Enhancing femininity

 Wishing my lovely friend Roz a good outcome for her breast augmentation today. 

Roz has significantly more confidence in surgery than I have. I visited her after her gender confirmation surgery (or GRS) back in May. She then had facial feminisation surgery (FFS) in the summer. She is pleased with the outcomes of both so I'm hoping this final item will go perfectly, too. After all, if you've had your chassis rebuilt and your bonnet smartened up, it seems only right to treat yourself to some nice new bumpers as well! 

All this in one year, though, is quite heavy going but these days you have to accept your surgery when it's offered or go back to the end of the queue and likely wait years.

I mention this in case others are contemplating it. The breast surgery is, surprisingly, the most awkward to recover from: no driving for at least six weeks and no lifting or stretching above the head. So Roz tells me that she has been practising acting as though she was a tyrannosaurus rex, trying to do housework and other tasks with just little arms stuck out in front!

Anyway, I think I'll send her some cherry buns to celebrate! Appropriate?

 

Walk in heels

Thank you for all the positive feedback on my new footwear. I'm happy with the choices I made. 

Obviously, I have an unusually small foot for a TGirl and I know how hard it can be to get nice shoes in larger sizes. Market forces rather than biology dictate what we can wear these days; once upon a time everything was hand-made and so fitted each individual. And who's going to make their own clothes these days? It's actually tempting to contemplate getting a sewing machine, knitting needles and so on but, realistically, it's a lot of work, and I've only ever done a bit of cross-stitch before, which is not as easy as it looks at first, and some crochet work. Women I have known who have looms, spinning wheels, sewing machinery and so on love what they do as it's creative. It's true that there is nothing like working with your hands; industrialisation seems to have removed satisfaction from a lot of work like this. One of my grandmothers did beautiful needlework, notably embroidering sheets, covers and cushions, and any holes that were irreparable often had her adding patterns and images round them, giving them a new lease of life as decorations. I keep insisting that being a trans women is not just about the clothes but the interests we have and activities we do, too.

Back to shoes. One topic that arose from my post was heel height. I learnt to walk in 3¼-inch (8.25 cm) tapered heels because that was the preferred style and height of heel in the late 1990s. That was when I stopped purging, accepted I was trans and bought a whole new female wardrobe, including lots of shoes and boots which all had that heel style because it was 'in' at the time. So that's what I feel most comfortable in even now. Maybe if the heels had been 5 inches or 1½, that would have been my preferred height to this day, who can say? 

Obviously, walking in heels for years on a carpet at home was one thing but actually walking out in the street was quite another and it took a while to get used to hard pavements and puddles. But that's how it went for me. 

So when I saw these new shoes, and they had the same heels as thirty years ago, I knew they were right. It's a bit like riding a bike: you never really forget. As with all things, walking in heels involves practising until you're perfect.

 

Sophie Kinsella

I am a voracious reader and I usually have some chick lit in the pile of books I have on the go. A personal tribute, therefore, to Sophie Kinsella who has passed away just shy of her 56th birthday after a struggle against cancer. Her books - "romantic comedy" as she preferred to call her brand of chick lit - are always quirky, funny, even zany, and certainly enjoyable, and she was undoubtedly one of the better - and perhaps best known - writers in this genre. I always enjoyed her anyway. 

I've some of her Shopaholic books here and I'll have a reread in her memory. Many thanks for the entertainment, Sophie. Rest in peace and free from pain.

 

Coming up on Sue's News & Views

It's a busy time of year but I am drafting my second Makoevers and Photoshoots post, which will be up shortly, and another one about the rather beautiful winter illuminations here on the riviera. I went to the switching-on ceremony in Sanremo, which was impressive. I've also been to Nice with its pretty illuminated Christmas sculpture park, Christmas market and illuminated main street, and I'm planning to go to Monaco and Monte Carlo shortly as it seems to have some beautiful decorations. There are funfairs and ice rinks and a lot of events going on here so it's going to be a nice month. 

 

Sue x