Let’s Talk About Money

Crossdressing takes time, patience, and money.

And Lord knows I have invested a LOT into who I am. It costs a LOT to look like how I look. I like to think (perhaps naively so) that HE and SHE look very different from each other. If Hannah is going out on Saturday morning, HE looks into the mirror on Friday night and wonders just how in the world THIS is going to work.

At the end of the week HE has worked close to fifty hours, has had a lot of meetings, and hasn’t gotten enough rest or enough coffee. His face is tired, he has bags under his eyes, he needs a shave.

And by what is seemingly magic, HE is replaced by HER the next morning.

But there was no fairy godmother involved, just a really good foundation and expensive clothes which made it happen.

When I get asked how to crossdress, or how to present en femme, I try to be realistic about how much time and patience *this* can take. This information is usually easier to process and accept than when we start looking into the financial aspect of it.

A bra costs HOW much?

Lipstick is HOW much?

I spent $18 on stockings and one snagged after only an hour?

This $190 wig looked cute online but I HATE it

These things can be jarring, especially when we aren’t accustomed to shopping for these items.

And for me, there’s a LOT of items. This can consist of a pair of clip-on earrings that I bought on Amazon for $15 or a hundred dollar dress. And then there’s everything in-between. And everything UNDER the dress.

So, let’s break it down.

Well, BEFORE we break it down, I want to stress that none of this is necessary to be feminine. You don’t NEED to do ANY of this to be who you are. You don’t need to get a second job if to afford to be a girl or to crossdress. You are a girl if you identify as one, you don’t need to have a specific figure or body size or body parts or to wear certain clothes. A girl can be tall or wear a size 14 heel. A girl doesn’t have to wear a dress to be feminine. You are crossdressing with a pair of panties that cost a couple of dollars.

This breakdown is what I have invested (financially and over time) in how I look, how I dress, how I present.

Here we go!

I am not an accountant so my math is probably a little off but this outfit, this look, this… EVERYTHING cost about ten thousand dollars.

Well, not really.

What’s not reflected in this is the amount I have invested in clothes that didn’t fit, the hours on the Stairmaster to tone my legs, wigs I purchased but weren’t right for me, the makeup lessons I’ve paid for, and other things over the last ten years.

If you were to see me on Friday night compared to Hannah on a Saturday morning, I don’t feel you would think that HE has the potential to look like HER. HE is not gifted with a feminine frame, clear skin, or a (somewhat) hourglass figure. He is in his mid-forties, he is tired. It’s true that HE is the foundation that Hannah is built on, but what he has and what he is, well, it’s not enough. My corset gets tightly cinched, my face gets an expensive makeover, silicone breast forms are tucked into a bra, pads on my hips, the right wig on my head, and clothes that are (hopefully) flattering.

HE is not pretty. But HE invested a LOT of money into looking how Hannah looks.

And my God, I know I invest a lot of money into all of this, but to see it… ah, itemized like this is a little eye-opening.

But this is reality. I mean, it doesn’t HAVE to be. None of this is really necessary for someone to be a girl or to a crossdress. The point of this post is to address a question I am often asked: “How do I look like you?”

Again the answer is time, patience, and money.

Listen.

No matter how much money I invest and how patient I am as time passes, I will never look like the beautiful t-girls that I admire. I look like ME. You won’t look like me, either. You will look like YOU. And you are beautiful.

Love, Hannah