Tips on Presentation

Keeping up with Fashion Trends
by Steffie 

In an effort to be the girls we all know we are inside and to blend better in society, we need to be fashion conscious like GG’s. That entails reading fashion pieces (like Glamour), observing closely what GG’s are wearing and always asking questions. While this summary piece is not meant to tell ALL girls HOW they should dress, it can give a start for imparting fashion sense to some of us that are just starting out. Here are some interesting things I have come across in my studying fashion. Some of these looks will make us girls proud to go out (Do’s)! There are a few things one should probably avoid, however (Don’ts). The first part is styles for different shapes. The second is fashion looks (clothes). The last is shoes (a girl has to have shoes!).

Part 1. Style Do's for your Shape.

You have:
Smaller shoulders, bust and waist, with heavier hips, bottoms and thighs.

You want:
To balance your proportions by visually slimming your bottom half and playing up your top.

Some styles to try: 

For the weekdays:

• Detailed, ruffled or colorful tops draw the eye up.
• A dark A-line skirt with no waistband is ideal.
• Sleek boot-cut or straight pants make hips look narrower.
• Heels are height inducing and leg slimming.

 For the weekend:

• A striped boatneck’s horizontal line helps balance your top and bottom.
• Look for shirts that hit at your hip bone or lower.
• At-the-hip boot-cut jeans with biggish pockets are great on your posterior.

 For night:

• Choose empire-waist dresses in flowery fabrics to skim and smooth your silhouette.
• Say yes to V-necks! They’re torso lengthening.
• A wide collar (on anything) gives a horizontal emphasis that helps balance you out.

You have:
A full bust and hips—and possibly a dress size of 14 or larger.

You want:
To minimize curves but not deny they’re there.

Some styles to try:

For the weekdays:

• An open neckline flatters your bust.
• The best tops and jackets are hip bone or wrist length, not shorter or longer.
• Look for fabrics that drape over curves.
• An A-line or not-skintight pencil skirt balances your top and bottom. 

 For the weekend:

• A scoopneck fitted tee shows shape without revealing too much.
• Boot-cut jeans help balance your hips.
• Low or mediumheels (not high ones for a look this casual) lengthen legs—and you.

 For night:

• A wrapdress adjusts to tailor-fit your hourglass.
• A narrow or self-tie belt is best.
• Fabrics with a bit of structure skim your curves without hugging them.
• A small-scale allover pattern can brilliantly flatter curves.

 You have:
A straight shape from top to bottom: narrow hips, a small bust and a not-so-curvy waist.

You want:
To look like you’ve got curves (without surgical intervention).

 Some styles to try:

For the weekdays:

• A ruffled shirt and nipped waist are curve builders on top.
• Skirts with a little swing are good for you—they create hips better than, say, a boxy mini.

For the weekend:

• Lucky you! Just about any kind of jeans look great on slim hips.
• A tailored, curvy jacket (not boy-cut) gives you a feminine shape.

You have:
A proportioned body, with a height of 5'3" or under.

You want:
To dress with the same grown-up sophistication, sexiness and authority that your 5'7" friends do.

 Some styles to try:

For the weekdays:

• A-line or pencil skirts are universally flattering.
• Your best hemline is a little above the knee, to lengthen legs.
• A hip-length top is torso lengthening.
• Open-toe shoes can elongate. Pass on all ankle-strap styles, though.

For the weekend:

• Long low-rise jeans work for you, but they shouldn’t be so low that they make a horizontal line across the widest part of your hips.
• Snug-fitting tops that show off the womanly shape you are trying to achieve are better than shapeless ones which will swallow you.

For night:

• A V-neckline is always a height-enhancing detail.
• A sleek-fitting, top-of-the-knee empire dress tends to lengthen you.
• An embellished bustline draws the eye up.
• Pointy-toe heels elongate legs.

Part 2.  Fashion Looks:  Do and Don’t Examples

All the tips you need to get noticed (in a good way)!

1. Do wear one bold pattern with neutral pieces.

Photo: Michael Caulfield/WireImage.com

2. A belted wrap dress in a small but bold pattern is a Do!

Photo: Ronnie Andren

3. Don’t do a loud shirt and a loud skirt.

Photo: Ronnie Andren

 4. Pencil skirts? Always Classy. A Do!

Photo: Donato Sardella/WireImage.com 

 5. Skirts too short to bend over in: a Don’t.

Photo: Ronnie Andren

 6. Do wear boots so you’re not all leg.

Photo: Ronnie Andren

7. Don’t go braless under a clingy knit dress.

Photo: Ronnie Andren

 8. Do look for A-line dresses; they’re universally flattering.

Photo: Ronnie Andren

 9. Don’t cinch your hips with a too-tight skirt.

Photo: Ronnie Andren

10. Do remember that every full skirt requires a fitted top.

Photo: Gregg DeGuire/WireImage.com

11. Don’t cover up your curves this much.

Photo: Ronnie Andren

 12. Just Don’t! Too short, too long—always Don’ts.

Photo: Ronnie Andren

Part 3.   Shoes:  Do and Don’t Examples 

1. Do know that every girl needs one pair of great black heels. Or three.

Photo: Ronnie Andren

 2. Do wake up a plain outfit with a patterned heel.

Photo: Ronnie Andren

 3. Do add color and comfort to your day with cute flats.

Photo: Ronnie Andren

4. Don’t wear your walking shoes with ankle socks!

Photo: Ronnie Andren

 5. Do choose a narrow-heeled boot for a dressier look.

Photo: Ronnie Andren

6. Not only do kitten heels make legs look slimmer, but you can walk in them too. Do!

Photo: Ronnie Andren

7. Socks for evening? You got it—a Don’t.

Photo: Ronnie Andren

 8. Do punch up dark jeans with bright red boots.

Photo: Ronnie Andren

9. Skinny jeans with stiletto-heel boots are a sexy Do.

Photo: Ronnie Andren

 10. Thigh-high leather boots are a Don’t.

Photo: Erik C Pendzich/Rex Features

11. Do cuff long jeans to highlight fun flats.

Photo: Ronnie Andren

 12. Tapered jeans with metallic flats are a cute nightlife Do.

Photo: Brian Prahl/Splash News

 13. Don’t let bad loafers dress you down!

Photo: Ronnie Andren

14. Just Don’t! With footwear this scary, your clothes don’t even matter!

Photo: Blevins/Corbis; Ronnie Andren

Let us define passing. Passing isn’t necessarily where others in mainstream society think you are a biological female. In the short time I have been going out as Steffie, I have learned that passing is instead where others see you as making a reasonable effort to present yourself as a female. If others see this, they will in turn treat you as a female even though some may really know you are still a biological male. I have been called mam, honey, etc. number of times. Most of the people, I am sure, knew I was a male but they saw I was making more than reasonable effort to be a woman and they treated me as such. What goes into this? It can be divided into several categories:

Makeup, Choice of clothing, Mannerisms, Walking

I will briefly expound on these as an introduction and each month will give any subsequent tips if I learn anything new.

Makeup
The first thing that is needed before putting on makeup is to ensure that a five o’clock shadow does not come into play later on. For this you need a yellow or orange foundation applied lightly to the areas that later can develop a heavy beard. These areas are on the chin and the upper lip in addition to the main face. What I use is orange flip lipstick (number 710) from Revlon. I apply lightly as stripes on the problem areas and blend in with a pad. This leaves a light area of orange which will counteract any bluing from when the five o’clock shadow starts to manifest itself later on in the day (i.e. after 5-6 hours).

The next thing is putting on foundation. I use Revlon Colorstay (beige). I apply with a pad all over my face and on the nose and eyelids. I use lightly (just enough to cover any beard shadow but not too much). After allowing to dry, I may put on a light second coat. I blend in with the pad until everything is smooth. Next I put on powder (I use translucent) with a brush all over my face, nose and eyelids and use sparingly. I then wipe off any excess.

Next is eyeshadow. I use a combination of four colors as I will outline shortly. I have learned that women nowadays do not use blue, purple or other outlandish color eye shadow as much but tend now toward neutral colors. I learned from my wife (who in turn learned from a makeup girl a Macy’s) that you can put on light pink eye shadow over your main lid, gold on the part below your brow (the bony part), bronze on the outer corners and orange on the inner corners of the eyelid. Then you blend all four colors all over the eyelid. It helps create a good quad color look which is what most of the girls are going for nowadays. If you don’t want the quad look, you can always just use one neutral color (like beige).

Next is the eyeliner. Instead of the usual charcoal black eyeliner, you can also try dark blue eye shadow, which is used in this case as the eyeliner. You can apply on the part above the lash in small dots across the eye as well as on the flat part under the eye (just above h lower lash). Thus the eyes are lined lightly with the dark blue eye shadow and give the eyes a nice soft look.

Next is the mascara and I keep this light on the upper and lower lashes. I am fortunate to have thicker lashes than most males so that is why I am light on the mascara. For thin eyelashes, more mascara may be needed. After applying mascara, I next use the curler for the lashes and then apply one more light coating to the upper lashes.

Next I put on my lipstick. My wife first made me aware that very few women nowadays use bright red lipstick in the summer. Neutral colors are now what are in (just like eye shadow). I trace the outer part of the lips and then fill in. I am especially careful to follow the upper curve of the lip. I then use a little clear lip gloss to give my lips that glossy look. I just put a few dabs on and work it in all over with my lips. Darker color lipstick is more for the autumn and winter.

Finally I put on blush lightly on the apple of the cheeks and gently brush toward the face near the upper ear, as well as apply on the nose and middle of the lower chin. The key is to stay on the light side with the blush so as to avoid the “drag queen” look.

Fingernails and Toenails: Nowadays, very few women seem to be painting their nails bright red.  Clear polish (or a more modest color or even sometimes pink) is what seems to be in. Toes, however, can have pink nail polish.

Choice of Clothing
You should wear whatever you are comfortable with. If your goal is like mine to blend in, though, then you have to bear in mind that wearing a cocktail dress and 5 inch heels in the middle of the day will get you noticed. Nowadays women are wearing things like cropped pants or capris paired and a blouse or camisole. The colors can be black/white but also pink, blue and other bright colors are in vogue during the summer. For shoes, sandals are in, especially those with low heels or even flats. If you are over 6 feet (like me), this is especially important. Make sure your shoes match your outfit. When buying an outfit, I always am sure I have shoes to match (a girl has to always have shoes, shoes and more shoes!). Your purse should also match your outfit reasonably well. Jewelry should be tasteful. If during the day, costume jewelry is reasonable and should match your clothing somewhat (especially earrings). I always wear earrings, a ladies watch, bracelet, necklace (not gaudy) and an anklet. I avoid gaudy jewelry. You can save pearls or diamonds for the little black dress during the evening if you are at a formal affair (like our CDM dance).

Mannerisms
For some of my friends, this comes naturally but not to me. I have made an attempt o learn though as much as I can in a short period of time. Try and speak in you natural voice (not a false high voice). The goal is not to sound like a woman (unrealistic for most of us) but to NOT sound like a man. For instance, if in a restaurant, a man would say:  “I want a steak.” A woman would say:  Can I have a salad, please?” Also, a woman always says thank you or please. She will also sometimes address another person with a title like hun. For example, she would say:  “Thanks, hun.” to someone in a soft spoken way. Also when sitting, a lady always crosses her legs or keeps both legs together. If wearing a skirt, she smoothes it out before and after sitting.

Walking
When walking, keep both legs close to one another (almost rubbing together) and use your hips when walking. A man’s center of gravity is in the upper body but a woman’s is in the lower part, hence using the hips for walking. When men walk, their feet catch them from falling but a woman uses her hips and has good posture. You can practice walking in front of a all mirror or videotape yourself walking. I even heard you can lean on a shopping cart and practice walking that way.  When walking, keep your head up, look straight ahead and point your breasts outward.  Be proud of who you are!