Cor Blimey Mary Poppins!

I saw the below picture in the Metro newspaper today and was very taken with it.

The picture shows actress Emily Blunt in a photoshoot for the January 2019 edition of Harper's Bazaar UK in celebration of her new role as Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins Returns. I just adore her outfit in this picture and it feels like the perfect blend of the masculine and feminine. A very male shirt, jacket and tie (love a woman in a tie) coupled with a long, flowing skirt and boots. The colours all blend so well together especially the red of the umbrella providing a drop of colour.

https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/

Photograph by Richard Phibbs for Harper's Bazaar

Perfect Plaid

Now, anyone who reads this blog (and I hope there are still people that do) will know that I'm a fan of the movie Clueless and Cher's wonderful range of outfits and in particular her iconic yellow plaid skirt suit (which I hope to cosplay one day).

A couple of months ago I was saying how I bought a yellow plaid skirt (zip still needs to be fixed before I can wear it though) well the style seems to be making a comeback as I've seen yellow plaid jumpers, skirts, jackets and dresses pop into numerous shops over the past few weeks. Various colours of plaid skirts are also about and also checks, the main being houndstooth, continue to be popular. In fact most of the patterns I associated with my Grandad's jackets growing up are now being worn by young women.

So now I have decide exactly how much yellow plaid I want to invest in...

Quantum Leap #4: 8 1/2 Months

8 1/2 Months

(15 November 1955)

Sam is...Billie Jean Crockett, Expectant Adolescent 

The Mission...Ensure Billie Jean doesn't give up her baby for adoption. 

Yes, the Quantum Leap reviews are back after three (!) years. OK, so I didn't expect it to be quite that long however I did put the DVD by the TV to remind me. On New Years Day. That was this year though so there's progress. In the interim I've been thinking that crossdressing is a little like Sam Beckett's leaping. I still look down at myself now with painted nails and bracelets on my wrist or maybe wearing a skirt and tights and it still looks a little out of place after you've been used to yourself looking a certain way for so many years. I have gotten used to myself like this more as the time go on but there's still a sense of something off-kilter about and, yes, like I've leapt into a completely different body because you look down and think 'this can't be me.' 

Anyway, on to the review and on our big Quantum Leap checklist of feminine situations reaches pregnancy which is such an obvious one that I'm surprised it took them three seasons to get to it. Billie Jean is an unmarried pregnant teenager in mid 1950s Oklahoma currently living with her friend Dottie Billings and working in her salon. Her mother died and her father threw her out. In the original history, Billie Jean gave her baby up for adoption, regretted it and tried to track her down for the rest of her life. Sam's mission is easy enough in that all he has to do to make sure she keeps the baby is to not sign the adoption papers with the agency but Deborah Pratt's script looks at the wider problems facing the young mother. Placing Sam in the 1950s means he is up against the prejudices of the time and he has to ensure that Billie Jean is cared for and he does so be reuniting her with her estranged father Bob (played by the episode's director James Whitmore Jr) who eventually marries Dottie. We get little info on who Billie Jean and her baby go on to be but it is presumed that they go on to live a good, happy life in the usual QL way.

Again Scott Bakula shines and has some really great scenes in this episode. QL always played a little loose with exactly what happens to Sam when he leaps and how much of the person remains. As stressed in this episode, Sam leaps into place and retains the 'physical aura' of the person however throughout this episode he begins experiencing symptoms of pregnancy. Sam and Al seem to flip their stances as usually Sam is the more rational whereas here Sam fully believes he is experiencing the pregnancy while Al is prepared to put it down to flu. Throughout the episode Sam not only feels the baby kick but he experiences hot flushes, cravings, cramps and increased urination. Towards the end of the episode in among the confusion as he gives birth Al pops in to tell us that Billie Jean has done the same thing - and the baby has disappeared from her womb!

Scott's performance is great throughout. When Sam first leaps in we find him dressed in a large shirt and jeans but he then spends most of the episode in a maternity dress. At first his physicality doesn't change to reflect the pregnancy but subtly he begins to walk with the weight, holding his back, and all without a fake pregnancy belly too. His scene with the lady from the adoption agency is especially well played.

The supporting characters are decent enough with Dottie and Effy the standouts. Dottie's boyfriend Keeter is the typical jerk just there to stir the pot and then we also have the father of Billie Jean's baby, Willis. It's interesting that he more or less gets away with little responsibility. A likeable chap, Sam decides to let him follow his dream and go to college to get out of their small town rather than push on with making him share responsibility. The plot was always heading towards a resolution between Billie Jean and her dad as the way to make sure she gets to raise her kid in a decent future although with Willis as one of his workers I'm suprised we never got the inevitable showdown.  Overall a very good episode.

Making a Match

Hi everyone,

As usual I have a number of things I would love to post about and have meant to over the past few months but haven't because of things and stuff and reasons so I thought I would combine them in one post (which I haven't written yet and will be a bit long) but there is also a new entry in my Quantum Leap series (which is long and mostly written) so I thought I would just put something up as to that effect but luckily I have something to say.

A few months ago I bought some coloured tights (red, green, blue) cheaply and today being a Bank Holiday and I'm at home so I thought I would try the red pair out but I was a little stumped as to what they would go with so I sought some answers online (it holds the answers to everything).  I came across an article by Jessica Booth on Gurl.com from 2014 which was very enlightening for example pairing a pair of coloured tights with all your neutral colours, a striped dress, a black dress or using them to give a pop of colour to an outfit. Alternatively you can just go for it with whatever outfit and see what happens. I know from experience that things just go together sometimes when you didn't think they would.

Here's the link: How To Wear Coloured Tights

The one piece of advice I really took on board was to draw a colour from your outfit. For example, when I wore the green tights I paired them with a black dress that has green bird shapes on. There's also my Lost dress (which is not named for the mystery island TV show which ran from 2004-2010 but because whenever I wear it I get lost. This is the dress I got myself stranded in London in) which has pink and light blue flowers on it so I began thinking of the combinations I could use.

So what did I go with in the end? I am presently wearing a pair of blue denim turn-up shorts, black T-shirt (with Optimus Prime on) and a black cardigan with the red tights of course (not a a bright red but more of an earthy colour) plus bright red nails. They've also gone quite well with a pair of brown faux-sheepskin boots I have and some blue trainers. Ended up going for a walk in them too which still takes a spurt of confidence.

Changing Rooms

Today was not one of my betters ones. 

So anyway I mentioned in my last post about a few skirts I had my eye on and today I went into the shop to try them on. Trying things on in a shop is one of the more stressful things I find about my little adventures in crossdressing. Luckily most around my way have a single unisex room (even though in most I have to approach an assistant and mumble my way through asking for a key while trying to conceal my possible purchase. Those are mostly second hand shops though but this time it's a chain store with both a male and female department. 

I picked out my stuff, three miniskirts a black leather look one, a pink leather look one and a light brown one. There was a yellow tartan one which I have been coveting since I saw it because it looks very Cher from Clueless but unfortunately it wasn't there. Not wanting to take my chances with the women's changing room I slunk upstairs to the men's, grabbed a t-shirt to cover the skirts, and tried on the skirts. All too small for me. I picked out my usual size but it seems that means a touch smaller in this store. Oh well, that's sometimes the way it goes. I searched in vain for the right size but it wasn't there so I left. I was quite stressed at this point due to the usual fears and paranoia. 

However, after a cup of tea and a look round some other stores I decided to return. Managed to find my size in the black mini and I finally found the yellow tartan skirt! This time I got a little bolder and went to the women's changing room and was promptly asked to go to the men's upstairs because it was the women's department. Of course I could have explained that although I was a man I was intending to purchase articles from the Womenswear department but I couldn't be bothered to offload all this on the poor shop assistant and cause a scene. So I slunk back up to Menswear (which must always be said in a John Inman type deep voice. I'm imagining it now), grabbed another t-shirt and tried to avoid eye-contact with the guy I met before.  

Well, this time they seemed to fit except that the yellow tartan one had a fairly dodgy zip on it which I managed to get stuck! Yes, sometimes TG captions do come true. It was a fairly hot day anyway and I was getting more stressed with this thing plus I think there was a bit of a gap in the curtain in the changing area too so sweat was pouring down my face. Even though I've done this so many times I'm still aware of what the world at large thinks of it. My own fears, stresses and paranoia get the better of me and it makes me so angry and that causes me to crash and get depressed. So anyway I was able to wriggle out of it and get out of the changing room. Swapping the skirt for a better one and paying for it was a breeze compared to that and I was relieved to get out of there. 

Except that when I got back home I found that I had inadvertently bought a smaller size in the yellow tartan skirt. The hanger lied to me. So anyway, I'll probably head up there early tomorrow to change it and hopefully I might even enjoy my purchases. 

Oh and the girl in the bakery said she liked my nail polish. Which was nice. In case you're wondering, this weekend it's a sparkly red. Try to imagine Dorothy's ruby slippers from Wizard of Oz in liquid form and you have it. So anyway, swings and roundabouts. 

July Update

I've had a few ups and downs this month.

I did go to a friend's birthday wearing a dress (the one I bought last time) and did get a little self conscious. Not too sure why this time, sometimes I just get attacks of doubt especially with the amount of travelling I have to do although I am learning to manage it more. I did have someone ask me my pronoun though for the first time.

I haven't bought much recently but again I had a few doubts when I was trying on some stuff. I just thought I looked lumpy and hairy and horrible. However this can change because I also saw some skirts I really wanted earlier that same day.

Lots more I've wanted to post about recently but I never seem ti have the time to sit down and do it. Hope to have more soon.

Think Pink

Today is National Pink Day so it's no better time to make a post I've been meaning to for a few weeks.

I'm never really going to a pink girl. Bright colours aren't really my thing and indeed since I've started dressing it's interesting to note that I've seen how much black I wear without blue jeans to break it up. However being a pink girl for a while would be fun. As a man I've never really wanted to experiment with different styles that much, grunge, goth, preppie etc but I would love to explore different styles in female clothing; dressing as a chav or a goth or a cybergoth would be really cool. As I've said earlier, I would just as much love dressing as punky chick in ripped tights and a tartan skirt as much as a smart preppy girl in pussy bow blouses, houndstooth skirts and carrying a large handbag.

So at least once I would like to be the pink girl with bright pink nails and a short pink dress maybe with some fluffy pink shoes or a bag. I would probably feel compelled to wear a blonde wig too just to complete the set. I did spot a nice pink dress in a charity shop the other week and was going to try it on just to see what it would look like on me with no intention of buying it (no really honestly. Stop laughing at the back I'm being totally serious just like those guys who want to remake The Last Jedi. I said stop laughing!). I did paint my nails bright pink a couple of weeks ago and really liked the shade and in fact today I have like a metallic pink glittery shade on which does look a bit teen airhead.

Funnily enough I saw a girl in a shop today in such a cute outfit: fluffy pink hooded jacket, hot pink strappy top, denim mini skirt with frayed hem and sandals with pink fluff on. Totally not my style but I would love to wear that outfit. So maybe a little smattering of pink may do me some good.