Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I want to gradually begin looking for women's clothes and to feel comfortable trying them on to see what size I am.  For me to do this, I feel the need to present as a woman.  I need some suggestions for a first outfit to wear.  Maybe I'm not passable at this point and won't be able to do this, but I want to see if its possible.  Otherwise, I'll just have to figure something else out.

Some points I have to deal with are that I'm tall (6'0"), have a bit of a pot belly but not really obese, and I doubt I could wear much of a heel due to balance problems (plus I wear a mans size 12 narrow shoe). 

I wondering if slacks and blouse would be best, or perhaps a dress, and if the later, does one wear stockings or not?  What little I know about woman's clothing is from my 95 year old grandmother, so I'm afraid its a wee bit out dated! 

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

I'm a ways off from comfortably fully presenting as a woman in public, but this is what I have done so far in my journey.  I'm 6'3 btw and have had a belly, but have been working it off.

I have pretty much replaced all my pants and jeans with womens style/cut slacks, pants, jeans and shorts.  I've not gotten any skinny style yet, rather I'm staying with straight leg or boot cuts.  The trick for me was to find approximately what size range I am and I did a lot of looking on amazon and used their sizing charts which gave a good inch to number size.  I wear a 33/34 waist, 34/36 inseam mens.  That translates to a 14 / 16 womens tall on average.  You have to look for the the tall options and read the descriptions if available., but a lot of manufactures have them, but a lot are also mail order only.  From what I've seen so far, the womens talls tend to 32 to as much as a 36 inch inseam.    Im-tall-too.com is a good site for starting out, but I've bought most of my pants from amazon due to the free easy return policy on most clothes.  The biggest things I had to get used to was a shorter zipper length on those pants that came with zippers and very shallow to no pockets.  But I sport a nice sling shoulder bag that draws little attention as it's somewhat unisex, so the lack of pocket area is not that big of a deal, but I still had to get used to it.  In face it's helped me break one big "man" habit of standing around with my hands in my pockets.   :D

Also socks are socks, but there are some which are distinctly more girly.  I really like the ones with the half fold.  I did that with my tube socks and have recently added several pair of regular womens socks to my wardrobe. 

I'm still having problems with the tops area.  Most have narrower shoulder areas, both width and depth and are really tight, and in amost all cases long sleeves aren't long enough.  I'm not giving up, just taking longer.  I have taken to wearing sleeveless tops of various styles around the house though. 

In the shoes I can't help a whole lot.  I'm lucky in that I wear a 10mens and that's about an 11.5 to 12 (mostly 12) on womens and have a lot of choices.  I've found a real nice pair of clarks slipon loafers in neutral leather (not patent) that looks nicely femenine, but not overly so and so don't draw too much direct attention while out.  The heels are a very slight wedge of about 1.5 inches that don't push my height too much, but I know I've got them on.

I wear the pants and shoes out all the time and it's helped me get more confidence. 

I hope some of this helps and good luck and have fun shopping.

    -Becka 

When I first went full time, I wore jeans and a tee shirt.  Which was the uniform of my employer at the time.  A simple feminine t and some nice girls jeans.  And of course my Shape-Ups ( Those shoes that help shape your bum ).

Now's the perfect time of year for you to check out goodwill. Look for those light sweaters with long flaring sleeves that girls are getting rid of now that spring is here. Get a couple with flattering necklines (nothing that is tight in the neck!) And you'll be good to go! If you find a sweater that's real long, like past your crotch, then pair it with skinny jeans and open toed sandals and its a look for all seasons!

Just notice what women of your approximate age group in your area wearing : )

Georgie

I tried a pair of shape-ups once and for the life of me can't figure how anyone can walk in them!  I felt like I was trying to stand on a ball. 

I still haven't figured out the difference between men's and women's jeans.  For me to get a good fit in the waist, I end up having baggy legs. 

That is how they work.  And it is pretty quick to learn to walk in them.  Kinda like heels.

I have really weak ankles that turn easy - you think shape ups would help with that?

You could also wrap them with ace bandage

I'll second the recommendation for jeans.  I'm 6'2" and wear a size 13 men's shoe.  With jeans from Fashion Bug (http://fashionbug.lanebryant.com/bottoms/jeans/15149c15228/index.cat), my sneakers don't look out of place.  As the weather is getting warmer, I'm wearing solid colored tank tops or camisoles beneath longer, larger light-weight shirts.  Camisoles and tank tops don't have the disadvantage of being too tight on my larger shoulders, and the large shirt over it is roomy, light, and comfortable.

National (http://www.shopnational.com/Apparel-Blouses) is a great catalog company, if you've never shopped them before.  They have plenty of clothes in larger sizes, too. ;D

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fassets.charmingshoppes.com%2Fis%2Fimage%2FFashionBug%2F4041026%3F%24product_main%24%26amp%3Bwid%3D290%26amp%3Bhei%3D377%26amp%3B&hash=3577b9acd1c702c93a5379199d47ce5c9f4c95cc)  (https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs7d5.scene7.com%2Fis%2Fimage%2FNationalWholesale%2F7517_main%3F%24Product284%24&hash=25d7553cbb44cb5bbf12b5a5aa07a0dcb3df0c52)