Names and hemlines?

Comment by Kimberly Long on February 14, 2012 at 7:34am

I have had my name since the early 70s.  But I have never used my middle name.  I wear clothing that fits my age and I have for years passed well.

Love Kimberly

Comment by Kimberly Marie on February 14, 2012 at 10:43am

I don't use my middle name, but that's mainly cause I haven't picked one (just re-beginning the transition). I, however, don't think I would use it much anyways as it's just there, not something I really want to tell the world about. I don't even like telling close friend what my current middle name is, and I feel honored by having it. I have noticed that many of my natal girl friends do use their middle name with anything online related. They are all southerners, though, and none of my northern friends do so. So it might be regional.

As for age appropriate clothing, in the British reality show "My Transsexual Summer", there was a "mature" lady on there and she said she new some of her outfits were not age appropriate, but she still wore them cause she didn't get to when she was younger. Living here in Georgia, I've seen a few natal women in there 60's-80's wearing mini-skirts, although it is rare. I figure, if they can pull it off, go for it, if not, good for them to have the confidence. I apply the same to us.

Just my thoughts, your mileage may vary.

Comment by Marsha M. Marsha on February 14, 2012 at 12:23pm

As you can see by my profile I am Marsha which distringuishes me from Marcia and any other Marsha who uses their last name. I debated when I joined here as to what moniker to adapt but just registered as Marsha, and as my friend Sue Langely once stated, I'm like Madonna: there is no additional name requirred. Using my first and middle names reminds me too much of when my parents would yell for me when I did something wrong.

Hem lines? I have maybe 6 skirts about midthigh, most others at the knee or slightly above and 4 that are lower calf. First of all I prefer skirts above pants, and although I own pants and jeans, I look better in skirts and with my long legs I say smoke 'em if you got it.

Barb, I think those who wear the hemline just below the bunline have a name: CD, No offense to crossdressers, but in my experience there are some crossdressers who own nothing but mini skirts. I suppose it is the difference between dressing recreationally on occasions and everyday. I want to turn heads , but not stomachs

Comment by BJY on February 14, 2012 at 1:00pm

Hi Ladies,

Thanks for the replies. And as long as we are probing the dark and running in ever-tightening circles, I have another question. Does anyone other than me ever play the "there's a woman (natal) in her life!" or "Hmmm. I don't think so."

My (very, very EX) Ex looked at me, very early on, (in fact, before I'd even been out of the house) shook her head and said, "You don't look like a woman." to which I could only reply "I know." On the other hand, my not so totally "EX" Ex (#2) was helpful and figuratively took me by the hand and guided me through the nuances of feminine appearance and presentation. She helped a lot.

So I suppose that is the origin of my little game of "did she have a mentor or not?" that I play in my head. Utterly subjective of me, I know, and probably not of much use to anyone, but I wonder about these things, so just consider this a "mental purge", 'kay?

Onward into the fog,

Barb

Comment by BJY on February 14, 2012 at 4:04pm

Now, Connie--we are both from Western Washington---we have to play nice. 8^)

(Anyone know how to tell that you are driving in Western Washington? First, it's raining, and second, people honk *before* the accident.....)

OK, here goes. Did the Founding Fathers begin the Revolution in order to "purge-a-Tory"? Oog. Sorry.....

(A somewhat abashed) Barb

Comment by Janelle Dawn on February 14, 2012 at 10:02pm

Barb, I think it's all a matter of personal preference, on both the dressing and the name.  I myself am a younger northern girl, but you'll find that I use my middle name and dress more conservatively.  I use my middle name online and not my last name, because I am still very much in the closet and don't want to run the risk of someone searching for "J. Drake" and finding Janelle instead of Jared.  All the pants and skirts I have are longer than thigh length, but I think a good portion of that may be because it's cold in New England all the time.  I might try to wear shorter items if I were in a warmer place.

Hope this helps with your questions! :)

Comment by Marsha M. Marsha on February 15, 2012 at 6:41am

Connie and I are ladies so we have a Missunderstanding of each other, OK, Connie's a lady, I'm "other".

Now today I am wearing a pants suit, or is it pant suit? I never have gotten a good explanation of whther it's singular or plural. I see in, oh say Ann Taylor's website, Pant, but then again I have seen advertisements for pants. My own way of reasoning is it's pant because we wouldn't say we wear a skirts suit, yes?

I know some of you are panting with exhaustion from reading this, but please don't skirt the issue: is it pant or pants?

Comment by Nancy Wichmann on February 15, 2012 at 9:35am

I spent most of my life in the South. Many, maybe even most, of the GGs used their middle names, and even some boys did. I don't use mine, but I do add my middle initial to my signature. The reasons: 1) "Nancy Elaine" is difficult to say without running the "e" sounds together, even for me; 2) I like people to know that my initials make me a "NEW" girl.

I suspect that our fashion sense is largely influenced by what was going on early in our life. I became aware of women's fashions in the 50's - full skirts w/petticoats (crinolines), angora sweaters, wiggle dresses, etc. Those are the types of fashions that appeal to me (besides a full skirt helps hide my smallish hips). I do enjoy shorter skirts, but not more than 4 inches above my knee. Women who are a little less "mature" than I, grew up in the 60's - the mini-skirt era.

I do frequently see GGs wearing really short skirts. The difference from TGs who do, is they way they present themselves. One can sense whether it is worn as style or show. The ones you are talking about are doing it for show.

I will admit that I probably do not "dress my age," as some would define it. I do dress for my apparent age. I guess I'm lucky that I look 15 years younger than I am, and that's the way I dress.

Comment by BJY on February 15, 2012 at 11:11am

Hi Ladies,

True Confession time: I really don' have a position on any of this, I just like a good discussion. I could as easily argue the other side, whichever that may be. Can't help it, I'm Irish.....

I think that if everyone agreed with me--on anything--I would go not-so-quietly nuts in short order, so I appreciate the differing opinions.

Of course, there are also those who say,

"Taste is like the place / From which the body leaves it's waste:

Divided".....

Here's to celebrating division....and "N.E.W. girl". I love it!

So---one of the very few perks of transition/cross-living is that we get to choose our name. Any particular reason you took the name you have? I chose mine because the root of Barbara is Barberi. One of the meanings of the word is "the stranger", and I figured, what could be stranger than this? So "barbarian" morphed into Barb--motorcycle rider, poet and Gramma. (Not really much of a stretch after all...)

Moving on,

Barb

Comment by Nancy Wichmann on February 15, 2012 at 11:22am

I took mine for two reasons: I like Nancy Hunt's (Mirror Image) reasons for choosing hers, so I had my first name. By the way, "nancy" is an old fashioned word for an effeminate boy. Second, I had always envied people whose initials spelled a word. I had N - W, so I pretty much had to come up with an "E" or "O" middle name. I kind of liked the idea of being NEW, so I picked Elaine.

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