Petra Bellejambes is a cat with 9 lives, 2 wardrobes and countless opinions about beauty, style and the life of the Cross Dresser who can be found padding away at Voyages en Rose. Her fully padded butt is pictured in the last photo of the article.
Treacle shared a little secret with me. Meet me in the next paragraph so I can pass it on to you.
Many readers of The Lingerie Addict are men who love lingerie. In fact, some of these special readers take their love to the next level every now and then (as I do) and wear lingerie. The world is a prettier place as a result, so hooray for special people!
Here is the thing about lingerie though: Delicate, diaphanous and sometimes daring underthings are lovingly designed to feature and flatter the beautiful contours and curves of women. Curves and contours that the male-to-female Cross Dresser simply does not possess. Moreover, when we want to take off on a nice feminine voyage, we show up with a little (or perhaps, a lot) of extra luggage that really needs to be safely checked pre-boarding.
For me, and I suspect for many of you, these trips are only occasional treats. So while flying economy is mandatory, it is a nice thing to look and feel First Class. Today, I am happy to share with you a few tips and tricks you might employ to inexpensively and convincingly get an upgrade.
I take a layered approach to going out looking my best en femme, and in the effort, I help my lingerie look great too. Here then, I will introduce you to my 3C’s of Curves: Conceal, Create, and Complete.
Conceal
Smartening up the midriff and camouflaging the extra bits starts with standard issue shapewear from vendors like Spanx, Donna Karan (pictured below and available at Bare Necessities)
and many others. I wear both of these with great comfort and effect, and managed to find the DK on clearance at Dillard’s for a mere $9.00. Bargains for similar products can always be found at TJ Maxx, and superb entries from Flexees are well stocked at JC Penny, either online or in the shops.
If you have a chubby belly, you might benefit from choosing a high waisted version which will have the effect of driving your waistline up an inch or 2, vastly improving your silhouette and the drape of your dresses and skirts. The boy-short cut will nest well on your upper thigh and ensure that everything stays well and comfortably tucked in place.
Create
Now with your best possible arrangement of what you were born with, you can effectively add what you were not destined to have: shape at the hips and derrière. For me, the essential garment is the 4-pad girdle. To find these specialty items, an online booty-call is encouraged. Fredericks of Hollywood goes well beyond their traditional flimsy boudoir range in this department and stocks a good assortment of well built, durable and effective shaping aids for the Cross Dresser. This is a $42.00 investment piece, and let me assure you it is a good investment. If you wear the shapewear under-layer, and if you take the care to hand launder this item (with the foam pads removed) you can expect to get 100 wears out of it. Hips and glutes for half a buck? Yes, you are worth it.
If you have not worn a padded girdle before, I can also assure you that you will gasp when you see your shape beneath a clingy dress for the first time. Right after I gasped, I wanted more. If a little padding is good, then more is better right? You might want to order the Foam Booty Panty while you are already at Fredericks (pictured below), or add the Squeem Magical Padded Panty from another recommended vendor, Classic Shapewear.
This additional layer would turn Gwyneth Paltrow into Beyonce (well not quite, but you get the idea). Highly recommended. And for you natural born women who are interested in hypnotizing your man on a special night out, I bet you have a knit dress that would feature a little oomph in the caboose really nicely. I guarantee you he will notice and make a point of holding doors open for you. If he doesn’t, it is time to find a new man.
Complete
With your foundation graded and smoothed, with the exterior built up to epic feminine proportions, a finishing layer is required. Padding can shift, and seams may be visible at this point so locking it all down for the night is key. One is never fully dressed until the legs are gleaming, so choose the correct sheers or tights for outfit, and opt for the control top version. The waist line should comfortably match or run higher than the layers beneath. The panty reinforcement should run down the thigh to cover the girdle below, but never so far down that it may peek out from beneath your skirt.
Any unnatural bumpiness will be smoothed out here, and the various layers will harmonize and sing from the same swaying songbook. I have too many favorites to name, but am happy to suggest value-priced Nice Touch from Sears, mid-range Satin Sheers from DK (Nordstrom’s and many other fine shops) and for the most luxurious feeling on two legs, the Individual 10 Control Tops from the almighty Wolford (pictured below and available at Bare Necessities) and in rather upmarket shops hopefully not too far from where you are seating right now.
Please consult size charts carefully, and make good use of your tape measure. If your dimensions are borderline on the pantyhose, go to the larger size – the hosiery will be less prone to runs. If you are borderline on the shapewear, go down to the smaller size – the fabric will expand, and rebound nicely after a good hand washing.
Get a smart broad belt cinched now, high on your waist to shorten your torso, lengthen your legs, and provide the best possible merchandizing of your new assets. Amplify the look when you pull on the sexiest shoes you can comfortably go about your pretty business in.
And lastly, don’t fight your new walk, work it. Your new shape will smarten your posture and encourage you to slowly, easily bring your lead leg around and to use your hips to full feminine effect. You should feel the movement within your dress, and notice that the hem of a well made dress or skirt is perfectly level from front to back. With your shoulders back, your belly in, and your heels propelling you gracefully forward, you will not only have the shape you want, you may have the shape that everyone around you wants.
First Class indeed. Happy landings.
*Image #1 from Corset Laced Mannequins
