Those Shoes - The Final Moments

Here's a picture of me in Those Shoes, a mere half-hour before I realised that they were no longer fit for purpose ...

Nice legs though, eh?

RIP - Shoes

Join me in mourning the sad loss of a pair of size 8 Clarks black patent leather 2" wedge court shoes. They finally fell apart today, beyond repair.

They were bought in a charity shop in Staines in 2005 and were, for a couple of years, the only femme shoes I had - hidden at the bottom of a box of stuff with the rest of the small stash that was 'Rachel' in those days. Once I leapt out of the closet, and into the real world, they came with me, and attended a couple of parties and social events, dancing the night away and, once, almost winning a game of musical chairs with e $1000 camera as the prize.

Today they went for a gentle stroll around Sydney, but they weren't up to it. The soles, already held together by the finest shoe glue pour local hardware shop could provide, started to detach (unnoticed) a couple of hours into the outing. It was only when I stopped in a  shoe shop to try a nice-looking pair that were half-price that I realised my old friends were in a sorry state. I was obliged to buy the new pair, and wear them for the rest of the day.

When I got home I chucked my old friends, but there was nothing that could be done for them.

Farewell.

The new ones are awesome, though - grey ankle boots with high-heels. Took a bit of getting used to, but worth it.

Pictures from the outing are to come when I get around to uploading them.

Seeing Red

It's a good job that I'm not the kind of guy who goes around with his shirt off, otherwise the rather obvious strappy-top sunburn I'm currently sporting would raise rather more questions than I'm willing to answer.

Anyway, I had a fantastic day out in Sydney yesterday as part of a iPhone-based photo-walk. Yes, once again I inflicted Rachel on 'real people' who were, as ever, not bothered.

Since the day was all about square-format pictures, here's one that features me. It was taken with my 'real' camera as opposed to the iPhone:

Oooh, Look - Shiny Reflective Surface!

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah

The Cool Urban Look

I went for a cool alternative look for my latest outing into Sydney. I decided to see if I could make my LBD look casual enough for a Saturday expedition to the Big City, and found a denim jacket of my wife's set it off nicely. A hippy-style handbag (do I have any other kind any more) added to the look, and off I went.

I was doing OK - browsing, shopping and generally being a girl-about-town. Until I got something out of my bag, then closed the sip, only to have the thing come completely apart. That is, the whole metal assembly came off the end of the zip, leaving the bag closed with no way of opening it. Well, short of picking it open with my fingernail.

Eventually I managed to bodge it back together, but it's not as secure as it was, and needs proper work.

Anyway, the rest of the day went well, and I got to the train for the two-hour ride home. I plonked myself down in my seat, and felt something give - the whole zip on the back of my dress had split open. Fortunately it had held together at the top, but I could feel it open all the way down my back. The jacket would hide it, but it was obvious the zip was done for. Very annoying.

So, a nice day out, but at the expense of a damaged bag and a dress that probably isn't worth repairing (the zip has already been replaced once).

The sad fact is that I was probably too porky for the dress, and I was just lucky that it told me so when I was already heading home.

Pin It

I'm always keen to try out new social media, in one or other of my guises, so it will come as no surprise to know that I've started dabbling with the image sharing site PINTEREST. After all, it's claimed that it's demographic is 95% female and that it's just a vast repository of pictures of make-up, shoes, frocks and cupcakes. Whilst the latter aren't good for me in large numbers (even my new corset can't hold their effects at bay), no page with lots of the former items on it can be all bad. Can it?

Anyway, you can follow me HERE.

The Wrong Kind Of Summer

Being a crossdresser in summer around here isn't much fun. Now this is probably partially down to me - I like to go out and about, but I also like to look awesome. But, and this may surprise you, to look as awesome as I do takes a certain amount of assistance. That is, there's the wig on top and a whole load of engineering going on under those op-shop outfits.

The problem? Even that light floaty summer look has so much underneath it that it's bloody hot. I have cut it down to a minimum, even at the expense of looking like what is technically termed 'a fat lass' but in local summer temperatures it's hard work. I endure it when I have to.

This year I haven't had the same problem. The problem I've had this year is that it won't stop raining. It rains for days. Whole days. Whole days on end. Who wants to go out on a day like that? Even as a guy I'd rather stay indoors. The idea of frocking up to wander the shops in a torrential downpour just doesn't cut it.

I'd never considered how weather-dependent I'd managed to make my crossdressing experience.

Apparently autumn is going to be wet too ...

The Last Two Years. A Summary

I was surprised to see that it's been two years since I last posted anything to this blog. Of course those of you who know me know my track-record with regard to blogs and will not, therefore, be surprised at all. So what's been happening?


Well, I'm still in Australia. No surprise there. We moved house about nine months ago, but we're still in roughly the same area. In terms of Life As Rachel, I've done a few things, some of them new experiences.


I've been to two Mardi Gras Fairs (2010 and 2011); they were good fun, but very, very hot. My decision to switch back to wigs at the start of January 2010 was a good one, but makes dressing in the summer something of an endurance trial. The Fairs are probably the closest I've been to The Scene though. With my one local tranny friend effectively retired (although we see each other from time to time as guys), and no other local scene I was really looking to be part of the Sydney scene. But, frankly, Mrs Rachel and I found travelling there for evening meals was exhausting and just a little too expensive for us. I've chosen to concentrate my dressing on just going out and about as me in what we laughingly call The Real World. 


So, I still take trips up to Sydney, mostly by train. But I do so just to enjoy the city - as a tourist or shopper. I still venture into Wollongong as well, from time to time, but am doing so less with Mrs Rachel. Whilst I am relatively open about being a crossdresser in my male life, it's not something we over-emphasise through our work, as many of our customers are not as trans-friendly as we'd like. Out on my own I am relatively OK, as people tend not to connect my scruffy bearded male self with the gorgeous tranny they might see walking around town. But if I have Mrs Rachel in tow then I may as well just wear a name-tag; if anyone sees her then it's not hard to work out who she is with. 


What else? Well, I went to a non-tranny ball as Rachel in 2010, on the grounds that if it involved dressing up I wanted to do it as a gender that can really dress up. And I bought a new wig; my original one is starting to get past it and is now really just a costume prop for my male self's photos. 


Oh, on my trips to Mardi Gras my children joined me. This was a big event for all of us, but they were really cool about it. I know that a few of their friends know their dad is a crossdresser, and two of them have met me as Rachel. The world didn't end. One of my daughter's friends surprised me a few days after he first met me by making me a pair of clip-on ear-rings. I was a little overwhelmed to be honest. 


I have been out twice with non-tranny people. In both cases it was photographic expeditions to Sydney. And in both cases people were cool about being with me. In the first case it was with people many of whom knew me quite well as a guy. Indeed most of them were unaware that I used the name Rachel and, to be honest, I didn't bother with it during the day. They know me as a guy, and will continue to do so. So on the day I was the guy they knew. As a girl. 


On the whole I dressing less than I used to. Life has got complex and busy, and finding time for Rachel whose expression, despite being something I need to do, is something of a luxury, isn't always easy. As ever, I do my best. 


I'll finish with a few pictures to bring things up to date:

On The Train To Sydney
Mardi Gras 2010 

Coffee In Austinmer
June 2010

At The Ball
July 2010

New Wig
August 2010

Still Visiting The Beach
January 2011

The Beach Again
August 2011

Around Sydney In Jeans And Boots

September 2011 

Hippy Chic In The Southern Highlands
November 2011

Portrait Shoot

December 2011