Caitlyn, one of my former best (female) friends from LA, who now lives in Paris (I don't hate you, really...), but is back in town for a few weeks. I came out to her back in August, and her first words were: "Oh cool!" So this time, she wanted to see me en femme.
Even though I knew she'd be accepting of it (and she was), I confess I was still a little nervous beforehand. It's one thing to be en femme in front of people I don't know well -- it's another to do so with people I know well.
But never fear. Caitlyn and I had a great girl's day out. We started with lunch at our favorite sushi place, which has lot of specialities you can't get anywhere else. As we were leaving the restaurant, Caitlyn turned to me and said, "I think the waitress really liked you." The waitress was pretty friendly, but I'd just chalked that up to her being perky, although she did seem a bit intrigued. I guess another woman discovered she's trans-amorous. Too bad, I wasn't really attuned to the possibility someone might be turned on by me being in femme.
(And not that I think anyone mistakes me for female close-up, but the waitress certainly knew I was a guy after Caitlyn accidentally referred to me as "he." To her credit, as the waitress had taken our order, Caitlyn immediately asked me which pronoun I preferred, and apologized profusely. Even if she kept made the same mistake later on in the day. But I knew she was trying and in fairness, I'm sure she it's hard for her to shift gears after knowing me for years as a guy (and knowing see was going to see me in guy mode the following day as well).
Next we went to Sak's because Caitlyn needed some skin care products -- with the exchange rate and VAT tax in France, stuff is cheaper here -- and she ended up taking me to the make-up counters and suggesting things for me to get. We found a nice blush, and some lipsticks. But definitely not cheap. (Caitlyn is more of a Beverly Hills brat than she's willing to admit to.) OTOH, since I only wear make-up a couple times a month, they should last quite a while.
After that, we went to B&B Hardware to pick up something she needed. B&B is one of those old-time, we-have-everything, high-testerone places -- but no one seemed to bat an eye. Then we went to the Nordstom's Rack at the Bridge (nothing interesting for me on the meager selection of plus-sized racks, but Caitlyn picked up a half-dozen shirts). We grabbed a bite for dinner, and saw "Casino Royale," which I'd wanted to see and Caitlyn was happy to drool over Daniel Craig a second time.
I'm not sure if I'm passing more than I realize, or if it's just that Angelenos have an of equivalent New Yorkers "seen it all 'tude" but I really didn't seem to get noticed that much, even at the Bridge which has a lot of blacks and Hispanics teens (who in the past have been most apt to stare or giggle). 'Course it did probably help that I was dressed like an "typical" local, in jeans, a patterned top and casual blazer -- and yes, I did wear pants. While I admit I would've preferred a skirt, given the unseasonably frigid weather, pants just made sense.
Interestingly, Caitlyn mentioned, she thought I was cuter as a girl than as a boy. Which I supposed might be a back-handed compliment, but I know she meant well. But I can see her point. The baby cheeks that I hate in guy mode give me a softer more "feminine" face, and make-up and women's clothing are designed to show off one's physical features. But I think in part, she meant it as a compliment that I wasn't over-doing things - she knows someone else who's cross-living, but whose falsetto voice and overly girly-girl mannerisms Caitlyn finds really annoying.
The next day, I got together with Caitlyn again, this time in en homme, since I needed to get some guy clothes and I generally find more interesting stuff in LA than here in the Bay Area. (After all a metrosexual does have an image to maintain.) Sadly, I hadn't seen much at the Nordstrom Rack the night before (even though I've had really good luck there in the past). So instead we went to the Century City mall, which has been remodelled so much that I didn't recognize anything. We stumbled across a boutique called Veni Vidi Vici, which had some great funky-yet-work-appropriate stuff -- and on sale! I ended up getting four shirts, which I badly needed, since I didn't have too many long-sleeve shirts for work.
Caitlyn also needed to stop at Sephora for some things, and we found a really nice foundation that matches really well (Caitlyn thought my current foundation was a shade too dark -- and that's the value of a good friend: she was willing to point out what others might not.) I had great fun with the sales clerk at the register. She asked if I wanted the foundation gift wrapped, so pulled out a photo of me en femme. "Is that your sister?" she asked. "Guess again," I replied. "No way!" she squealed. My little bit of trans education...
So all-in-all, a great weekend, made especially nice by being out with a good friend.
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