Things I like. Perhaps you do too.

Today, I am very happy to welcome a stylish young clatter of visitors from Miss Neira’s wonderful blog, F.A.B. (Fashion, Art, Beauty), where I am guest posting today. First time visitors here have likely guessed by now that Voyages en Rose is not a typical fashion blog. There usually is some chatter here about matters of style, yes, but all of that chatter is informed by the perspective of an enthusiastic part-time Cross Dresser. .

I am a big fan of Neira. Back in March in fact I granted her my not-at-all sought after “Heel of Approval” award for her general attitude about and experience with people like me. Neira has lots of enthusiasm about life and no hang ups about people who share her passions. Assuming that you have all of that in common with her, I thought I would put together some notes on some things we, you and I, might have in common.

Many of these things are as natural, instinctive and everyday as breathing is to you. For the Cross Dresser, not so much. These things are fresh experiences, learned habits and skills, or perhaps feelings drawn from a deep well within that is not fully understood.

These moments can become natural and instinctive with practice, but they remain special. These things, sensations and experiences are typically exclusive to women, and a real treat for those of us who emulate you now and then. It is fair to say that those of us not born to the fairer sex set are a little envious of you. Some of us ultimately find a way to live your lives fully, but most do not. I will not. I am happy in my life as a guy. But I am delighted to have another dimension to express within that life. Doing so makes me a better person.

There is much that I like about life en Femme. Here are some of those things.

I like:

- Having a door held open for me by a gentleman
- When a waitress brings black table linen to keep lint from my lap
- That my face can be a canvas for colors, and can be made more beautiful
- Swinging my legs out of the car,
- Knowing that they caught someone’s eye
- A zip closing up the back of a well tailored dress
- That a nearly weightless pair of shoes can change my height
- That their pencil thin heels radically alters the way I walk and the very shape of my legs
- Knowing that the time required to be beautiful is a luxury and treating myself to it
- The weight of big chunky bracelets
- The sweet and sharp scents of perfume around me
- When a beautiful stranger asks me where I found my skirt
- The incredible feel of my legs after a nice, relaxed warm shave
- That my eyes can pop and they can smolder
- Shaking out shoulder length hair
- Centering a skirt, and then smoothing it down
- Knowing that it won’t stay centered, smooth or down
- Trying to protect frail sheers from my dogs sharp nails when I come home
- Pulling the second shoe on, from behind my bent knee, by the heel
- Leaning across the table and quietly sharing a secret in a restaurant
- When the pedals on my piano and in the car feel slightly new and different
- That I can button a top with my other hand
- When the sales assistant brings something that works to the fitting room
- How my skirt shortens my stride, just a little, and slows me down, just enough
- How a cool necklace falls on my warm throat
- Finding a great deal and knowing that it will look terrific on me
- The trace of lipstick on my wine glass
- That nothing feels as silky as a great silk blouse
- Cinching the belt on a killer coat
- Throwing a bag from a really nice shop up onto my shoulder
- Purple. Lilac. Animal prints. And black. Lots of black

Above all, I like the way our world looks when I feel these things on those occasions it is my privilege to go out into the world en Femme.

And I like that I am able to share these nice things with you here today, whether these are things you do every day, only from time to time, or simply hope to enjoy some happy day in your future. Thanks for your visit.

What do you like?

P.S. If you don't know Neira, you will like her too. Please visit and say hi for me.

Cross Pollination

When I decided in autumn of 2008 to go with the Cross Dressing flow, and to document the experience here on Voyages en Rose, I truly did not know what I might find. One entirely unexpected finding has been the readiness of women to … to deal with Cross Dressers. I wrote about Liesl last week. There is my friend Linle at The Heretic. There was Stephanie one evening at Paris. There have been other encounters here and there. Skilled waitresses with black napkins to keep the lint off my skirt, charming sales assistants ready with the key to the fitting room, gorgeous cosmeticians ready to labor heroically with my rawly-shaved raw material, wig stylists with honest views on the good, bad and dreadful, and innocent civilians too numerous mention. Above all, there has been Mrs. Bellejambes who stays true to all the good things I suspected of her from minute one, and who is side by side with me on our voyage together.

Here in the virtual world too, I am happy to report that women have rolled the red carpet out for me.

This welcome means the world to me. Women are at the heart of the “why” I roll the way I do. I am wired this way. Aesthetically, there is, to me, so much more beauty contained within the female of our species. My five senses respond much more happily to women. Always wanting my senses fed, always having treasured the society of women, their approval has always been core to my happiness.

Therefore, being today in a happy frame of mind, I am publishing the first in a series of tributes to virtual friends of the female persuasion who have displayed to me, and by extension, to all of us of the CD/TG persuasion, a warm welcome, and some very welcomed society. The tribute takes the form of yet another Blog Award: Petra Bellejambes’ Heel of Approval.

Unlike many other such awards, this award arrives with no strings, no responsibilities, no mandate to proliferate. The Heel of Approval is a simple thank you note, from me, on behalf of all people, like me, drawn to somehow explore their own inner woman. It would thrill me to no end if honorees chose to proudly post the award in their own virtual trophy case on their wonderful blogs, but that is not the main point. The main point is to encourage regular readers of Voyages en Rose to visit these blogs, enjoy the beautiful content there, and generally glow in the knowledge in that their authors simply do not have any hang ups about the likes of we.

First up, Miss Neira, editrix of FAB (Fashion, Art & Beauty). Miss Neira and myself traded guest posts on The Lingerie Addict recently, and having at least that much in common, we struck up a little correspondence. Here is a very quick snapshot of her bio.

This young blogger has lived in four countries, picked up a few languages, and acquired a real appetite for life along the way, before settling in Boston. Neira recently headed back to school to further polish her design credentials, after a couple of years of work as a lingerie stylist and fitter in some very upmarket boutiques, where she first was exposed (in all senses of the word) to the life the Cross Dresser.

Neira tells me that the CD/TG customer was not only welcome from a business perspective, but also intriguing to her from a personal point of view. With practice, she learned not only how to help this special market segment learn how to dress, but also how to listen and understand some of the complex things that motivate us. The big learning, it seems, is that people are pretty much the same. We all want to be beautiful, in some way.

It takes a broad mind to arrive at this conclusion. Miss Neira has a broad mind and, happily for all of her admirers, a narrow waist too. She has, as well, the considerable advantages of youth, having just celebrated her 21st birthday (gasp!) just this past weekend. For all of these things, she is a worthy recipient of the very first Heel of Approval award.

Thank you Miss Neira for making it just a little easier for all of us to explore ourselves more comfortably, and to learn from someone who exemplifies inner and outer beauty in a womanly way that all of us should aspire to. Please visit with Neira, and rifle her virtual closet. I am sure that you will enjoy browsing around and find things that fit your way of thinking too.

If you have met a righteous woman in your virtual travels, someone equally free of bias please name names here in your comments. There are a few treasures and treasured friendships in my queue, but am always interested in welcoming new pledges into the sorority.

p.s. Neira, thanks for all the Sunshine. It is displayed in my trophy case.