Crossdressers-Haven.com

Hi all,

Once or twice a year, our workplace sets up a "giveaway bazar" for our clients; men's and women's clothing, shoes, small kitchen appliances, household goods and knick-knacks, toys, books, linen, and the like. I never think to relate this part of my work to the good folks here on the forum because what happens during the setup has become commonplace and ordinary for me but, for some reason, tonight it occured to me that many of my sisters here may not be so fortunate as I am in regards to workplace acceptance. So it might be fun to give y'all an idea of what goes on.

Here's how it went down tonight (and usually goes down, year in and year out, on the night of the bazar setup):

The bazar is always on a Friday (ergo, tomorrow) so we always set it up on the previous Thursday evening (ergo, tonight). Although a whole bunch of my colleagues help bring the boxes and bags to the bazar location (in the huge ground floor "living-room" at head office) on the Wednesday and Thursday preceding the day of the bazar itself, my colleague and friend Carole--of whom I spoke many times here before tonight--and I are usually the only ones to unpack all the boxes; we set the tables late into the evening. Sometimes, my colleague Patricia and even my SO, Roxanne, join us. But not tonight. Tonight, it was just Carole and me.

As we went through the boxes and boxes of donated clothing (much of it brand new and never-worn) we, of course, set aside some items that we think might suit us (hey! we set it up; we have dibs!) in order to try them on later. Carole is usually very good at picking out women's clothing that I might find interesting. She also keeps an eye out for stuff for her boyfriend as well as for herself. In the same vein, I try to be on the lookout for things Roxanne might like, apart from my own eventual stash. Well, tonight, I scored on several counts. Laid my hands on two gorgeous pairs of women's slacks (side-zippered, sewn-in nylon linings), a business suit (slacks and jacket), a coral silk pyjama set (Intimate Moments) with drawstring pants, two stunning skirts, and a pair of black Roberto Capucci pumps (this last with Roxanne in mind--turns out she didn't like them). I also got a hold of several beautiful men's shirts (polos, nehru collars, white dress shirts, etc.) but that's beside the point.

Around 11:00 pm, as we were finishing setting up (took about five hours between the two of us), I told Carole I wanted to go to one of the back rooms to try on some of the clothing I'd set aside before we left. First, I went to the lingerie table (mostly slips and panties) and grabbed a pair of Warner panties and a pair of pantyhose, went to the back room with my stash in hand and stripped down to my shirt. I put on the panties and pantyhose and then tried the first pair of slacks. I told Carole there were no mirrors, making it hard for me to judge. She said, "well, come on out; let's see." So I walked out into the wide hallway and sort of just turned this way and that before her. She saw me holding up my shirt tails so that she could gauge how my butt looked in the slacks. She said, "gimme a sec" and disappeared into the living-room; she came back with a willowy floral silk top in just my size and said, "here, put this on instead of your shirt." I quickly changed (in front of her--no need to hide; we've all seen each other nearly bare before). Once I had the blouse on, she could better judge. She loved the slacks. Said they looked great on me. Ah, a keeper, then. I returned to the back room and tried another pair on. Again, I went to see her. Another great fit, she said. So, anyway, long story short, I did a bit of an impromptu fashion show for Carole. Several minutes into it, I thought, "to hell with the back room!" I just brought the rest of my stuff out into the hallway and changed there, before her. I only had the two skirts left to try on, anyway. Heh. She recognized the panties I wore from the lingerie table and was amused to see that I wore them over my pantyhose, which she always thought was a weird thing (yes, we've had this discussion before, she and I, but never with me standing there before her in my women's underwear! I have to admit it felt bizarre.) She thought the two skirts also suited me to a T. The only problem she saw with any of the items I'd picked up was that one of the pairs of slacks were a little too peg-legged to go well with the loafers I wore (women's loafers, by the way; very comfy, I find, for summertime walking). So she had me try on the pumps I'd put aside for Roxanne but these were a size too small for me to slip my heel into them. Nevertheless, Carole told me to just stand on them as is, with my foot most of the way in (and snug). After adjusting the bottom of my slacks over the shoe tops, she said, "See? This is exactly the kind of heel you need for this kind of trouser cuff!" Yay! It's good to get this kind of advice.

Well, after I was done, I changed back into my jeans (but kept the panties and pantyhose underneath, why not?) and then offered to give Carole my own advice on the clothes she'd gotten for herself (skirts, mostly). She modeled these, changing right there, in the hallway, just as I'd done. Okay, so I have to admit the lass has a far, far better sashay than I do! And everything looked great on her. We were both thrilled with our respective "scores." We bagged our stuff and left (I have to be back tomorrow morning, bright and early, to finalize the setup, before we open the doors.)

Like I said, it felt a little bizarre to be, in a sense, playing dress up with one of my colleagues--no matter how accepting she may be. I almost felt like we were a couple of high school girls trying on different outfits in some clothing shop at the mall or something. It felt weird... but great. Carole has met "Christina" a couple of times (and she's even hung out with me while I was in my femme persona for most of an evening) but this was the first time I'd ever stood before her in panties, pantyhose, and a blouse. Truly, I felt naked. Which makes me think that, maybe, when we, as crossdressers, let another's gaze fall upon our crossdressed form--such an intimate part of who we are, one that it's usually not given to others to see--that's precisely when we're at our most vulnerable and at our most naked. Especially if our skirt is actually hanging off the back of a chair.

I'm super tired now. But I had a great evening. As I mentioned, this is how the bazar setup usually looks like. But tonight Carole and I each sort of put on a bit of a fashion show for the other--much more candidly than is usually the case. Having said this, man, I've just got to stop bringing women's clothes home; there's just no more room in our dressers and closets. Roxanne's on the verge of having a fit (even though some of my clothes eventually wind up mysteriously belonging to her).

That's it. I'm off to bed. Sweet dreams, y'all.

Love,
CJ

Hay CJ,

Your story brings back the years the wife and I worked the garage sale once a year at out local church. I picked up my first wigs and a bunch of outfits and nobody was the wiser. Took over a month to go through all the stuff and get it separated and some of the things people gave away make me blush

awesome

Raven(SO)

Cool!

Don't know if I could do that without the wig and makeup.

That is cool, CJ. You and Carole have a type of familarity together that's unusual for workmates, but nice to hear about. It would also be a don't-ask don't-tell situation with my girlfriend; as much as she would want me to have a Carole-type friend, she wouldn't really want to know how it operates between us. But she's OK with me spending time with my ex-girfriend Lynda (who has made an appearance on these pages before).

Lynda would NOT be into critiquing girl-me, however. She met my galself once, and said a) I did a nice job on the makeup, and b) I had better legs than she did. Carole doesn't have an investment in your male presentation. Lynda did have an investment in mine, and finds it hard to deal with seeing a girl in 'his' place.

I'm envious about the clothing that's being described. Enjoy your new-found wealth of clothes, and I'm sure Roxanne will appreciate hers, too.

Fun CJ. The thrill of the find.

Hi all,

Thanks for the comments.

Anita,

You're right about the unusual bond between us at work; there's a deep, deep friendship between all seven of the team members, with some of us feeling closer to a given colleague than to others (as is normal, I guess). This closeness comes from two sources, I think: first, from having gone to emotional hell or heaven (and back) on numerous occasions in each other's company, and second, from having had the opportunity to get to know each other away from the daily drudge, as we often participate--voluntarily, I should add!--in activities, as a team, that have nothing to do with work-related issues.

Over the years, Carole has been a part of my life in the following ways:

-- She's hung out with me while I was en femme;
-- She's given me a full body waxing (while I wore nothing but a black lace thong and as her boyfriend, uncomfortable, sat watching television in the other room)
-- She's participated in many of the outings I'd planned for Gracie when the latter came to visit Montreal;
-- She's held my hand when I was going through a deep (and suicidal) identity crisis a few years ago;
-- She's always been open and curious about my femme self, even to the point of grilling me about my identity issues and inconsistencies.

I'd like to think that I've also been a part of Carole's life in her own times of need (and, yes, there have been such times). This is why I'll often refer to my colleagues as being, variously, my colleagues or my friends. Last Thursday evening just felt like something two friends would do--even though it was done in the context of workplace tasks.

And, yes, Roxanne isn't always super comfortable with the relation that exists between my colleagues and me but she's come to accept that, not only is the friendship that is at the very core of our team a huge part of our workplace culture, it's also a tremendous catalyst for personal growth, in my own case. For nothing in the world would I sacrifice that friendship.

As for Roxanne possibly wanting to know how things operate between Carole and me, well, yes, she has been curious about this. But she now knows me well enough (and Carole well enough) to know there's no hanky-panky going on, regardless of the amount of semi-nudity involved. I've always treated Carole (and all the women I know) with respect; that these women may happen on occasion to be in their undies changes nothing. I mean, we're all adults here.

Anyway, yep, it was fun. Now, I only have to figure out under what circumstances I'd be wearing that gorgeous business suit! Heh. Maybe when I accompany Elizabeth's SO, Raven, to some of her official appointments this coming week in Montreal? (Just kidding, guys! Just kidding! )

Love,
CJ

For a number of years now, my wife has been in charge of our church's twice-yearly rummage sales and I helped.

I have picked up some things over the years, mostly jewelry.

I take full advantage of living close by the church and take things home to try on.

One sale, someone must have bought Silkies pantyhose, not liked them, and donated 2 pairs in unopened sealed bags. They followed me home.

This year was the first one that I got things from the lingerie table:

There was a sealed package of 4 pairs of Haband nylon panties, a clean short pink silky nylon Vanity Fair nightgown (ran it through the washer after I tried it on and it fit), and a 42 DDD Cacique pink padded bra for when I want to play Dolly Parton at Halloween or whenever (I sent it through the washer, too).

CJ

That's super cool CJ. From your post, I can tell that was an experience you enjoyed every minute of. Who wouldn't eh? You know, you have no need to justify anything about your relationship to Carole. Sounds just like two close girlfriends having fun. Nothing more, nothing less. Tell Carole what a cool gal she is.

Thanks for sharing.

Stephanie