Two Incredible Days:1 at home/1 at the Mall!

Allena · Post by **Allena** » Fri Feb 06, 2004 3:12 pm

First, I was going to come here to ask for help the other day.
I was home and something happened that I feared might cause me to have to seek refuge for a few days or weeks...
I umm, well....

I SHAVED MY LEGS!

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!

It was such a lark! I was looking down at the hair and before I knew it my right leg started losing hair before my very own eyes! Then the blood started flowing...from several places...and the stinging sensation hit me!

I've only shave two parts of my body before...
My face...by order, while in the service of my country
My pubic area to "help" the folks in the surgical suite prior to one of my hernia surgeries (BOY, did I ever get in trouble for that one! ...from the Nurse)

I have to say that I actually drew less blood shaving my legs than I do when I shave my big bushy beard off every few years or so.

THIS IS SUCH AN INCREDIBLE FEELING!

I really like the feel of my smooth legs...until the stubble appears after an hour or so...LOL!

The big problem was that my wife doesn't even like me to shave off my beard! Especially since she was told about my crossdressing! She now worries that shaving my face might mean I want to start wearing make-up...etc.
I just knew I had to leave town until the hair grew back, I was just hoping one of you could take me in for a bit. I don't make a mess...well, I make "neat" messes. I don't eat much...unless I'm hungry...

It just so happens (divine intervention?), we were to see our family counseler that night. Most of the way through the session, our counseler asked, "Is there anything else you want to talk about tonight?"
That opened the door for me to tell my wife I had shaved.
The reaction wasn't so bad, in fact in went pretty good seeing as how the two women in the room got in a lot of chuckle time over my beginning-leg-shaving follies.

So I'm going to keep shaving for a while, but like my face, I find it TOO much work. I'll let it grow back, but I now know how GOOD it feels, so I'll probably shave again.

The second thing happened yesterday at the local Mall.
I shopping for my feminine wardrobe!
I've bought some things at the second-hand stores, and over the internet.
I've even bought a couple of things I was pretending to buy for my wife...very overtly.
But this time, I didn't pretend to have a "shopping list", and I didn't keep remarking out loud how I "wish she had given me more detail about what she wants...".
You know...the usual stuff.
I just kept relaxing myself, and forged ahead into the women's departments of places like:
Mervyn's (took me two tries to finally settle down and peruse the bra dept. in a casual manner)
Ross (much easier for some reason than Mervyn's)
Sears (I actually bought a couple of cammies to try and I was returning the one that didn't fit)
and the BEST PLACE OF ALL...
Village East (a part of Gottschalk's)

Village East was BY FAR my best experience!
This is the part of Gottschalks(sp?) for larger women.
Since I'm 6'2" and 200 lbs, this was the place for me. I pity you size 12 people for having WAY MORE CHOICES than us bigger folks!

There were few or no women in this store the whole time I shopped.
The only salesperson was a young woman, very friendly and helpful.

IT'S SO FUNNY, the feelings we pick up in our interactions with other people sometimes.
I never stated I was buying clothing for my wife while the saleslady helped me pick a blouse/skirt combo.
She helped me measure waistbands to determine what inch size a 1x or 2x would be.
And when we were done picking things out, I looked her in the eyes and felt such an AMAZING sense of comfort that I asked her if I could try them on...they were for me.
She just had this little smile that said "I thought so", and she said sure, I could try them on.
Well from there, I asked her if she saw many men in, that she thought were buying for themselves.
She replied that actually she could only remember one. He wanted a bra and she said they had such a hard time figuring out what size he would wear.
She was SO INCREDIBLEY NICE AND SWEET about everything. She appeared to be engaged or married and I kept wondering if she was going to go home and tell her husband about it.
I briefly explained that my wife accepted this side of me and that I had found this website and realized there WERE other men who crossdressed.

Her reply was, "Hey, it's just clothing anyway, right?"

After I left, I shopped at another store, but couldn't stop thinking about how nice she was. I went to the customer service desk and picked up a comment form. Then I went back to her store and asked her name (it was on her NAMETAG! Go Figure!

), and told her I was very appreciative of the way she helped me what a nice person she was and that I was going to put in a good word for her with the office.

Some of you have told of your similar experiences in stores, but I never knew how great it felt to have a stranger treat you like you are a normal person while shopping for women's clothing!
I'm definitely going back to that store again when the same saleslady is working. Heck! I want to go back and give her a Valentine's Day present. But I fear that might be TOO much of a display of appreciation.

Laura · Post by **Laura** » Fri Feb 06, 2004 6:26 pm

Hi Allen,

Thanks for sharing a great story. I had a similar experience shopping--now my favorite past-time--the other day. I was out with a cd friend. We went to Tall Girls, which is great for finding clothes that fit the arms and legs of crossdressers who are around 6 feet or taller. The clerks serve cd customers all the time, and one of them even helped me pick out a blouse. Then we went to a large department store. I screwed up my courage and after picking out two cute dresses, asked the saleslady whether I could use the dressing room. I gave her a big Laura smile. And she said yes! It felt very liberating. And it was a small but important measure of acceptance for me, and its done wonders for my confidence. One way to allay fear that I learned is to call ahead of time and ask whether transgendered men can use the dressing rooms. It seems most of the stores will say yes. After a while, you don't need to call.

About shaving legs, I don't know what to say except good luck! [I don't shave mine, but I use pantyhose] You might have to leave home for a long time to wait for your hair to grow back! Maybe you should consider having a talk with your wife about it, despite her opposition. You'll have to do it sooner or later anyway.

Hugs,

Laura

Allena · Post by **Allena** » Fri Feb 06, 2004 8:46 pm

Laura,
Thanks for the comments and sharing your story.
It would be nice to have a store like Tall Girls here.

It is such a boost to my self-esteem/ego to have had the interaction I did with the girl at Village East.
I'm thinking of dropping in next week to see if they are having the same great sales.
I forgot to mention that the items I got were already marked down plus another 50% off. And these were nice looking clothes, too!

About my legs, I am standing my ground. My wife isn't upset...too much I think. But it's like my beard. When I shave it off both she and my daughter act like it's the worst thing I could have done. Then they get used to my new look.
Actually, all the women at work say I look way younger without the old grey beard and I think that may bother my wife a bit.
So, I'll shave my legs if I want and when I want. She didn't want me walking around town in my shorts (I wear shorts all year 'round) for fear of what people might say.
But I already have folks wondering about my anyway. I run barefoot, and I used to run in what too many people called skimpy shorts. I work part-time and my schedule is so varied that I still run into people who think I don't work and my wife supports me.
So anyway, I really don't think anyone in this town who is familiar with me would bat an eye...much...if they saw I had shaved legs.
I really think my wife is being self-concious about her knowing I crossdress, and she will probably relate anything I do that remotely smacks of femininity, with my crossdressing.
Like I said earlier, shaving was a lark, and although it's much nicer when wearing hose (until the stubble comes up...yuck), I didn't do it as a crossdressing thing...really!

CJ · Post by CJ » Fri Feb 06, 2004 9:34 pm

Hi all,

Allen,

What else can I say? Yay!! Good for you--on all counts!

Satiny hose and silky smooth legs are a heavenly match.

I also get rid of my beard on a fairly regular basis; people tell me it makes me look younger too (of course, that's not why I do it, eh?

).

Concerning "girls and women working at mall stores," I found that their degree of comfort with my presence there is directly proportional to my own. If I'm friendly and confident, they usually are too.

A Valentine for the salesgirl, hmmmm? Call it "transference in a retail setting."

I'm so glad you're beginning to explore more openly some of the joys of crossdressing (finding that perfect little black number at 50% off being just one of them!). Kudos, Allen.

Love,
CJ

Anita · Post by **Anita** » Sat Feb 07, 2004 3:09 am

Hi Allen--
I'm happy you got down to the mall. I liked your description of the salesgirl.

Shaving legs? I'm not that wild about it, since it doesn't seem to have that sensuous feel for me. I usually just wear double panty hose, and don't worry about the leg hair so much.

But I do have to shave my chest for certain outfits I wear. The first time I did that it was STRANGE. I had not been without chest hair more than 40 years. That took some getting used to.
A

Anne · Post by **Anne** » Sat Feb 07, 2004 11:14 am

Based on your posts, I have shaved my feet & thighs as a first step. We'll see how I fare.

Carol Ann · Post by **Carol Ann** » Sat Feb 07, 2004 11:25 am

Guess I am one of the luckie ones as I have never had much hair on my legs. When I did shave them I went all out and shaved you know where, so I finished by doing my under arms and forarms. Only problem was razor burn, I only need to shave now about once a week and use nair now and then. All the wife said was "I like it, keep it clean shaven all the time". Carol Ann

Beauty · Post by **Beauty** » Sat Feb 07, 2004 11:36 am

Great post Allen!

I didn't think I was going to read the whole thing, but I did!

lol

Thanks for sharing that your cool story with us!

Best of luck with your new shaved legs!

Beauty

Allena · Post by **Allena** » Sun Feb 08, 2004 10:09 am

Thanks for the comments.
I really like hearing about what others have done regarding shaving and shopping.
Speaking of "shaving down there", I didn't completely shave my pubic area, but I did trim it up and now I've got either plain old razor burn, or ingrown hairs all over there.

I know some of you use chemical products to remove hair on some parts of your body. Do any of you wax?
I watched my wife wax once and it looked PAINFUL

!
But given the momentary pain of that compared with ingrown hairs, cuts and razor burn, I just might consider it next time.

Nancy · Post by **Nancy** » Wed Feb 11, 2004 2:14 pm

I was blessed with not having leg hair or much of a beard. My wife gets ticked because she has to shave her legs and I don't. Years back when I started dressing almost every day I started body shaving, the back of hands, arms, stomach, chest and of course my face. My wife says she misses my chest hair but it's really not a issue with her. My beard has almost turned all white now and if anything I would love to have it permanently removed as man or woman I just hate to shave. I also pluck my eye brows and any ear and nose hair. I would at some point like to let my hair on my head grow long so that I could have it cut and styled like a womans and not have to wear a wig. I call the leting my hair grow long one of my retirment projects.