Hi all,
I hope no one minds me posting! I am not a cross dresser, but the subject is very close to my heart and its something I want to gain a better understanding in. I am a design student and I am looking to design some products for cross dressers. I am mainly looking at shoes and clothes and want to design a range of products that meet your needs.
Do you struggle to get everything you need? Do you have difficulty finding the right sizes or fashionable clothes? I read the forum about buying clothes and realise that the actual purchase can be quite a big issue. Is there anything that could be done to ease this? Would you like a shopping facility dedicated to cross dressers where clothes can be tried on in comfort before buying them? Or are there any other services you feel that need to be addressed?
There seems to be quite a big stigma in society and I would like to see it changed. Having read some of your stories it makes me more determined! If you have any comments or opinions on this you would like to voice, please post them! I would be very interested to hear any thoughts you might have.

Thats a good cause. I hope you get plenty of responses on this. Being an art student I can appreciate a fellow designer (though definitely a different medium.) using their skills to be of help.

Georgis Rose.

Thank you for your post. It is wonderful that a designer has taken the trouble to ask their potential customers what they want.

These are a few thoughts for what they are worth.

The first consideration is that the male and female bodys are, naturally, a different shape.

Males need to enhance their waist and hips. So, high waist bands are a start. These can be enhanced with some discrete padding to pull out the skirt at the hips.

Equally for trousers. Something that bulges out at the hips, perhaps with some gentle padding, possibly for a few cm. Also, to think about the shape of the groin.

The bust will need to be higher than clevage. Many MtFs have developed breasts but those that haven't may need to conceil what they use. However, it shouldn't really be too high.

The shoulders will need to appear sloped. Male shoulders tend to be wide and flat. Padding is a problem here as it can look really naff, almost Dallas (TV program).

The neck is a problem, not just the adams appale but the general angles. A collar will need to be discrete though.

Colours are a matter of personal taste. I like plain colours, whites especially.

For my own part, I don't like showey shoes. But a small heel does improve posture and make the feet appear smaller. Personally, I like good quality leather, brown, perhaps patent black. Round toes. Perhaps a small buckle.

As an MtF, my knowledge of the problems facing FtMs are limited and what I've learnt here is most of it.

But the main concerns are, shoulders which might appear to improve width, perhaps also the top of the back. Ftms seem to be quite happy with strapping their chests, but some consideration to this would be helpful.

The waist and hips are the principal concern. Pulling in the buttocks while leaving plenty of room for the front to be packed out.

Shoes need to enhance the expanse of the foot and widen the gaite. Hard heels would seem to be a consideration.

I've noticed, from most of the pictures posted here by FtMs that they seem to prefer some degree of attraction. Designs or splashes on the front seem to be popular.

Hope this is what you are looking for.

Quote from: Georgia Rose on February 16, 2010, 05:01:11 AM
I read the forum about buying clothes and realise that the actual purchase can be quite a big issue. Is there anything that could be done to ease this? Would you like a shopping facility dedicated to cross dressers where clothes can be tried on in comfort before buying them?

Those are available in places, they just usually mark the prices up by such silly amount it's crazy to even consider shopping there. Have a wide range of sizes. Those that are typical (however one interpret that word) size in frame often struggle to buy clothes & shoes in the other gender because of the typical build difference. But don't forget the small frame male, or the large frame female either. Yes, it's easier for them to find fitting clothes in shops where everyone shop, but that doesn't mean they necessarily find it easy to shop there.

As someone who once qualified as a "crossdresser," I'd encourage you to create CD-oriented clothing in styles that go beyond the stereotypical (or "classic") looks, and which take into account the different ages, body types and desired gender expressions of crossdressers. I can't speak on FtM crossdressing, but when looking for MtF CD clothing I often found that the stuff available was, apart from being very expensive, quite boring and/or stereotypical. Not every MtF crossdresser wants to look like a porn star, Hollywood actress, or businesswoman stereotype, or a normative femme woman in general; I wish CD-oriented designers would take that into account.

And as (another!) trans art student, I must thank you for seeking to provide such valuable services to the gender-variant/trans community. :3

Thank you for your comments. Its very interesting and has been a lot of help so far! I'm particularly interested in looking at different styles of clothes if there are mainly only certain 'typical' looks available. So, I'm wondering what kind of look would you go for if there were more options available?

Well, I'm hardly a typical sample fashion-wise, and I tend to wear boots and sneakers (I have a pair of entirely black Converse low-tops with bright pink flat laces <3). I'll try to think it over a little more, though, and see if I can't remember to post a few suggestions tonight.  Bug me if I don't.