Month: January 2020

A Night at Allure!

by Hannah

Is there a better way to spend a Saturday night than shopping for lingerie?

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Spoiler: No.

Last night was the first event of the year for the MN T-Girls.  We started 2020 off in a fun and sexy fashion as we had a private shopping event at Allure Intimate Apparel in Saint Paul.  This was our second visit there and I promise you that there will be a third.

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T-Girls want to find places where we feel welcome.  Lingerie shopping is one of the most intimidating and potentially one of the most frustrating things we can do.  Allure not only has beautiful lingerie but they also are incredibly welcoming to our community.  I don’t think you can ask for a more supportive and enthusiastic ally.  And we need all the support we can get.

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Ten t-girls had a wonderful time shopping for pajamas, bras, panties, and lingerie.  We had bra fittings and found beautiful things to wear.  I love what I bought.

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I want to thank the amazing and welcoming staff at Allure.  Their passion to lingerie is unmatched.  They know their merchandise and are enthusiastic when it comes to the lacy strap of a bra to the style of panties.  If you have an Allure in your city, I absolutely recommend a visit.

Love, Hannah

 

 

 

United Airlines to Offer Non-Binary Gender Booking Options

by Hannah

There are two big things I want to do en femme.  I would love love love to be a bridesmaid, but a more realistic goal is to fly pretty.

Thanks to their new policy, I will probably fly United Airlines.

From their website:

United Airlines today announced it has become the first U.S. airline to offer non-binary gender options throughout all booking channels in addition to providing the option to select the title “Mx.” during booking and in a MileagePlus customer profile. Customers now have the ability to identify themselves as M(male), F(female), U(undisclosed) or X(unspecified), corresponding with what is indicated on their passports or identification.

“United is determined to lead the industry in LGBT inclusivity, and we are so proud to be the first U.S. airline to offer these inclusive booking options for our customers,” said United’s Chief Customer Officer Toby Enqvist. “United is excited to share with our customers, whether they identify along the binary of male or female or not, that we are taking the steps to exhibit our care for them while also providing additional employee training to make us even more welcoming for all customers and employees.”

 

On a related note, we should also be up to date on TSA’s policy when it comes to gender non-conforming, non-binary and transgender people.

Love, Hannah

 

T-Girl, You’ll be a T-Woman, Soon

by Hannah

I attended Catholic school from kindergarten all the way through my senior year.  Although I would never call myself Catholic today, this had an impact on me in a number of ways.  I suppose one could call this sacrilegious, but one of my clearest memories of this time was how badly I wanted to wear the same plaid jumper uniform that the girls in my class wore.

As I got older, I continued to notice (and grow envious) of what girls my age were wearing.  I loved the combination of flirty dresses and Doc Martens boots girls wore when I was in high school.  When I had my first office job I was really drawn to the professional attire the women I worked with wore.

During this time, I underdressed and used every chance I had to try on a dress or a skirt given the opportunity.  When I moved out into my first apartment, I was able to buy (and constantly purge) everything from panties to heels to bras to skirts.  Although I rarely bought “real clothes” and stuck primarily with lingerie, I was always looking at what girls my age were wearing.

I would continue to buy and wear lingerie and heels as I got older, and wouldn’t fully enter the world of proper clothes, makeup, and wigs until I was in my early 30’s.  But as I got more comfortable with accepting and embracing who I am, I would think more about the clothes I wanted to wear, and about the clothes that I wanted to wear as I was growing up.

One of the first things I remember wanting to wear was the Catholic school uniform when I was in grade school.  This uniform has becomes incredibly sexualized and become a common fetish, but I didn’t want to wear the uniform for anything erotic.  I wanted to wear it in my twenties because it had such an impact on me when I was young.  The closest I came to this was this cute outfit I wore for a photo shoot a few years ago.

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Let’s not confuse this with the girls in our community who identify as ‘sissies’.  The T word covers a lot of ground, and there are girl like us who love to dress and act and to be treated as a sissy.  I would imagine that there is a very strong sexual connection to this, but I also acknowledge that this is a world I am not familiar with so I could be very wrong.  Perhaps it is all about clothes.  I wore this dress for another shoot and although I felt a little silly, it was fun to wear.

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Once I fully… evolved into who I am today and acquired the wardrobe I have today, it took me a little time to find my style and look.  I am inspired by girls my age when it comes to discovering new styles and fashion, but like all of us, I also wear what I want to wear.  I tried a few different looks in those days which is not uncommon.  I mean, you look at a few different houses before you decide which one to live in, right?

We are, not only as t-girls, but also as human beings, constantly evolving.  We grow, we learn new things, we adapt.  I look back on my dressing and want I wanted to wear, to what I eventually did wear, to what I wear now.  I like to think I dress like a girl my age.  Well, a girl my age who is also not afraid to show off her legs, anyway.

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Accepting, acknowledging, and embracing your gender identity is a rebirth in a way.  What was hidden and denied what was a part of us that is now who we are.  We are learning who we are.  We are learning who SHE is.  And for some of us, we have some catching up to do.

For lack of a better word, many of us go through an accelerated and abbreviated form of adolescence or puberty.   Some of us start with the clothes we always wanted to wear when we first felt this side of us.  Some of us felt an intense jealousy towards girls we knew as teenagers simply because we wanted to look as cute, as happy, as carefree as they did in their tank top and jean miniskirt.  We may have felt a sense of longing as we admired the cute pencil skirt and jacket our female colleagues wore.

Many of us go back to these days when it comes to our wardrobes.  Eventually we all find our look, we wear what we want, and what we are comfortable and confident in.  We grow.  We become who we are.

Love, Hannah

Photo Shoot – Yellow Dress

by Hannah

If someone at work were to compliment a tie I was wearing, I would say thank you.  If they asked when or where I bought it, I would likely have to think about it and probably wouldn’t remember.

But the other side of my closet is different.  Every dress has a story and I remember each one.

Besides trying it on at the shop when I bought it, this was the first time I wore this cute little dress.  As soon as I put it on, I knew I would wear it for a future photo shoot.  It’s cute, it pairs really nicely with my white heels, it’s short and shows off my legs.

I hope you love this dress as much as I do!

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Love, Hannah

Serving Glamour!

by Hannah

We all know the difficulty of finding clothes that fit our bodies.  A size 14 is not always a size 14.  Often times a dress fits perfectly around our hips but our shoulders are a different story.  I am always excited when I see a new company or designer making clothes for our bodies.  Not only does this give us another option, but it’s encouraging to see others supporting girls like us.

We can add Serving Glamour to the growing list of designers making clothes for us.

Serving Glamour provides access to modest and modern clothing and accessories specifically designed and chosen for transgender women and their unique body shapes so they feel fashionable and feminine in any social or professional situation.

Serving Glamour is owned and operated by Jennifer Walter BA, the wife of a transgender female mechanical engineer.  As a member of Tempe Fashion and Business Resource Innovation Center (FABRIC), Jennifer is working closely with local experts in fashion design and manufacturing to guarantee that Serving Glamour fashions and accessories are of the highest quality.

Serving Glamour sells shoes, clothing, accessories, and purses.  I had the honor of trying Jennifer’s custom wrap dress and I modeled it for my most recent photo shoot.  The dress feels silky and sensual, and I loved the sparkly pattern.

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The dress is flattering and I love the neckline.  It comes at a perfect angle and it shows off just enough cleavage. The skirt is also cut in a way to show off my legs when I want to, and I always like to show off my legs.

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The dress is sexy and flirty, and perfect for date night… and for Sunday brunch.

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I hope you like Jennifer’s dress as much as I do.  Please support her by signing up for her mailing list.

Thank you to Jennifer for the dress, and for giving girls like us another option for our wardrobes.

Love, Hannah

Drawing the Line

by Hannah

I noticed Too Faced cosmetics was trending on Twitter the other day and I was curious why.  I like Too Faced, actually.  In fact, the MN T-Girls did a makeup demonstration at Ulta a few years back and Too Faced sent over a few of their regional trainers to give makeovers, help us shop for products, and to demonstrate different techniques.

I assumed Too Faced was trending because of a new eyeshadow palette or something similar buuuuuut it wasn’t.  Basically the sister of the co-founder of Too Faced made some comments about a makeup artist who recently came out as transgender.  This caused, to say the least, backlash against Too Faced.

Whether or not someone you feel that Too Faced deserves the backlash based on what the co-founder’s family member said (God knows I don’t endorse or agree with everything my family members say), it made me think about the importance of supporting organizations that support our community.  Specifically I am thinking about the way we are viewed not only by the corporation itself, but by the employees who work for them.

Case in point, Target.  Target came out a few years ago saying that their guests should use the restrooms and changing rooms that match their gender identity.  This caused some boycotts which likely affected their business.  I’m sure Target was aware of what this stance would cause, but they did it anyway.  Risking profits by making this their policy says to me that they really do support us.

I shop at Target in both male mode and en femme.  When I am there en femme I have always had a positive experience.  I feel welcome there by the employees and I feel welcomed there by the corporation, based on their policy.

Of course, not every corporation is like Target.  I was disappointed to hear a CEO from Victoria’s Secret make some disparaging comments about our community.  I was even more disappointed by the company’s response to what was said.  I had been shopping at Victoria’s Secret for years as both genders.  In male mode I was mostly ignored (thankfully), but Hannah was always welcomed there.  I made the decision to stop shopping there, but in doing so I discovered so many other options for my lingerie from companies that truly do support our us.

If we want more businesses to support our community, then our community must support the ones that already do.

I don’t frequent businesses that have beliefs or a corporate culture that don’t align with my own morals and values.  It does make it a little different when the experience is positive at a store level (such as shopping at a Victoria’s Secret store) but is very different from a company culture perspective.  I missed shopping there (until I tried other options), but I couldn’t bring myself to spend money where they employed a CEO that didn’t think a transwoman should be allowed to model for them.

Of course, I am not so naive to think that it’s possible to live a life where you never interact or have to deal with people who you disagree with.  I am related to people who prefer to live in a world where the LGBTQ+ community doesn’t exist, after all.  I would like them to change, but I know they likely won’t.  I would like for all organizations to be welcoming and supportive of our community, but it’s not realistic.  However, I believe you can voice your opinion with your purse more than you can with your tweets.

I often wonder where I should draw the line.  I wonder if I am a hypocrite in some ways.  Yes, I won’t eat Chick-fil-A but how well do I know the values of the owner of the coffee shop that I go to?  Should I toss out my Harry Potter books?  Do I need to google every organization that I interact with?

I try to live a highly principled life but I often wonder where I should be drawing the line.

Love, Hannah