April 17, 2004 10:28 PM BST
Andrea, I've been to two dressing services, both in London, and there are quite a few around the country. It is definitely worth going to one because you get your face made up professionally, you get the chance to wear a range of girly clothes, you can have the experience (and your look) captured in pictures, and you can feel what it's like to look like a woman and dress as a woman in complete safety for a few hours, which helps to build your confidence.
If the pictures are important, then Pandora de'Pledge in London is very good. A three hour makeover and 100 pictures on CD-Rom costs £200. To give you an idea of the quality, look at the first set of pictures in my album on TrannyPix.
I had a good makeover at The Boutique in London also, run by Jodie Lynn, but they don't specialise in photos.
Both these places (and others) offer make-up lessons, where they will make up your face with your assistance and explain what they're doing in the process. At Pandora's you also get a CD-Rom of pictures taken of your face at various stages of make-up. This is quite expensive though: two hours plus photos is £200 again.
If you're content with something which (I assume) is less up-market, or your budget is limited, Transformation offer a 4-hour makeover for £99 which includes make-up and dressing. I've not tried it myself, but they are at least nearer to you in Birmingham. I'm not aware of anyone offering a dressing service in the Nottingham area.
Generally, I would say, if the website appeals and you're prepared to travel, then go for it. I'd be interested to know how it works out for you.