflaged to an extent. For the longest time, I went about my merry way thinking genetic women don't have much in the way of arm fashion to consider. In true form though, I was wrong. Genetic women have to consider all of their fashion options to present their best look and of course I am considering mine as fashion choices continue to change for me. Now as  I'm able to remove all of my arm hair and HRT is decreasing the size of my biceps, I'm in a whole new ball game.

Now you are not going to confuse me with a pencil thin ballerina but I do have plenty of dilemmas and inherent insecurities with the sleeveless summer fashions. After tons of personal fashion drama, I came to the conclusion I was going to wear most of the summer fashions because I could. Having said that, there are different styles of very feminine tops to choose from. Let's start with sleeveless tops.  Sleeveless in my book could mean no sleeves, sleeves which barely cover the tops of my arms and the traditional t-shirt length sleeves  So some I should wear and some I shouldn't wear,  just because I supposedly can.

To give you an example, I'm adding a picture (left) you probably have seen from last summer when I was still wearing wigs.. I like this top for several reasons. It is soft and feels fun plus shows off my assets. Also, this top is long and comes down nicely over my hips, which is important since a years worth of HRT is actually providing real change in the hip area.  A whole other discussion!

Now, to add some real fashion expertise to the discussion, I recently ran across an article I thought you girls may be interested in from a site called Fabulous after 40 called: "You’re Covered Perfectly with this New Line of 40+ Clothing."

Here's a bit of the "angst" from the genetic angle:"I was looking for something to wear to a party, and nothing was working. There I was standing in front of the mirror, with a pile of clothes on the bed, feeling very frustrated. Then I realized it’s not me, it’s my clothes. The sleeves on my clothes were too short to cover that part of my arms that I’d rather not reveal. The tops weren’t long enough to cover my tummy."

It struck me as ironic that I know most women are paranoid about the jiggly skin under their arms while I am extremely self conscious about what I consider is a weird softening in the middle of my bicep on top of my arm.

Jump on over to the article and check out Pauline Durban who has come to the rescue. At 56 Pauline came up with the brilliant idea for a clothing line called, Covered Perfectly and of course the link is there.

Finally I love to wrap up our little fashion discussions with my little pep talk.

If you want to try to play in the girl's sandbox, you have to do the best you can to do it to the best of your ability!

Cyrsti's Condo Remembers...

Actor Lee Pace's dramatic transformation to Calpernia Addams for the movie Soldier Girl:

Marching to the Beat of a Different Drummer

Transgender veterans Really know that feeling.
I was recently reminded vividly of how fortunate I am to be able to write here in Cyrsti's Condo of my experiences as a trans veteran and more precisely how the process works for me in my interactions with the Veterans Administration.

Perhaps you remember the much maligned "shake up" at Outserve-SLDN and the "resignation" of it's Executive Director Allyson Robinson who just happens to be a transgender woman and a graduate of West Point. The post was called I Joined and mentioned a new group called Spart*a which was forming for TGLB service members and vets.

Allyson Robinson

My dose of reality came when I joined and visited the Spart*a Facebook page. Within approximately six hours I received a confirmation message and a pledge of secrecy. I'm sort of naive now that I have been out as far as I have for a while and I thought "Whoa Dummy" organizations such as Spart*a represent what is transgender reality in the U.S. military establishment. Careers are at stake here.

Jumping back to Allyson Robinson, I'm passing along a link to a very enlightening post called Lunch With Allyson Robinson here.

Lunch with the Girls

Yesterday I was invited to a quick lunch with my daughter and 12 year old grand daughter.  Both of know of my transgender status so the day was sort of special.  On the other hand, I'm doing some of the most butch hard labor I can do on my house, repairing a brick wall.  I hate it but I have been literally been putting it off for years and the unseasonably cool summer weather we have now makes it a "must do project". I suppose I will lose a couple much needed pounds in the process.

So, I am a little short of time to post to Cyrsti's Condo.  I learned some time ago, when in doubt, go to the archives and came up with this post from 10/5/2011 and just so happens to include my daughter and an appointment at the Veterans Administration:


"Today had to be my best birthday ever! My third visit to the VA therapist seeking a hormone permission letter was late in the afternoon. As I got ready to meet my daughter for a birthday breakfast, I received a text from a long time female friend who I have progressively come out to over the past couple months. She wished me a good birthday and a positive trip to the "Doc" which meant a lot! My breakfast with my daughter was very different. Almost immediately she asked me if I knew one of the performers in one of the top drag queen acts in the area. They are known as the "Rubi Girls" based out of Dayton, Ohio.

As it turns out I had seen their act (impressive) and actually knew one of the performer's employees. As surprising as this was, more surprising was the fact I was having the conversation with her at all. The rest of the breakfast was equally as good and I'm still not sure how I did so well in the daughter department.

On to the therapist appointment. We exchanged the usual "how's life" questions before I asked the magic question: "what reservations did she have about writing a permission letter?" She didn't hesitate and said she expected the question and pulled a file folder off her desk The folder contained the "Harry Benjamin Gender Dysphoria Care Standards". As we went through the highlights it seemed I met most all of the criteria. (I'm not exactly sure anyone but Harry understood them all.) She was very positive and said she would like to take one more step before writing the letter. The step was a final consultation about me with a very experienced gender specialist in Columbus. Ironically she is the same person I went to for help over 20 years ago.

I know "nothing is over until it's over" but I'm cautiously optimistic I will have the letter in two weeks at my next visit. My last (but far from least) stop of the day was a lite dinner date with a GF down in Cincinnati. Without getting too personal, it was a wonderful ending to a special day. On the trip home I was going pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming but I have a real aversion to pain and just made sure I wasn't driving up I-75 in a dream. I can guarantee you I-75 between Dayton and Cincinnati, Ohio is no place to be dreaming behind the wheel and I wasn't. The day was all so real and so wonderful!

And now it's back to reality and my bricks. Dammit, not good for the nails!

Young, Transgender and Together!

Louis (left) and Jamie

Young transgender couples have been in the news these days. The latest couple, a transgender woman and a transgender man are from Wales.

Louis Davies and Jamie Eagle are engaged and are waiting for gender reassignment surgery to be married.
The couple met when Louis invited Jamie to give a talk to his university group as he prepared to come out as transgender.


Then of course back on this side of the pond,  The simply adorable couple of Arin Andrews and Katie Hill are still gaining good press for the right reasons:


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Shopping with Gregory

Plan "B"

My thought was does "Plan B" always have to mean "bitch"? (Not my female dog!)

I'm going to pass along a link here in Cyrsti's Condo to indicate the answer just could be yes:

Already Plucked by Avery Edison. Follow the link bitches!!!! Just kidding!

I Joined

Here in Cyrsti's Condo, I always try to keep a close eye on any and all transgender veteran news I can find because most of you know I am a trans vet.

I did choose to stay out of the seemingly crazy story
of the requested resignation of OutServe-SLDN's newly appointed executive director, transgender Army veteran Allyson Robinson. (right)  Many more high-profile resignations followed in protest of Robinson's treatment.

Following this mess,  a recent press release  announced the formation of Service Members, Partners, Allies for Respect and Tolerance for All, or SPΛRT*A, a "group of LGBT people and allies who are currently serving or have served in the military, and our families," that is "especially committed to our Trans members… and to gaining full equality for them in the U.S. Armed Forces.

SPART*A's Facebook page is currently active, while a website for the fledgling group is still under construction.

One can only hope this group can gain traction and effect change against a huge obstacle - the U.S. Military. Follow the link above for more info!

Ch-Ch Changes

I hesitated about putting this YouTube video up on the Cyrsti's Condo big screen because it takes so long to actually get to the transition subject matter. Being the cynical bitch I am, I thought hell, two months on HRT could go by before this video gets rolling. But in the end it's worth the wait and a beautiful look at a transgender woman beginning to finally live her life: