Do's and Don'ts clothing

[Luna Star]

I am planning or at least looking out to get my first clothes with my hard earned money...
Altho i got a bit of a coin saved up i dont want to  waste it of course...
So tell me any advice you have on those or maybe with a funny story along the way
So i wont make the same mistake you girls possibly did

[Catherine Sarah]

Hi Luna Star,

First off, find someone who is into fashion design. They will then look at your body style, shape and colour and advise you of the clothing styles that will suit and enhance your body type the best.

Secondly, and most importantly, make a budget and DON'T go over it. Leave the designer clothing until you're rich and famous. Otherwise it isn't worth it. 

Have fun
Huggs
Catherine

[mrs izzy]

I have shopped the thrift stores when I first started.

Lots of items for cheap.

Also sales get back into the community for help.

[ImagineKate]

Check the clearance racks. Lots of stuff below $5 and $10.

Try it on in the store if you wish or carry home, try it on and return if you don't like. Don't worry, lots of people do that.

Look for coupons too. Kohl's is always bombarding me with coupons. I have an employee discount at Macy's and a few other places too.

[Merrydownjade]

anytips for us none americans? not sure I can find a macys in the UK 

[Luna Star]

Hi Luna Star,

First off, find someone who is into fashion design. They will then look at your body style, shape and colour and advise you of the clothing styles that will suit and enhance your body type the best.

Secondly, and most importantly, make a budget and DON'T go over it. Leave the designer clothing until you're rich and famous. Otherwise it isn't worth it. 

Have fun
Huggs
Catherine 

Ty for the answers all.
But for that kind of person. Where can I even start looking especially being a trans person can make it harder as well since you have to find someone supportive of your cause and willing

As for brands, ya I know about that



Also we dont really got any thrift shops nearby here.

[immortal gypsy]

For building confidence in buying clothes. Places that are open late and are almost empty are good. (I use to buy between 2200 & 0000)

Buy what you will wear (jeez louis some of mine was bad. Calling it 80's bad would be good)

Look at people around your age bracket for style ideas, but make sure you fit your body shape.

[Seras]

I started with and still mostly buy pretty andro stuff. Like stuff I can incorporate into my current look, both back then and now. For example I started buying boyfriend and mens skinny jeans instead of my old standard baggy jeans. Then I upgraded them to womens skinnies. I changed up my trainers for converse because they are pretty andro and fit the whole skinny jeans look pretty well. I recently upgraded them to some nice biker style black boots that I can wear androesque or for femme depending on how girly my jeans or whatever else are. I started buying girls t-shirts and hoodies or jumpers way back when too. They don't look all that effeminate when you have nothing in the chest area. I just bought ones that fit my style decently. Nowadays I go for slightly more tailored ones with a bit more colour or more appealing designs than my old style and have pretty much dumped the hoodies unless I am manning it up. Today I just got a nice new leather jacket its awesome, I used to have a mans leather biker jacket, this one is way better

I think it is better to work like this than to go for a whole new look overnight. You can slowly incorporate new pieces that will work with your current wardrobe until you get to my position, where you are pretty much wearing girls clothes every day. It means you will have the confidence to wear them and also you hopefully won't make any major style disasters happen.

[shelby513]

I'd  recommend trying things on if it's not too nerve wracking for you, missing that step led me to having to return a LOT of clothes.

[androgynouspainter26]

Thrift stores are awesome.  Be sure to try it on first, btw...too tight and too short is a lit of mistakes girls make when their just getting started.  If you're trying to go fem, and a-line sihiluette (or anything with a bit of volume really) will flatter your figure more than a pencil skirt will.  And of course, if you're going to pad, it might help to ask someone who knows about it for assistance.  Nothing worse than fake-looking chests.

[Ms Grace]

Depends on whether you're buying for work or casual or formal - and what kind of work we're talking about.

I was lucky enough to have worked with mostly women for several years, a number of them were quite classy and stylish dressers (without being trendy or expensive). I just spent a lot of time looking at what worked really well, out in the wider population I'd keep an eye out for things I liked the look of and also what didn't work well. Colours, patterns, cut and style are all important. They need to go with your frame and complexion and jewellery. Colour coordination is good but not essential since complimentary colours can work sometimes. Buying shoes is not a separate exercise since what goes on your feet should have some complimentary characteristics.

[Lady_Oracle]

I have lots info about what clothing styles you should wear according to your body type/frame but I'll post my links later. One key tip that helped me greatly was to avoid spaghetti/thin straps if you have broad shoulders, instead get wide strapped tops to minimize the shoulders.

[antonia]

Don't be afraid to try it on, bring a friend if it makes you more comfortable and remember most staff really are quite happy to help out.
Figure out your style and activities, if you cycle to work your style will be different than if you drive.
Remember to layer, you aren't just buying a sweater and pants, girls typically wear about 2 times more items and mix/match them in different ways.
When buying shoes, especially heals make sure they fit, this is not like with guys shoes where you can just lace them a bit tighter, they have to fit and be comfortable in the store or they will be torture after a night.
Don't be afraid to go "too" fem, it's OK to be girly and wear shiny things

And finally, don't buy it if you just kinda like it, buy things you love to wear.

[katiej]

Some very good advice already.

Knowing your body type can't be stressed enough.  Most women know their shape and what styles are flattering, they also know how to dress to minimize their shortcomings.  And we can absolutely do this as well.  For me, I don't have very wide shoulders, but my hips are even narrower.  This is known as the boyish figure, inverted triangle, and sometimes the carrot.     Skinny jeans don't look good on me unless I have a really long top.  So I mostly stick to skirts and dresses.  Painter mentioned a-lines and she's exactly right.  A-line skirts and dresses add volume on the bottom and really balance out my proportions.

And thrifting is a great way to go.  Someone else around here recently said that she had a sort of epiphany that all women have a closet of used clothes, so there's nothing wrong with building a wardrobe of used clothes.  The one danger is that you risk buying outdated looks if you don't know what you're doing.

Good luck!  And do let us know how it goes.

[Madison (kiara jamie)]

Do not ever ever EVER! Buy cross dresser related brands, for the companies that accommodate for cross gender sales, usually they sell garbage clothing that you will wish you never bought

Silver - jeans

Lululemon - yoga/lounge wear

Express - business/casual

Bebe - cute dresses

Aldo - shoes

Victoria secret - underwear

Those are the designers I like and I have purchased a lot from, I love almost all the clothing I have purchased from them with exception of clothes I bought to small, just make sure you size your clothes correctly, if you don't you will look bulgy in the clothes and that will make you look massive

[Luna Star]

Hm my shoulders are a bit broad but i got relatively big butt and sliiight hips if you can look at it like that.
That makes me a square I guess   

[BunnyBee]

I think the two biggest things to start with would be how the cut looks on your body, like sizing and how it makes your proportions appear.  Mtfs usually don't want shirts that make thier shoulders look enormous for instance, you'll be going for a kind of hourglass appearance, even if your body isn't.  Clothes can totally create a optical illusions that way.  And yeah too small and too short are the most common mistakes.  The second biggie would be colors, just making sure the color you wear looks good on you cuz some colors may work great on ur friend but look awful on you, and vice versa, and if you change your hair color, now ur wardrobe doesn't work sometimes.  This I think is a great guide for blondes on the color front: http://youlookfab.com/2008/05/12/colour-palette-for-blondes/

I follow a lot of fashion things online that helped me figure things out to begin with and help me keep up on trends and get cool outfit ideas.  I would recommend doing that. Fashion is honestly so fun!

[katiej]

I follow a lot of fashion things online that helped me figure things out to begin with and help me keep up on trends and get cool outfit ideas.  I would recommend doing that. Fashion is honestly so fun!

This is good advice.  Before spending money on a whole new wardrobe you should go into research mode.  Never underestimate the power of fashion and makeup to not only make you look good, but also to help you pass.   And like Bunny said, it's a lot of fun.  I spent years wishing I could dress this way, so I'm going to take full advantage of it and do it well.  But in order to do it well I've had to spend a lot of time figuring out what that means. 

[Hideyoshi]

Hm my shoulders are a bit broad but i got relatively big butt and sliiight hips if you can look at it like that.
That makes me a square I guess   

I'm a square shape too. Spaghetti strap tops, short sleeve blouses, and black colored tops help take the mass away from the shoulders. The less baggy the better. Long tops (that go below your butt) help, too

Skirts that aren't pencil/skin tight help fill out the bottom and take attention away from the shoulders. Regular skinny jeans are also good for that shape... just gotta try different things.

[alexbb]

I went to TK Maxx at 4pm today and a nice polish girl helped me find some cool dresses and I tried them on. I was going to be all nervous and scared and then was like, nah, fk it, enjoy yourself, so I did. I looked totally silly but loved it! The assistant was really helpful and found some that were stretchy to fit my figure (or lack thereof). The only slightly awk moment was choosing which side to change on, I just went into the mans without thinking. Again, no big deal really.
id never have done that before, only dreamed of it. then woken up and been like sheeeit.
I suppose I got some funny looks, but who cares? im a guy wearing makeup and earrings, what you gonna do. No one attacked me. The assistants were all girls or gay guys so were totally cool. Also if you are shy places like that are open from 8am to 8pm so if youre less impatient than me you can wait for a quieter time.
Overall it was great fun, I got a dress I like which fitted (4 didnt, at all, 1 was close but nah) and it was reduced from £200 to £32, so I got a nice belt too. Might go back and get a coat and some shoes next.
I want to dress to impress when I meet my doctor.

As for styles, I know very little about girls clothing, so have been using this as a guide

http://www.pinterest.com/nwordo/robin-wright/

I got the second from the left bottom row, more or less. It feels great!


I would DEFINITELY recommend going to a shop, not buying off the net. It was really fun, and TKMaxx is cool because its all sorts of stuff so you can find a gem with a bit of care and help. And definitely try things on. The time for being nervous and shy is over!!