Try-ons - black is groovy!

 I've been going through a lot of the clothes I have to see if there's anything to get rid of, and trying out some stuff that I have bought recently, or that I can't remember ever buying or even wearing before.

The theme at the moment is black as I've tried my new black nail varnish and I'm liking it. A bit vampy, a bit goth, timeless yet modern. 

 

I decided the toes needed the treatment, too. 

 

The varnish has lasted well all week.

It's been hot but I don't do bare legs no matter the weather, so stockings have been preferable to tights/pantyhose. I hardly ever wear stockings as I find suspenders and hold-ups annoying (I know, I know, that admission probably gets me thrown out of any crossdresser clubs, right?) but with the unexpected heatwave it's been worth making the change and some pairs of stockings I've had for many years were put into service. They're still serviceable as they've hardly been worn!

So here's me this week going for an all-black theme and smokey eye makeup. But there's a hint of red in my hair and on my lips.

I prefer tights, ssshhh!

The patent boots are brand new, the leather skirt a couple of years old, the sheer-sleeved top about 10 years old.

 

I've no idea where and when I got a black, long-sleeved skater dress but I really like it. It's good in hot weather and it flows very nicely.

I tried it with a straight black wig for a bit more of a Morticia vibe.

 

But actually this dress came into its own with the longer red/brown wig, lace tights and court shoes. I think gives me a cute, almost Sixties look.

Sixties album cover art. Groovy, baby!

 

I think the dress is a keeper. 

These Jonathan Aston "fleur" lace tights must be 20 years old as they appear in my late 2008 makeover photos (towards the end of this post). But they're beginning to get imperfections and I really hope they still make them as they are very light, very pretty and very comfortable and I'd love to be able to get a replacement pair.

I also tried the dress with fishnet stockings and the patent boots and I think that worked well, too.

 

There's more to come on the black theme and on other try-ons but that will do for now. Comments welcome. 

 

Pride Month needs you

 

Although Pride events are scattered all over the calendar, June is Pride Month to coincide with the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riots. Fellow blogger Carla in Spain has just put it so well as to why Pride matters. 

I shall be posting a host of positive things about LGBTQ+++ themes this month, starting with this enjoyable documentary I watched recently from Sadlers Wells Theatre in London, which is one of the world's foremost theatres that focuses on dance and where I've been thrilled by many performances from unusual places and traditions round the world, such as Georgia, Japan, Libya, Spain.... The documentary is about the Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, the drag ballet parody company that was formed shortly after Stonewall and which, in its sixth decade, is going from strength to strength. I have little understanding of classical ballet as an art form so even the parody is a bit lost on me but I have always had a thing for ballerinas. I found the film fascinating, honest, impressive, poignant ...and making me wish that I could dance like this (well, it's not so much the dance as the tutu, isn't it?)

"Ballerina Boys" is 55 minutes on YouTube:

 

Happy Pride.

Sue x

A perfect female body, bit by bit

 Every woman is looking for the perfect female body. So is every man. ...An old joke that. This is how mine's coming along, bit by bit.

 

Sports and diet 

It's never dull where I live and there are a lot of big events coming up, not least the Winter Olympics based in Milan, Cortina and other Alpine locations. I watched the Olympic torch being carried past last Saturday.

 

 

I went to a sport-mad school and did enough sports there to last me for pretty much the rest of my life so I have little interest in them now. As far as winter sports go, I did learn to ski 25 years ago and quite enjoyed it but my calculation of enjoyment vs. cold + discomfort + expense is too heavy on the bad stuff to convince me to pursue it. So, last Saturday, rather than getting into a sporty mood after the torch ceremony, I treated myself at my favourite restaurant. Lifting forks to my mouth is great forearm exercise and I have fabulous wrists as a result of daily practice. I chose the leanest things on the menu: an octopus starter, then fresh pasta with cuttlefish ink and sauce, both really good. I was a good girl and had no wine. I've lost over 3 kilos (half a stone) since New Year so I'm back on track for the body shape I want.

 

Surgery 

Talking of a perfect female body, my friend Roz, who had her gender recognition surgery, facial feminisation surgery and breast augmentation surgery all done last year (but thankfully not all at the same time), tells me she is more proportioned, more feminine and very, very happy indeed. I'm very, very happy for her, too. For once, it seems that someone got good surgery throughout, so a definite win for transition there.

 

Nails 

The one thing that I was looking forward to a couple of months ago was having fun with nail varnish. Unfortunately, shortly after that, I managed to break a nail on my right hand very badly. Half the entire nail was cracked, and the bleeding and bruising were severe. I had to bandage my finger for a couple of weeks, in fact. Strangely, I've no idea how it happened. Other nails are damaged too. It's been over six weeks since the accident and it'll take several more to get back to where I was. 

This week I have been sniffing around the January sales. Yes, there are various boring household appliances I need to get but I am looking for that killer dress, yet to be spotted. I'll buy some new nail varnish when my nails are ready for it. 

 

Legs 

As for legs, it's not the first time I've enthused about Marks & Spencer Body Sensor 40 denier tights but, as last winter, I have been wearing these most days and they are terrific. 

 

Durable, with a good quality/price ratio, they team equally well with smart or casual looks. Warm yet not too thick, I find they don't slip down even after many washes or as the day progresses, and pill only slowly. I've not laddered any and damage has been only toe holes after long use. Highly recommended, therefore. These are my current Top Tights and probably second best ever (first was John Lewis 15 denier run resistant sheer gloss tights, sadly discontinued). I note you can get them in 30, 60, 80, 100 and 120 D, too, and they're now £9 for 3 in UK stores. I have always opted for opaques in 70D but these do a warming job just as well. So well done, M&S. 

Wearing M&S 40D Body Sensor tights

 

Keep warm

Keep warm and stay pretty this winter. It's certainly warmed up here since last week, which was uniquely cold, and these past two days I've eaten lunch outside. So has this early bumblebee. I've never seen one so soon after new year.

 

Have a nice weekend. For good mental health, don't watch the news but get into your favourite outfit and feel happy. 

Sue x 

Let me see your war face

 In Milan I noticed (and it was hard not to) that the hosiery brand Golden Lady has hired the most prominent spots in the metro stations to advertise. Their poster catches your eye at the bottom or top of every escalator: a model in a very simple pair of black 15 denier tights - nothing special; in fact, they're just like my first pair I bought with my pocket money aged about 10 - but it is very, very effective. Presumably men will be thinking of buying something for the lady in their life, women will be thinking of looking good, and TGirls like me experience an explosion of dysphoria that is like a bomb going off every time I see the poster. I want to be like the model (and I don't mean young and attractive  - well, maybe I do). A voice in my head says, "Sue, you don't need more tights. You've already got hundreds of pairs. What are you? a centipede?" But the product is not the issue. Dysphoria gets you in ways like this.

Not to be outdone, another leading brand, Calzedonia, has got their campaign going too. It's war! And in war, it's the innocent who suffer. I'm taking cover!

 

Old

Today, I began the laborious business of claiming an occupational pension I am owed. I'm allowing 18 months to go through the process from start to finish, including avoiding double taxation and obtaining tax reliefs, reducing exchange rate complications and other issues. My accountant is on standby!

This means I am officially old.  

It's not the first time I've mentioned this but I have noticed a distinct change in my face in the last couple of years - more saggy, more jowly - and it's something only a Fairy Godmother can fix. I've been reluctant to post photos of myself. My makeup doesn't hide this and I'm starting to look for tips for makeup for older women which I hope to adapt because of the added complication that trans women have in their faces. As for hair, I've always worn a hair colour that's close to my own (I'll never manage the Marilyn Monroe look!) but I'm wondering if a new wig with a hint of grey is something to consider. 

Rats! 

They say age is a matter of attitude so now I need to find some attitude! 

Faking youth in 2008

 

 

Remembering the dead

By ancient tradition, November is the month when we especially remember the dead. Obviously for me, Transgender Day of Remembrance is the main event. But as part of my exploration of the lesser known areas of the riviera, I went to Bordighera British Cemetery. I've been aware of the existence of this place for a while but never found it before. That's because it's a cemetery within a cemetery, tucked away behind high walls within the main cemetery that is itself behind high walls. That said, it's a beautiful, quiet spot with a mountain torrent on one side and a forest of date palms climbing the hillside on the other. The lane to get there is hard to find, the one tiny sign pointing up a narrow alley to the only entrance is even more so.

Waving palms

Spot the tiny signpost to the tiny alley

 

Many people over the centuries, not unlike myself, have come to this area for the healthy climate, from wounded crusaders in the middle ages who had their hospital at Ospedaletti to consumptive Victorians who appreciated sanatoriums like the now derelict Villa Helios at Sanremo. In the First World War, when Bordighera was practically a British colony anyway, with about 2000 British residents to 1000 locals, the British Army set up a hospital for sick and wounded servicemen fighting on the Salonika Front in Greece and later on the Italian Front. The British Cemetery, then, is where those who died of wounds or from popular diseases of the era like pneumonia or Spanish flu, is managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

I wasn't looking for any grave in particular; I visited just out of curiosity. There is a cabinet at the entrance containing a visitors' book that I signed with my fem name and a list of the 72 British Commonwealth men and 12 "Austrian" men buried here. They call them Austrian but they came from all over the Habsburg lands. It also contained service sheets from the recent Remembrance Sunday service. It's one of those odd things that the service date was based on the armistice with Germany on November 11th 1918, which is irrelevant here: the Salonika Front armistice with Bulgaria was on September 30th and the Italian Front armistice with the Habsburg Empire was on November 4th. To further cloud the issue, the First World War is also known locally as the Fourth War of Independence, as Italy emerged piece by piece from Habsburg rule over the course of 70 years (or longer if you count Napoleon as part of the process). But I guess all these historical niceties made little difference to these poor guys who found peace sooner.

From the Commonwealth War Graves Commission list of graves

British Commonwealth graves, men from the all over the world

Some Habsburg Empire graves along the back wall. I like that they have carved the double-headed eagle on each. Presumably these men were prisoners-of-war being treated at the hospital. Some Polish and other Slavic names among the German ones

Why Indian driver Rup Lal has a grave all to himself is not made clear. A civilian, maybe? A Hindu or Muslim who couldn't or wouldn't be buried with the Christians? 

A poppy is the UK's war memorial flower and one on a cross has been left beside each grave after the recent memorial service. Blasius Klensbigl, what a marvellous name! 

 

This cemetery is always open unlike the surrounding civil one which closes at night. Presumably that's why there's a separate alley to get to it. 

A curiosity, therefore. The older I get and the more feminine I get, the more war disgusts me. I've never been called to fight, unlike my grandfathers and great-grandfathers who all survived but did not much enjoy the experience. Those who are currently trying to wreck the eighty plus years of peace in Europe are pure evil. 

Let's go to the main cemetery. Some cultural points as many of my readers come from the British Isles where cemeteries are usually the same as churchyards, so every church is surrounded by graves, people are buried there in perpetuity, and the traditional tree is the yew. In Italy, by contrast, the local cemetery is almost always a necropolis, a "city of the dead" on the edge of town, a very ancient idea (there are necropolises three thousand and more years old here). You usually hire a plot for a number of decades and then, if deemed reduced to just bones, your loved ones are then disinterred and put in a pigeonhole in the columbarium (the "dovecote") ... those who like creepy tales can read below about a deceased distant relative of mine (and this all ties in with the tights that started this post, if you can believe that - oh yes, everything on Sue's News and Views connects!) The preferred cemetery tree here, as has again been the case for thousands of years, is the cypress, because many species drip sap as though crying tears, and the preferred flower for graves is the chrysanthemum. A warning to men: never, ever give your Italian girlfriend chrysanthemums as a gift. Oh, and wear bug spray as cypresses attract mosquitoes like nothing else!

As is usual, the locals, who are all Catholic, are kept separate from foreigners who have all sorts of religions: Russian and Greek Orthodox are here, Jewish, Anglican, Lutheran ... Celtic crosses and Stars of David abound. Even in death people have to be separated, it seems. But, near the tombs of the Russian Princes Galitsine, is a large cypress embracing a smaller cypress. This may be an accident, or trained this way by the gardeners. I think it is sweet, and makes me happier to see than all those dead soldiers.

Rest in peace. I'll try not to dwell on how I'm getting old. Oops, I just did! 

 

My creepy family stories for your winter fireside entertainment

Skip this bit if you don't like yucky things.

In Italy, you rarely buy a burial plot in perpetuity but hire one for a number of decades. After the rental period, your loved one is exhumed and you are invited to agree whether or not they are sufficiently decomposed to be moved. If no, you rent out for another decade; if yes, the plot is then returned to the council for hiring out to the next unfortunate. Pity about that lovely marble tomb you spent lots of money on in your grief; that just gets chucked away. You can move the bones of your loved one to another cemetery, or to the columbarium where the costs are a lot less. 

Some distant relatives of mine were invited to the exhumation of their mother. Whilst her top half was decomposed, her lower half was not. This is because she had been buried in the Sixties in a lovely outfit but when nylon tights were really tough and they preserved her legs. Needless to say, she went back underground for another decade or two!

Perhaps better than friends whose grandma was deemed ready to be moved. They decided to take her elsewhere, packed her in a choice receptacle - a cardboard box - and drove her to her new resting place with the box of bones rattling along merrily in the back of the car. 

People are a bit too matter-of-fact about dead people round here! Where's the sentimentality?

 

That's a long enough post for now. I'll save yesterday's fata morgana at sunset for another time. 

My title comes, of course, from a line in Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket. It seemed adaptable to the themes here. 

Sue x 

Unorthodox solutions for steamy weather

 I had hoped that the couple of thunderstorms over the last two days would have cleaned the air and cooled things down but they've just made everything steamier. I can manage to wear a swimsuit but I really don't want to wear a lot else today! 

Every summer I write some kind of post like this on how to cope with hot weather when your a TGirl, e.g. wigs & makeup in summer and swimwear for TGirls but when it's really hot and sticky like this all I can suggest is that you do the things that need physical activity at times when it's a bit cooler, i.e. morning and evening. 

Whilst staying hydrated is regularly quoted as the best advice, I'm not so convinced by cold drinks as by hot ones when it's steamy. People boggle at me when I say that but hear me out. A cold drink or ice cream cools your insides but does little for the discomfort of prickly, sticky skin. A hot drink makes you perspire properly, thereby cooling you down; and as the drink is hot, you can't gulp it so you get 'dosed' more gently and evenly; and something like tea is a pick-me-up. Tea is a favourite drink in North Africa and the Middle East, the hottest places on earth. Theirs has lots of sugar (for energy) and usually mint in it, which is an anti-inflammatory and a breath-freshener, and their tea is the best thing on a hot day. As for any perspiration that tea causes, well, that's why I wear a swimsuit.

As for alcohol, I advise avoiding wine. Instead, mix spirits with lots of mixers/juices. A little gin with lots of tonic is working for me this year. But yours may be a sangria, a spritz, a Pimms or whatever is fruity and cool.

My photo above to illustrate this post was taken on a hot afternoon (36°C / 97°F) so I was wearing a short denim skirt and tights. 

"Tights, Sue? Are you mad?" No, actually tights/pantyhose in hot weather are good for avoiding several heat-related problems. Obviously, I mean gossamer-thin items like these (they were 7 denier), not those black opaques you don with your slippers by the grate in winter! 

Wearing tights helps to wick perspiration away from your skin (just ask a professional dancer); eliminates chafing (chub rub) if your thighs rub together when walking and reduces chafing from your shoes; and makes your legs look smoother and more uniform in tone. 

Here are just a few items from my own collection to illustrate what I mean: from 5, 7 and 10 denier; various summer shades for Caucasian skin from 'nude' to 'suntan'; toeless for if you have peep-toe shoes and you like your painted toenails to show fully (of course you do); bodyshaping or bodyfree; looks that are matt, glossy, 'healthy shine', 'oiled'... There's a big choice. 

 

Open-toe seven-denier nude in action:

Another good choice is fishnets in natural or lightly coloured shades. I have them nude, white, apricot, etc.. The 'nude' ones on the right in the photo below are very light-looking whilst the 'nude' ones in the middle in the photo below look very tanned, but as they stretch you actually get a natural shade on your legs in both cases. A close friend swears by openwork lace at all seasons, even in black, like my favourite Jonathan Aston 'sweet roses' pantyhose here on the left.

 

These are those Jonathan Aston fishnets in nude when worn:

Here are my fishnets in light apricot to match my yellow-pink dress. With the stretch, these gave a light flesh tone

 

(By the way, these are the sandals that had to go recently as they were scuffed, worn and falling apart after many summers.)

Have a nice summer. 

 

Dysphoria update

It's not great. See my first photo above again, the one with me next to a bigger, curvier, bustier, more brazen (!) young woman. 

There seem to be uniquely feminine women around this year, all curves and jiggles, and none wearing very much in this heat so the curves and the jiggles are enhanced and on show. I keep telling myself that I too have curves and jiggles, and that's no lie. I'm proud of my very feminine hips, and my recently improved bust measurements are exciting. Maybe it's just regret that the women around me are even curvier and jigglier than me because they got a natural advantage when the curves and jiggles were being handed out. 

To be honest, I'm also feeling disappointment at the fact I am no longer young. Smooth curves, perky jiggles and rich hair get replaced by wrinkles, sag and greyness. Nature, you're a mean bitch!

Sue x 

Fleece-lined tights

 I have recently been bombarded with advertisements for fleece-lined tights and leggings. The latter have certainly been around for a while but fleecy tights/pantyhose seem a new venture. If not then they've never registered in my mind before. Maybe a lack of past advertising (unlike Smeg kettles!) 

They are designed to look like sheer tights from the outside as the underlying fleece has a skin tone. I feel the cold terribly and in winter I have always worn tights even under jeans/leggings. The idea of wearing what seem like sheer tights but something that is actually much warmer appeals a lot as it promotes shorter skirt styles on cold days.

Online, prices range from the suspiciously cheap to the very expensive. I've borrowed the photo above as it's used by several online retailers with wildly different prices for what is presumably the same item. (So the secret, as always, is to buy online only from firms you know to be genuine retailers or which have been recommended by people you can trust.)

Has anyone tried them or can recommend them? I have seen other women wearing these but on two occasions they've been badly laddered, as if the sheer upper layer is flimsy. As they are usually black, ladders show a lot, although today I did see a near-white pair (that actually looked a bit unusual, a sort of buttercream effect). It's not necessarily the case that more expensive tights last longer than cheap ones.

Keep warm, girls! Winter's here.

Sue x

Leggy distractions

 The advertising for autumn and winter fashion is in full swing. This is lethal ...and don't the ad agencies just know it! Frankly, the ads for dishwasher detergent, cars and home broadband leave me indifferent, but flash up an image of some chic ankle boots or pink perfume in a lush bottle and I start to pay attention. And then there are leggy models sporting this season's party tights and this is just too distracting! Calzedonia are the worst: their mix of modernity and chic gets me every time. 

I can't yet spot this year's campaign in a permanent online format yet but here's last year's. 

My legs are short and my skin is imperfect therefore my hosiery is important to me to make me look good. Although I appreciate the quality of great brands like Calzedonia and Wolford, it is not, in my experience, worth spending three times as much on posh tights as they are barely more robust than cheaper brands. You can get good, stronger, well-made items for mid-price in ranges like Gypsy and Jonathan Aston. Below I'm wearing black lace tights from quality French firm Le Bourget that I treated myself to and finally managed to find a special night out to wear them on... yet Jonathan Aston did similar items in their Sweet Roses range for half the price, which are less rigid and more stretchy than the brand I wore.

I have bought sheer tights from Calzedonia and, just like sheers from other upmarket brands like Wolford and Tabio, it takes very little to put a hole in them. The quality, greater comfort and smarter style is something that one really has to pay for, and I'm still not sure it's worth it. So the Calzedonia ads have my gender dysphoria ramping up but I feel, from experience, that they're best left for party time only. At least, that's my take on them.

Blogger and Wordpress comments

Several readers have been in touch over the last few weeks to say that Blogger still won't let them comment, and there are similar problems with Wordpress. I still have some problems myself commenting on other blogs and at best I can comment only anonymously. I'm not technically minded enough to work out what's going on and it took me enough time to work out how to comment again on my own blog after Google made various changes. Sorry about that. As before, answers welcome. But I do appreciate your reading these posts and your emails.

[Add 23/10/22: See Lynn's comment below which may offer an explanation and a solution to this.]

Sue x

The joy of sox, or hosiery tips and treats 6: conclusion - acquiring hosiery, then and now

When young and living at home my stash of girl's clothes had to be well hidden, so part of my liking for hosiery was the ease with which tights and stockings could be secreted away. The best hiding places were under the plastic trays that held the pieces for board games like Monopoly, snaking between the depressions moulded in the plastic. Even if people took the game out to play, there was virtually no likelihood they'd pull the whole tray out of the box. 

I used to read a lot of escape literature, too, involving prisoners of war hiding contraband behind false panels. I'm not sure my false panels were all that realistic and they got busted on more than one occasion. 

Hosiery was available everywhere, and was within pocket money range too, another advantage. 

But I'd gradually 'inherit' items that were deemed unsuitable by the females of the family, and my jackpot was won after my grandfather's death when his late partner's clothes, that he'd never got rid of, were readied for charity donation. The contents of an ali-baba basket with dozens of pairs of fully fashioned stockings magically diverted from the charity bag to my hidey holes. I tell you, when I was a teenager, I had the best legs in the business!

So these are some other reasons, apart from style, warmth and comfort, why tights and stockings are among my favourite items of clothing.

Girls with smart stockings. With Holly, Joanne and Ria at London's Olympia exhibition centre.

 

These days I just go to the shop and buy and I no longer feel embarrassed if I happen to do so in male mode. Of course, the internet and home delivery makes it all so much easier than it was when I was young.

Most supermarkets, chain stores, newsagents, gas stations and so forth stock hosiery. There are even hosiery vending machines. Cheaper brands are not necessarily poorer quality and you can get perfectly good, near-identical hosiery for less money than the smart labels. 

Silver brocade tights were popular about a decade ago. These Gipsy brand ones were half the price of the fancy label ones I also have, but every bit as good. I do recommend this brand generally.

In fact, if I were to give a sound piece of advice, it is not to bother with really expensive hosiery unless it's some very special limited edition party piece you're after, or you are very rich. Invariably, if I've paid a lot for a pair of sheer pantyhose from a quality retailer like Wolford or Tabio, they've got a hole in them on the first use, and that's £/$/€10-20 gone. These days I won't pay more than £/$/€5 a pair for plain pantyhose. 

So here are some links to hosiery manufacturers and retailers that I find good.

Retailers

For the classic old-fashioned stocking look, and all the kit, try What Katie Did or Secrets in Lace:

What Katie Did 

Secrets in Lace 

I've used Stockings Direct, and UK Tights seems to be well thought of.

Stockings Direct 

UK Tights 

There are plenty of other online retailers but I haven't tried them and can't comment on their services. Sadly, Figleaves.com has just closed down. 

All these companies deliver abroad. 

Brands

Here are links to some of the best hosiery brands. Most of them let you buy direct through their sites but you can get most through other online clothing retailers. I've picked the UK site or English-language page for the purposes of this blog, but most of them have state-specific sites and alternative languages too. In no particular order...

Wolford, the Rolls-Royce of hosiery, high-end quality from Austria.

Elbeo, quality, Spanish made.

Falke, German perfection.

Calzedonia, quality, style and wide range from Italy.

Jonathan Aston, great party wear. (For some reason I can only get the Australian site, but it gives you the idea).

Le Bourget, chic quality from France. French site only, they don't appear to offer English (how typically French!)

Cecilia de Rafael, smart style from Spain.

Emilio Cavallini, fun and reasonable value from Italy.

Tabio, quality from Japan.

Gio, for fully-fashioned aficionados.

Charnos, a personal favourite. Good quality to price ratio from the UK.

Aristoc, classic British brand with generally decent quality.

Pretty Polly, popular brand from the UK. Variable in quality; some hits, some misses.

Cervin, classic French stockings. Ooh-là-là!

Cette, quality from Belgium.

Platino, very smart Spanish hosiery.

Levante, Italian heritage, Australian owned. From gossamer sheers to winter woolies, all pretty good.

Trasparenze, amazing patterns to quality everyday sheers.

Gipsy, Italian made and best quality to price ratio. Recommended.

Oroblù, popular Italian-style hosiery in a wide range.

Pamela Mann, broad range and fun styles from the UK.

Pierre Mantoux, despite the French name, these quality items are made in Italy.

Gabriella, despite being founded only in the 1990s this has become a popular Polish brand largely because of its competitive prices and reasonable quality.

Leg Avenue, fun, party and sexy wear, but not best quality.

For some reason the Gerbe site is not working but these luxury items from France can be purchased on other sites. The Golden Lady site is being awkward so I will leave it for now.

Most chain/department stores, supermarkets, fashion houses have their own ranges. Especially good in Britain are

Marks & Spencer

John Lewis 

It's a pity that Top Shop, Debenhams and so forth are in receivership, not to mention those that departed this life some time ago. BHS, for instance, had surprisingly good hosiery.

Larger sizes

Of value to TGirls who find conventional hosiery too small, there are several firms that specialise in hosiery for taller or curvier women. Three that I have heard good things of are Snag Tights, Heist and Spanx

Snag Tights  

Heist 

Spanx (shapewear of all sorts)

There are, of course, many, many, many more manufactureres, brands and retailers than these all over the world but these are the ones I know best.

Thanks for reading my survey of hosiery. You can read the other five parts by scrolling down, by using the links on the blog archive right, or by clicking on the list here:

Part 1: stockings 

Part 2: tights/pantyhose 

Part 3: fashion and style 

Part 4: mixing and matching 

Part 5: practical advice 

Enjoy your legs, girls. They can be your best asset.

 

A dip in the archives 

I'll stick with the subject of hosiery for my look back today. 

Here's the most popular photo of mine from Flickr. I'm not sure why, that seethrough batwing top is weird! But I was experimenting with looks before coming out, and maybe seethrough tops and short skirts are what the internet is all about! But here I can again show off those fabulous John Lewis 15 denier run resistant sheer gloss tights that win my top prize for BEST HOSIERY EVER! 

 

Take a bow, John Lewis. Oops! You've split your trousers. Now that wouldn't have happened if you'd been wearing these.

Sue x

 

Cari lettori italiani

Oggi concludo questa recenzione di calze e collant. Come mi piacciono!

Sue x

 

The joy of sox, or hosiery tips and treats 5: practical advice

 I'm continuing this overview of hosiery with some practical advice. I have hundreds of pairs of tights/pantyhose and stockings/hold-ups. Some are for special occasions but most are just for everyday wear (today at home, for instance, I'm wearing a standard pair of semi-opaque black pantyhose with a long navy-blue skirt). But whatever you're buying and storing, you need to use a little care.

Terminology

As in part 2, I'm using US "pantyhose" to describe British "tights" so there's no way of confusing them with other kinds of tights, such as  men's running tights. By useful coincidence there's an article by Celeste on Stana's Femulate blog today that gives the differences between American and British English in this area: Speaking English

Weight/thickness

How thick do you want your tights? Those gossamer-thin glossies may look great but there's a blizzard outside; those thick black opaques may hide your leg hair but it's a hot day. Warmth is one of the key factors (which is why I'm wearing semi-opaques today; it's not really spring yet) bu the balance between weather and looks is a tricky one.

July 2011. Light sheer pantyhose, for when it's summer dress time but not quite warm enough for bare legs

 

The simplest guide to thickness is the denier rating. Denier is pronounced den-yer (not deny-er, someone who denies) but should really be dur-nyay as it comes from the old French coin and measure of weight, the denier, itself deriving from the ancient Roman coin, the denarius. Weights and measures often used to correspond to money (like the pound). To be precise, one denier is the weight of a thread of silk 9000 metres long, which is about 1 metric gram. 

You can't get one denier stockings; the lightest I have is 5 denier. Artificial silks like nylon aren't going to be the same weight as natural silk and so the ratings tend to vary between fabrics, between manufacturers, and also depend on the weave. Hosiery is not hugely expensive so it's worth experimenting just to see which brand and style suit you best.

Sheer and opaque

The denier rating gives you a rough guide to how thick your hosiery is going to be. Of course, sometimes hosiery is described as having "X-denier appearance", which means the yarns have a weight that doesn't correspond to the appearance, which would normally be associated with a different denier rating. I find these descriptions fairly inaccurate.

"30 denier appearance". Actually, they look more like 20 denier, but have a high satin gloss and are in some ways unclassifiable. This Italian-Style Silky Gloss range from Marks & Spencer was gorgeous and is wonderful to wear but is now discontinued because satin gloss was a short-lived fashion.

 

A simpler guide is this:

- up to 10 denier: ultra-sheer

- 10 - 30 denier: sheer

- 30 - 40 denier: semi-opaque

- 40 - 70 denier: opaque

- over 70 denier: thick opaque 

I personally prefer to think in terms of what's actually on sale, i.e. 5, 7 or 8 denier as gossamer (for summer), 10 or 15 as sheer, 20 as satin, 30 and 40 as semi-opaque, 50 as mid-opaque, 60+ as opaque.

20 denier, rarely seen on the street. I think this represents the cusp between sheer and opaque. These are ideal for giving you smooth contoured legs while still being light and seethrough. Much favoured by drag queens and dancers, people know you're wearing them even if they're in natural shades.

 

Natural fibres

Denier is a best guide to artificial silk fibres. Cotton and wool hosiery is rarely classified in this way, but you'd only usually select these for cold winter days anyway. A lot of TGirls turn their noses up at woolly pantyhose but if you dress every day as I do then a soft wool pair are warm and comfortable, a hug for your legs.

Lovely soft merino wool pantyhose for winter. Items like this cost £/$/€10-15 but are durable and worth it.

Wool overknee socks are worth investing in, too. They can look cute and usually stay up on their own reasonably well.

Matt, shine or gloss?

It should seem simple but manufacturers have created a minefield. The subject is less critical now as glossy hosiery is not so prevalent as it was 10-25 years ago (indeed, hosiery is not so prevalent generally at present as women have opted firmly for trousers and leggings). 

Few items of modern hosiery are without sheen as they almost all contain elastane (Lycra) which is shiny by nature. Original nylon was shiny, too, and most other artificial fibres are as well. However, what's descibed as sheen, shine, high shine, gloss or high gloss seems to vary completely between manufacturers and ranges. I have hosiery that's called "gloss" on the packet that's actually quite dull, and supposedly plain hosiery that's positively reflective! My best advice, as above, is to buy a variety of items from different manufacturers and see what you like best. You get used to a particular manufacturer's quirks in the end.

Sizing and fit

Bearing in mind what I have previously said when talking about stockings (especially fully-fashioned) and about suspender belts (here) the differences in leg and hip shape between those who developed a more masculine shape after puberty and those who went more feminine means trans people need to take care with sizing hosiery. Know your overall height, waist and hip measurements (and preferably get someone else to measure these). The size charts on the backs of packets of pantyhose can be confusing and often refer to hips, which will be more rounded than yours might be, even more so when considered in ratio to height. I'm very unlucky when having to present as male in that I'm short, but this comes into its own when female because being petite with rounder hips keeps me well within the hosiery size ranges. It's not so easy if you are very tall or have a wide waist. There are specialist manufacturers for taller or curvier women that can be considered if sizing is a problem, and some manufacturers of men's or unisex pantyhose. I'll be writing about brands in my next post, with links.

Another thing to bear in mind is that most manufacturers have a standard size chart, but it doesn't always apply to every range they do. Check carefully that what you normally get in, say, "medium" is the same for this new range of theirs you've just spotted, in case you need to buy in "large" instead.

Women from the English-speaking world tend to be taller than average so manufacturers from USA, Britain, Germany, etc. tend to offer larger sizes than manufacturers from the Mediterranean or the Far East. Size charts from Italy, France and Japan can be more complicated and focus on smaller women. So be warned if you go for a beautiful looking continental pair that they will be smaller than you are used to and may feel tighter too (they tend to like a bit of compression).

As a general rule, if on the cusp between sizes or if unsure, go for the larger size. The worst is you get wrinkles, whereas a pair that's too small may not be wearable at all.

Care and maintenance

A lot of hosiery costs little and who cares if it gets wrecked after the first use? Well, that applies to cheap pairs, certainly, but not all hosiery is cheap. I personally prefer not to waste and will look after even low-cost pairs until they get a hole or ladder.

When washing, you are often told to wash by hand. This is fine if you have the time and are very careful (watch those hangnails!). But a washing machine on a gentle polyester setting works fine provided you put your hosiery in a net wash bag. 

Some of my net bags for washing small items. The left-hand one with turquoise zipper is best as the zipper can be parked behind a loop of cloth (far left) to stop accidental opening during washing. These are good not just for hosiery but panties and bras too (though hook the back straps together before putting bras in).

 

Some people say you should wash your pantyhose and stockings before wearing them for the first time, stating this helps preserve them longer. I've never felt this to be true so unless you don't like the smell of brand new hosiery or might react to products used in manufacturing that are still on them, I can't see the point of washing them to start with. But I'm happy to hear of evidence to support this durability theory.

Don't just stuff a drawer with your hosiery. Apart from not finding anything properly, this gives the yarn ample chance to snag against other pairs or the drawer itself, and to get in a tangle. You can get hosiery compartmentalisers for drawers or just on their own with little compartments for each pair, but this still leaves the possibility of snagging as it just takes one slightly loose thread to catch onto another and pull a hole in the pair. Balling each item up still leads to the same problem. I always keep the original packaging and, once washed and dried, each pair goes back in its pack. Wind the pair over the inner tongue, put in the polythene cover and its cardboard cover in or over that (depending on the design). You then know exactly what's what and the chance of damage is minimal. They also pack flat again, just like in the shop. This is how I have managed to keep pairs of favourites (like the delicate M&S silky gloss ones above) in pristine condition for even 20+ years. Multipacks will have the items pressing on one another, but by definition they are cheap and so it's not so tragic if they get snagged in the box. 

As you can see with all the photos of my collection, everything gets repackaged in its original wrappings. Time consuming but worth it if you're serious about having nice legs. This delicate pair was bought around about 2008. Not worn often but is still pristine.

 

There used to be a theory that freezing your hosiery made it last longer. I am all for science so for some while I would put selected pairs in the freezer. As far as I could tell, the only effect was to give you cold damp stockings!

Hosiery gloves

If you are pulling on hosiery that's 20 denier or under, it's a good idea to use hosiery gloves. You don't need to buy officially designated hosiery gloves, just a pair of cotton or silk (not latex) gloves will do to help you get those delicate fabrics over your legs without making holes either through overstretching or through rough nails snagging the fabric. Even the tiniest imperfection in your nails can cause a snag, hole or ladder. Make sure you're nails are perfect, girls! And expensive sheer hosiery is often the most fragile.

Leg preparation

I appreciate that the large majority of MtF trans people / TGirls / crossdressers, whatever term you prefer here, do not or cannot shave their legs. Aesthetically, this is not so good with sheer tights but, more to the point, hair causes problems with hold-ups adhering. The day you first wear your hosiery with shaved, epilated or waxed legs is the day you exchange cotton for silk - the feeling of your hosiery on hair-free legs for the first time is a revelation and a joy. You'll never want hair again!

So, if you are able, do invest in a good razor (you needn't go for the kind marketed to women which may be pretty but cost anything up to twice the price of men's razors and possibly not be so durable). Male-pattern leg-hair is tougher and thicker than female-pattern hair so a strong razor is needed. Do yourself a favour and get a separate one to that used for your face.

You can get an epilator but this is a painful way to get rid of hair (toughness and thickness adding to the problem) - see my review of the Braun Silk-Epil 7 under the heading Ow! Eep! Ooh! Urk! for some thoughts and feelings! I don't use an epilator any more, it's a bit too grim an experience.

Hair removal creams are recommended by many. As with razors, I'd advise the male version (e.g. Veet for Men), unless gender dysphoria reacts against that notion. Check that your skin can tolerate the product before using it. (Incidentally, if you want to roar with laughter, read the lead Amazon review of Veet for Men).

The best, though costliest, hair removal treatment is waxing at a beauty salon, though you may be able to do this for yourself, although to do it properly you need a wax melter (looks like a fondue set), disposable spatulas and 'ripper' strips. Treat yourself and go to the spa or salon and relax, chatting to the friendly waxer. I love it. And it hurts less than other methods. Here's my post on an all-over wax I had locally: Hot wax)

Conclusion

My next post will end this series on my favourite topic of hosiery by talking a bit about cost and quality, and linking to some good retailers, manufacturers and hosiery reviewers.

 

Weight loss

 Totally unrelated (though it helps me reduce the appeal of tummy control tights), today I have reached my first weight loss milestone this year of 1 stone (6.3 kg). Progress is slow, but steady, and that's what counts.

 

A dip in the archives

 I was going to go into more trans history this week but my main post is long already so here, on the same theme of hosiery, is one of my favourite pictures, recently rediscovered and never posted before. A rare back view (my best side, some cheeky friends would say!), but it shows off my lovely sparkle seam pantyhose.

If you wear seams, girls, they must be on straight. They're arrow straight here, I'm proud to say!

This was taken in October 2010 just before going to Pink Punters LGBT nightclub.

Sue x

 

Cari lettori italiani

Oggi continuo la mia recensione di collant e calze con vari consigli su come scegliere il paio giusto e come mantenerli bene.

Speriamo che la legge Zan prosegua bene fino alla fine, e che questa maledetta situazione di pandemia finisca presto.

Sue x