June 17, 2010 8:45 AM BST
1. Study your Color Season.
http://www.beauty-and-the[...]is.html
http://www.squidoo.com/pp_seasons
Your eyes, skin tone and hair will give you your color season.
Know your colors. Carry a list.
2. Know your complementary colors. Study a color wheel.
http://www.ficml.org/jemi[...]el.html Know what adding white, black and grey does to basic colors. For example, red with white = scarlet.
Match them up with paint cards in a hardware store. They are free. They show different shades of your colors. Carry them with you when you shop for clothing, jewelry, accessories and even shoes. When you know what goes together and have your matching color cards you can know instantly if that thrift shop or sale item will go with your color season/wardrobe. This will help give you a "put together" look in colors that make you look radiant.
3. Know your body type and facial shape.
They will help you pick clothing styles and wigs that make you look good.
4. If you are transitioning, at least read DRESS FOR SUCCESS to learn how to put together a work wardrobe. While dated, it is useful.
If you do these things, even if you do not pass, women will admire how good you look. You are more likely to pass a cursory examination in public than if your wardrobe screams "she has not got a clue how to dress". At the very least, you will have pride, and that goes a long way for self-confidence.
June 17, 2010 11:16 AM BST
Hair and makeup.
I know it's two but I honestly think if you can get those two reasonably ok then your a good deal of the way there.
June 17, 2010 5:00 PM BST
Katie,
I love clothes.. and I know how to wear them to get "Maximum effect", but if you can't do the makeup properly...the clothes won't help you in a face to face situation.
Once you get a "look" you like from makeup, you should then try many different looks. I can look like two completely different girls in the same afternoon if I want...
Never be afraid to experiment.
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"and my needs entwined like ribbons of light...and I came through the doorway...some where... in the night"
June 29, 2010 10:31 PM BST
Hair is all important.
My tip is to get a good wig, that's not tarty or over the top. A nice ladies hairstyle cut that doesn't draw attention. And buy the new French lace frontals.
December 8, 2010 7:03 AM GMT
Melody,
Wow!
Now that is a long, long way from practising walking with a book balanced on your head.
December 8, 2010 1:42 PM GMT
Hi Janis,
I did that too. It was a real pain to pick up the book from the floor with my little belt on. An extra incentive to maintain poise...
Best,
Mellie
December 7, 2010 10:53 PM GMT
Hi All,
Here's a tip I'll bet you've never heard before...
Long ago, when I was young, I had a lot of trouble getting the feminine walk just right. I seemed to drift from over-exaggerated cat-walk gaits to reverting back to male walking from the hips.
After some thought I realized the problem was I was forgetting to treat my hips as my feminine center of gravity. We natal males have it up around the chest and shoulders.
At the time I was co-owner of a custom bike shop and had access to metal working equipment. I cut a strip of steel 2" wide and 1/4" thick. Then I heated it with a welding torch and formed it so it would closely follow my body around my lower hips, just below the joints where my legs started, a very laborious task I must say. The result was quite heavy and looked like a medieval torture devise of some sort. But, it lowered my center of gravity from chest to lower hips.
I would put it on with a pair of high heels and practice walking one foot in front of the other in short steps. I soon was walking in a rather fetching feminine manner. I eventually could walk the same way without my little creation.
Best,
Mellie