Hello, all. I'm relatively new to the concept of gender transition (I mean, I've seen it all of my life, but I'm just beginning to really understand it) and I find it really interesting. I can see myself as a guy and happy in that form, but I would like to get some sort of feel for what it would be like, thus my interest in cross-dressing. So, how do you do it? It doesn't occur to me that there are guidelines for proper cross-dressing (nor should there be), so how do you as an individual go about it? What type of clothing do you wear? Are there special items that you use to achieve a certain look (I've heard of "binders"--I assume these decrease the apparent size of one's bust)? Is there anything that you do to feel particularly masculine? Do you prefer to not feel particularly masculine? Thanks in advance.
Hi there. I'm a transguy (soon to have transition). I started with having my hair cut short. Then followed by jeans and simple shirts when I was young. Last 2011 I started wearing binders to hide the front cause its getting bigger. Same year I started wearing briefs and boxers. I stopped wearing the girl thing. It just felt not right. xD My advice, do not over dress, just wear simple guy stuff and look decent. For me, I don't want people to think that I'm a lesbian that's why I keep it simple. Sorry for my english..
I usually wear jeans that are a little too big so they don't hug any curve that might be happening on me :lol: I wear men's cut t-shirts, flannel or button up shirts, hoodies, etc. all subtle but definitely purchased from the men's section of stores. Again, binding can help in feeling and looking more male, but don't bind with anything but an actual binder (no ace bandages or tape, especially). Even real binders can cause damage to your body and can't be worn for more than a handful of hours at a time. But they do really help with dysphoria.
Binders do just that - flatten out one's chest to make it appear smaller. Unfortunately, there's no equivalent for your legs or butt. This saddens me. Getting a short haircut definitely helps. If you're not really into that, you could adopt hats. The only real guidelines I can think of would be simply to really observe the details of the fashion of the gender you're dressing as, and emulate them. When it comes to dressing like a guy, though, this is difficult because a lot of guys (especially my age and younger [which I note because being ftm I appear even younger]) don't dress particularly well. That's just a matter of opinion though, I'm not really the sort to comfortably live in athletic shorts and sweatshirts, a particularly popular look among the young men in my area. I usually wear jeans in a dark wash (indigo or black, dark colors visually slim), and tshirts. I don't wear a lot of graphic tees myself (chest I'm trying to hide distorting the picture on my shirt = bad), and while I prefer dressing in dark colors, I sometimes wear lighter shirts (light colors visually broaden). I'm also a fan of zip front hoodies, cardigans, and button front shirts, but I find shopping for the latter two to be particularly challenging. Also, it's ok to accessorize with guy's clothes. Think - belts, watches, hats, etc. As far as feeling masculine goes. I just try and do what I can to feel like me. I'm not particularly masculine. I think I'm pretty neutral. But the binding helps, and wearing the clothes I like does too.
Thanks for all of the advice, guys! So, furthering that, what can be done to appear more masculine facially? Also, are there binders that work effectively for E+ cup sizes?
I couldn't tell you about binding with a larger cup - I'm a B. But I can tell you that binders don't usually get you completely flat anyway, which is a-ok, because guys don't usually have totally flat chests. They do smoosh quite a bit though, and it's wonderful. Facially, there's only so much that can be done. Some people do ftm makeup - read, a variety of artificial facial hairs. I don't bother with this, it's time consuming to make it convincing and on a baby face like mine, it's more weird than convincing. What I do do, though, is shave. Mostly because guys my age don't have peach fuzz - they have facial hair, or they shave. Pretty much it's just good practice to get into, because I don't pass at my best. But hey. It also helps me feel more normal, for lack of a better word.
I don't have a facial hair even if I keep on shaving LOL. It's hard to achieve that without using T. Just a little patience, soon I'll be able to start..
I bought my binder from Underworks and I'm a F. It works pretty dang perfectly.. It almost makes me look like I have pecs actually which is totally amazing. It's not perfect by any means but it does get rid of the bulk of everything.. Usually I just try to layer to cover up the rest
