About Grace
About Grace
So that you know a little bit about me, I'm 40ish, single and live in Baltimore, Maryland. I'm college educated with a BS in Chemistry and minors in both electrical engineering and secondary education. I'm a Registered Professional Engineer with a Maters degree is in safety engineering. My career path has largely been in government service, but after more that 20 years trying to work within the bureaucracy I finally quit in disgust in 1994 and I'm now in business for myself as an independent consultant. Things are presently going better than I could have ever imagined and they look pretty rosy well into the future.
Like most of us, I've been dressing ever since I can remember. I starting with my older sister's and mother's clothes. Between the ages of three and five I shared a room with my sister who is three years older, and more than forty years later I still have a vivid recollections of trying on her panties and shoes. There was also closet that connected with my parents room and I would go in there and try on my mothers high-heels.
There was a hiatus in my dressing until I was about 11 or 12. One day I was home alone from school and discovered a bag of clothes that my mother had collected for Goodwill. In it were a few of my sisters dresses and a few pairs of flats. I wondered if her clothes would fit me so I tried them on. I've been dressing like a woman ever since.
I'm 5'8", with weight proportional to height, (well sort of, I could stand to loose a few pounds though) thinning brown hair, blue eyes. My dress size is 14/16 and shoe size is a ladies 9 or 9 1/2.
Although I am not married, I've had a monogamous relationship with the same woman for almost 20 years. If you think about it, that's longer than many marriages last! About ten years into our relationship I told her about my dressing. Although she's accepting and supportive, she's not particularly enthusiasticabout it. She's in business for herself too. She's a New York Times list best selling romance novelist. She's written twenty books that have been published in more than a dozen languages.
In terms of styles, I am partial to the "classic" and "professional look." I do most of my shopping via catalogs and deal with folks like Talbot's, Wilowridge, and Bedford Fair which may be familiar to you if do any mail order shopping. I've also got a great fondness for Frederick's of Hollywood.
I've been a member of Tri-ess since about 1984 and a member of IFGE since about 1989.
Other interests besides dressing include travel, reading, computers, classical music and writing. I've written over 50 articles for trade magazines and professional journals, and my first text book was published last July 1994.
Travel wise, I've been pretty much all over the country except for a few of the southwestern and plains states. Foreign travel includes the South Pacific (Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, and Hawaii) Great Britain (England, Scotland and Whales) Egypt, and the Caribbean (St. Thomas, St. Martin, St. John, Jamaica, Tortola, and Puerto Rico)
I've got an extensive wardrobe consisting of skirts, blouses, suits, dresses and formal gowns. I've got a real weakness for shoes and at last count I had close to 100 pairs. There is something for every occasion: pumps, slings, T-straps, sandals and ankle straps. In heel heights I've got everything from flats to 5" spikes. Frederick's of Hollywood has had some pretty good prices on their 4" heels and over the years and I've picked up over a few dozen pairs of really high heels.
Since I work at home, I usually dress as a woman during the day. I'll usually wear a skirt and blouse, a business suit, or a nice dress. If I'm going to be moving about I'll wear 2" or 3" heels but I'm going to be sitting at the word processor for an extended period I'll often slip into a pair of 4" or 5" pumps. I usually do a little make up. Having inherited Mediterranean coloring, I can wear bright red lipstick and nail polish without looking garish.
About ten years ago I discovered sort of a compromise in dressing which I've since incorporated into my daily wear. I picked up a pair of gray lady's wool pleated slacks and worn with black tights, the right blouse, a ladies blazer and the right flats, it's the kind of outfit that's neutral enough to be worn in public.
Except when I have business appointments, I often wear woman's slacks, blouses, blazers and flats when I'm going to be out and about, for example going to the store, library, mall etc. No one seems to have noticed that I'm really wearing women's clothes, or if they have, they certainly haven't said anything.
Virtually all of the shoes I've bought for at least the last ten years have been ladies styles slip-on styles or loafers. They're all styles that pass well enough for men's, and even those that are decidedly more feminine pass for European styles.
The same is true with my casual pants. Most of what I wear these day are ladies slacks and jeans and because the seat is larger they actually fit me better than men's styles which are usually to tight. Worn with a turtle neck and ladies blue blazer, I can be totally dressed and no one is the wiser.
I'd Like To Form New Relationships
In the last few years I've been feeling a very strong urge to establish some friendships in the cross-dressing community. I've come to realize that I'm not getting any younger, and I don't want to look back in 10, 25 or 20 years and say with much regret, "I wish I would have."
I'd very much welcome the opportunity to meet some more of my sisters via the net. My hope is that when I do one or two of the TG events in 1999, I'll know a few of the gals there.
I know that most people have full lives with to much too to and too little time, but if after reading my bio you think we have some things in common, please drop me a line. I'd love to hear from you!