Rho Tau Newsletter
April, 2000
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| Vegas!...or what I did on my vacation | Lucy's Window dressed for the cruise | Web Crossings the search for the ultimate corset |
| Taking Chances has its Rewards! | ||
by Tiffany Michelle
I'm always in a quandary wondering what to do for vacation each year... and even which time of the year to take off. After all, I have two weeks, so I might as well use them up on fun stuff, right? I've not vacationed at too many places out west to include Las Vegas. So when my good friend, Karen , suggested going there this April... I thought it was a great idea!
Unfortunately, I didn't spend as long as I wanted there, but had a wonderful three days seeing shows, wandering up and down the main strip, and even participating in a little bit of gambling!
Instead of my normal plopping down photo's on a page with cute little quips and questions, I had such a fun time that I thought I would put together a little photo story. I hope you enjoy it!
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Our accommodations in Las Vegas was Bally's Hotel and Casino. It's in a really good location that's within walking distance to alot of attractions along the strip. They have a spacious pool, their own section of shops, and a pretty cool moving walkway on the second floor that brings you right out on the main strip. The Jubilee showgirl presentation is there, but we just couldn't fit it into our schedule. |
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My first day of Vegas started on Friday morning with one of my favorite sporting events... shopping! Karen and I went over to The Forum Shops located inside Caesar's Palace. It's set-up to look like street side shopping as the dome ceiling is sky blue and painted with clouds. There are also several fountains and shows performed periodically. Maybe you saw me and Karen eating lunch at Planet Hollywood there? By the way, you might be pleased to know that Elvis is alive and well at the Forum Shops in Vegas! :)
In the afternoon, we did "Star Trek: The Experience" at the Las Vegas Hilton. It was a great little tour of Star Trek nostalgia with an interactive simulation. Yes, you will be assimilated... resistance is futile!
Later that night, we went to the Penn & Teller magic show at the MGM Grand. It's a hilarious show and Karen got invited up on stage to participate in the knife-throwing act... I'll let her give you the low-down on that one!
After the show, it was off to the dance club Studio 54... still located at MGM Grand. Karen and I got in free for Ladies night! (Admission is normally $20) It was a pretty wild club with go-go dancers on stage platforms and on swings over the dancing floor.
While at MGM Grand, we met up with one of Karen's friends, Leigh, who happens to be the flight commander for the Monster.com blimp. We drove out to the blimp and I got to sit in the cockpit. Let me tell you that the blimp grounds are no place for high heeled sandals! It started to rain and the wind picked up so much that we had to get off the blimp.
Saturday started off with us meeting another friend of Karen's, David, who
is a "pit boss" for the craps tables at the Luxor. We ate lunch at a Submarine
shaped restaurant called "Dive!". We sat right next to the window shown in the
picture that has a waterfall flowing down it! 
At that point we were right next to the Fashion Mall so we... you guessed it... did some shopping! While walking along the strip we stopped to watch the Pirate ship show for Treasure Island which was quite interesting. ...and took some pictures in front the famous Mirage waterfalls.
Later on Saturday, we reserved tickets for "An Evening at La Cage" that starred Frank Marino. This was in the La Cage theater at the Riviera. This is a fabulous show with many different female impersonators. Although, I think Karen and I were the only TG in the audience. We had great seats that were right up front next to the stage. We also stayed after the show and got Frank's autograph. After the show, we walked over to a cozy Italian restaurant right at the club for a little late dinner.
We left there and headed over to New York - New York to ride the "Manhatten Express" roller coaster that starts inside the casino, then goes outside and blazes past the Statue of Liberty! Mind you, I am still wearing the dress I wore to the La Cage show... a bit overdressed for the coaster! I borrowed the dress from Karen, it was a beautiful orange tank dress with a flowered border print.
We finally ended the evening by seeing "Fantasia" at the Imax Theater at the Luxor. The Luxor is an interesting building that is shaped like a giant pyramid and all the interior is decorated Egyptian style (assuming the Egyptian pyramids had slot machines, an Imax theater, and hotel rooms.)
All in all, a very busy, but very wonderful vacation!
(Editor's note: To see all of Tiffany's Las Vegas vacation pictures and get the link to Karen's site please visit Tiffany's Site.)
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By Lucy Stone
On Being Cross-Dressed on an Ocean Cruise
Sometime during the winter every year, Joan and I find ourselves wishing that we could escape the cold weather and head south for at least a week or two. This winter was no exception. When we received a brochure for a Caribbean cruise in early January, our longing to go south became strong. This year, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that both an unexpected financial windfall and the “reduced price” for the brochure’s return-customer cruise bookings were compatible. So we quickly booked our cruise, and began the process of getting ready.
I made a strong pitch to Joan to cross-dress every evening for dinner. She said that it worked well on the Dignity cruise, but she had her doubts concerning whether it would be workable on a two-week cruise where no Tri-Ess group was present. We discussed potential problems, and found two for which we didn’t have the answer:
I called the cruise line and was put through to a lady whose job it was to answer customer inquiries. She told me the cruise line did not have any policy on cross-dressing one way or the other. She said the only “problem” that she could see was that I would have to wear a formal gown to dinner on formal evenings. (I should have more problems like this.) Concerning the matter of going ashore cross-dressed, she said that was not a problem.
After much discussion, we came up with a plan. Because neither of us knew what situations we would encounter, we agreed that it would be best to pack both for Don and Lucy for everything except formal evenings where I would take two formal dresses. We were unfamiliar with our cruise line’s check-in procedures, so I decided that I would play it safe by boarding the ship enhomme (I was concerned about other passengers learning my secret while I was checking in.). Once in our cabin, I would cross-dress before the evening meal. I planned to dress every evening for dinner. Further, we expected the ship to be large enough that it would be possible for me to dress enhomme to go dancing, to have time as a couple or when Joan just got tired of Lucy.
When we checked in, we discovered that boarding cross-dressed could have been accomplished discreetly. I changed before dinner as planned, and everything went well at dinner where we met the two couples with whom we would be dining. Throughout the remainder of the evening, I became convinced that switching back and forth between Lucy and Don could be done with no one the wiser. However, my conclusion evaporated when we discovered that one of the couples with whom we would be dining every evening had an inside stateroom almost directly across the hall from us. As a result it was going to be very difficult to come and go without raising suspicions if I were to switch back and forth.
Since they had met Lucy that evening at dinner, Joan and I concluded that I was going to have to remain cross-dressed for the entire two-week cruise or else risk creating an awkward situation in the dining room. (At that moment, the prospect of me cross-dressing for an extended period appealed to me, but I was concerned about how Joan was going to react.)
From that first evening until the cruise was over, two weeks later, I cross-dressed all of the time, and when the cruise was over, I left the ship and flew home without ever getting any of my male wardrobe out of the suitcase. The entire cruise was without incident, except for the one that Joan gleefully related last month in this newsletter. For the most part the cruise was a lot of fun for both of us, and I learned some important things, which I summarize below:
Do I plan to cross-dress on future cruises, and more importantly will Joan be receptive to me doing so? We both are as enthusiastic as ever about going on the Tri-Ess Dignity Cruises, and we feel certain that we will be very much aware of the lessons learned on this cruise when deciding what level of activity will work best for both of us on all future cruises.
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Taking Chances Has Its Rewards
by Heather
As with most crossdressers, I began when I was around 10 years old and have been a
crossdresser for over 40 years. For all of that time, I was alone. I never
went out and never had the opportunity to meet others with similar interests. Then I
found the internet!(didn't we all!).
My discovery took place about a year ago. I decided that I have been alone long
enough and I made a commitment to myself to take my crossdressing to the next level.
To go out...to meet others...to finally be able to talk to another human being.
I began to explore various clubs and organizations. I settled on Tri-Ess because of
their philosophy and confidentiality. As I went through the initiation (phone calls,
interview, etc.)process my commitment grew and I became determined to do this right.
I started to diet in order to present a proper appearance. It was also something
that my doctor had been urging me to do for many years. I called the wig shop in the
local mall and was pleased to find out that have experience in dealing with a CD
population. The girl at the shop told me that she has sold over a hundred wigs in
the several years that she has been there. What I'd like to know is...where are all
these people!
The experience of buying my wig was great. The salesgirl set me up in a private room
and offered me several styles to choose from. She made suggestions as to what she
thought would look best on me and made suggestions on various styles that I might choose
to wear. Even thought I did not dress for this occasion, I felt very feminine
throughout the experience.
As the day for my first Tri-Ess meeting approached, I became more and more nervous.
I had a nice outfit to wear, my weight was down, but I was terrible at make-up and my wig
needed to be styled.
I decided to "go for broke". I called every beauty salon in my area (over
30) to find out if any of them had any experience with CDs. None of them had.
I then limited my selection to about a half dozen or so salons and called them back to see
if they would be willing to "do me". I spoke to the manager of one salon
and explained what I wanted done (hair, nails, and make-over). I explained to him I
would be extremely nervous when I arrived because I would be arriving at his salon fully
dressed but without a hint of make-up. I also explained that I had never been out in
public before. He assured me that his staff would be discreet and courteous and that
I would be offered every consideration. I set up the appointment.
On Feb. 19, 2000 I arrived at the salon at 12:15 PM. I was very lucky, I ran into
absolutely no one in my journey from the parking lot to the salon. When I walked in
I was greeted by several girls saying "Hi Heather, we're glad you could come".
They commented on my dress and and hair and in general made me relax. They
took me by the arm to my chair to have my hair done and introduced me to my stylist
(Frankie). They had set me up in a discrete area of the salon and had folding
screens to protect me from the "stares" of other customers. For the next
hour my stylist and I talked "girl talk" as she proceeded to work on my hair. I
was in heaven!
When my hair was done I was led to another station for my make-over. Here I met
Robin. As she worked on me, I found that she was doing things that I had never
considered. She paid me the highest compliment when, halfway through the make-over,
she just blurted out "you really look good". She gave me a hug and
proceeded to finish the job. When she was done she invited me to come back at a
later date and at no charge for a consultation.
Robin then took me to my station to have my nails done. I now walked with my head
high and really felt good about myself. I told her that the screen was no longer
needed. She smiled, agreed, and put the screen away. The next hour was spent
just talking and feeling very feminine as Robin did my nails.
After three hours of pampering I was now ready for my first Tri-Ess meeting. I left
the salon with my head held high and feeling very good about myself. I event went so
far as to smile and nod to people that I passed on my way back to my car.
About three weeks later, I called my salon and set up my consultation. I did not
dress for this (stupid me!) but everyone still greeted me as Heather. Robin
proceeded to spend the next two hours showing and explaining the application of make-up.
I learned more in this short time than I had in my previous 40 years of
experimenting...and this time it was not an experiment.
Robin's fee for this service is a % of the sale of the make-up that she sells.
However, she kept telling me that Cover Girl or Revlon are just as good as the stuff she
sells. I ended up buying about $60.00 worth of make-up (if she wanted to, she could
have sold me $200 - 300 of make-up).
After this experience, I now feel confident in applying my own make-up, at least for
casual excursions. If some special event comes along, I will probably go back to
Robin for a "professional job".
Prior to the April meeting, I went back to the salon just to have my hair done.
Frankie was not available, so I was given another girl. I was not overly happy with
her results and even had the courage to complain mildly. This is something I would
never have had the courage to do but a few short months ago.
The message that is contained in this account of my recent experiences is "before you
decide to try new experiences, call first". If you let people know your
situation they will either accept it or reject it. If they reject it, its only a
phone call...they can't bite you over the phone. If they accept your situation they
will probably bend over backwards for you and provide you with an experience that is
breathtaking and feminizing.
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Waist Feminization!
By Jayne Walker
Another of the challenges facing the crossdresser is the necessity of achieving a believable feminine waistline. As we peruse the sizing of clothes it becomes clear that the typical woman's size features a waist which is approximately 10 inches smaller than the hips. As we well know this is not something that most us can achieve naturally!
Adding inches to the hips will help create the illusion of a feminine figure. There are a variety of hip padding options ranging from the economical solution offered at www.underworks.com to the custom made padding offered by Classic Curves .
Even with the addition of inches to the hips there is the need to reduce the waist size. Waist cinchers and other slimming body shapers are available at almost every store that sells lingerie. The difficulty is finding something that will do an adequate job of feminizing the waistline especially considering the extra rib that we have!
Another option is the corset. Corsets range from the classic "Merry Widow" full coset with garters to custom made corsets to the Axford's D.40. It is interesting that a Suzanne Bra and Corsets is a custom corset maker located in Appamattox! They offer corsets with prices starting at $150.00.
Perhaps the most well known of corset makers, Axfords, offers a wide varity of sizes, shapes, colors, and materials for corsets. The model D.40 which has a 7 inch front length comes the closest to solving the male rib problem and creating a feminine waist. At current exchange rates the D.40 is priced at approximately $92.00 US with shipping another $15.00 US.
Of course, there is always the CDs super mart....eBay!
Here are a few links to get started in your corset/body shaping shopping adventure:
http://www.lingeriecloset.com/ |
http://www.bigbra.com |
http://www.fredericks.com/ |
http://www.newport-news.com/default.asp |
http://www.shee.net/bridges/ |
| http://www.ebay.com/ |
http://www.axfords.com/axfords.html |
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