Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I always pictured myself as a girly girl in my head, but since that was my fantasy and not my reality, I never really learned the ins and outs of womanhood. Now I feel like there's so much I need to learn about makeup, fashion, hair care, etc. I wish I had a big sister or girly best friend to teach me, but I don't. I think I'm gonna start reading Cosmo. Elle Woods did call it "the Bible" for women so that seems like a good place to start.

Hi Magnolia!

My local public library has a subscription to digital copies of Cosmopolitan (and other womens' magazines) which means I can "borrow" and read them all from the convenience of home, and it costs me nothing!

I don't like the advertising and some of the messages about "beauty" but as you say, it's a great place to start.

For fashion, I am a keen observer of checking out (discretely!) what other women wear and how they do their makeup. You can learn a lot simply walking about a shopping mall.

Have fun figuring out what works for you!

~Dee.

That's a great idea. Thanks Dee!

I don't concentrate of 'fashion' so much. I browse clothes on the internet and see what I think is cute, do a quick check that it isn't wildly inappropriate, age wise, and try it. Some clothes look great on the models and not great on the buyer, but you start to learn what accentuates the good features and downplays things like the shoulders. The cis women at work always seem a bit in awe of my stylish (inexpensive) clothes. I think the clothes in fashion mags are trying to sell the latest trends to sell more clothes, obviously. I never see that as fitting in on the street though. I would decide the style you want to be and go with it. I see myself as 'girl next door' and don't wear a lot of jewelry. I like boots (not cowgirl lol) and leggings and cute tops. As a girly girl, you might want to visit a Sephora or Ultra and have them teach you about make up. It's on my 'to do' list. You could also do the youtube videos but the first thought might save you a lot of time and energy.  Hopefully you have fun with it and don't stress because it isn't immediately perfect. Good hunting.

I am lucky and met a few wonderful people that helped me along. I have found that no one person is going to be able to give you all the answers... so I collected tips from many sources. I have a couple aestetician friends that are amazing with make-up, the drag queens helped me quite a bit with mannerisms, a couple retro hotties that helped with clothes, makeup counter artists, sales people in shops, hair dressers, and of course books... many fashion designers have written their own books. They're a wealth of knowledge. You'll find that there are a lot of women here that are eager to share what they have learned. Don't lose heart... you'll find that mentor to help you out. You just have to be open and you'll find that like minded person when you least expect it.

I've been reading and watching videos on line for makeup. There is so much there! Having someone to go to would be great.  I've only recently come out so hoping for some help from my mother. 

YouTube is a wealth of information.

I was lucky as I had a female best friend. She taught me most of the stuff I know.

She taught me how to apply makeup, walk in heels, female clothing and how do my nails.. amongst lots of other things.

I remember when I first got sensitive and swelled nipples after starting hrt, she bought me a pack of padded sports bras.. she said Noleen, it time to start wearing a bra.

Yeah, it's a lot all at once. Best thing is to take your time and really see what it is you like the most and that you're good at. If it's makeup then great, that's one less thing to worry about when you need to get ready under time constraints.
Figuring out which clothes are your go to options is so important. I have a few leggings that work for me and they're all the same but different colors. Same with a a few tops that are the same but different colors... The next major thing is hair. You'll need a routine for hair and I don't mean just washing it, but also getting it ready.
There's so much more like shoes, jewlery, hats, scarves, gloves, coats, jackets, pantyhose, bras, panties, nails, perfumes... It's a lot

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Definitely rely on a cis female friend if possible. At least in my case I prefer to have someone show me how to do things instead of reading it. After a while and some practice it all becomes second nature to you.

These are all great tips, thanks ladies. It can get overwhelming to think about, but I'll learn as I go. I  want to find a really feminine cis woman to be besties with and teach me her ways. That's what will help me the most since she will have had a lifetime of experience.

Yes, it can all seem like a lot to learn when you look at it all at once. The trick is to take it one thing at a time. Instead of "learning makeup" learn to do eyeliner. Spend a couple of weeks practicing it or until you're comfortable with it. Then move to some other aspect of cosmetics. Eventually you'll put it all together and be an expert.

In our society the headwater of fashion seems to be from celebrities. One of the first things I do every morning after turning on my computer is check this little blog site, which posts a dozen or more celeb fashion shots every day: http://outfitidentifier.com/ (http://outfitidentifier.com/). Unless you've got really deep pockets, forget designer labels. Everything good is copied in a lower priced form pretty quickly these days. Assemble a core wardrobe of mostly basic and untrendy items. Buy a few trendier things occasionally and deliberately.