Distractions to 'give-aways'

One thing that I have learned is that there are certain areas that are 'give-aways' to being "outted" or "read". Hands, facial features, walking, voice, musculature, hair. But another thing I have been able to do is either creatively mask or eliminate such features and/or to create various forms of "distraction" to de-emphasize them.

Make-Up

Coming soon, I will provide a more detailed pursuit of make-up. However, as with any portion of a 'look' there is such a thing as too much. (and also too little) Facial features, such as musculature, large nose or strong cheeks can many times be worked out through proper make-up work - hilighting, shading, cover-up, etc. (more to come on this)
Good use of mascara and effective use of eye shadow, eyebrow trimming and penciling and even fake lashes or colored contacts can draw attention to the eyes and away from other - less feminine facial features. (see the for great make-up tips and tutorials!)
A slightly brighter or darker shade of lipstick or eyeshadow will also do wonders to distract attention from negatives. Don't go too crazy if your goal is to look truly female, but perhaps a little more than the average damme.

Clothing

One thing I always try to do is to buy at least somewhat conservative clothes, but with a feminine appeal in one way or another. For example, rather than buying just a pair of plain slacks or jeans for a casual look, I seek those pairs that might have a high or accented waist line, tapered legs, or perhaps some sort of pattern or other feminine accessory attached. Witness my jeans with the braided sides, my white and black pants, both with high waists or a new pair of denim shorts (coming in the next batch of pics) with an inside lining of pink and white stripes that can be rolled up on the legs and folded over at the top.
For shirts, I might buy something with a flowery pattern, frilly front or even a color that is more feminine such as fuscia or pale baby blue. High necklines are a must for those that don't want to shave any more than they have too, and I especially like tapered sleeves to de-accentuate what bicepts I have. Those of you with bigger bi's or chests, might perfer more baggy clothes.
Pic clothes that create illusions with the body. I have always been a fan of clothes that reveal a lot but still leave at least something to the imagination. (although real skimpy things will require lessons in taping rather than a mere tuck) Tights, leotards and swimsuits come to mind for body flattering illusion creaters. Many of the cuts and fabrics of these items accentuate or even artificially create more curvature on a feminine or pseudo-feminine form. Although such outfits may seem inaccessible to some lesser-involved dressers, never count them out as 'under' items - for example, wearing a fashionable workout leotard under an open shirt (see some of my pics for examples of this) or swimsuit bottoms (or even nice panties) over panty-hose with a nice shirt. Women's Dress gloves are not out of the question either to hide the big hands. (more on hands below) And never forget other accessories. There are a number of neck adornments from strings or pearls to newer 'hip' beads and ribbons that can gracefully cover up even the largest adam's apple! Scarves or kerchieves work well there as well. One trick I used in some pics (see those with the white dress) was to take a long, narrow satin scarf and string it through a circular broach pin. Belts and scarfs are great for waist lines too.

Nails

I was pleasantly surprised to find that - as far as nails are concerned - the more the merrier! I had a feeling that really long nails might be too attention grabbing. They are - but - they de-accentuate the masculine form of your hands better than working length.
I tend to use press-ons. Of course, if you can afford (both financially and logistically) to get your nails professionally done and keep them that way, that is going to be the best bet. However, press-ons normally work just fine.
I prefer the 'neutral' colors. Believe it or not, I categorize most plain red colors in this category. Plain red goes with just about anything. I also like the naturals, especially the french manicure style - however, these will sometime show a bit more obviously that they are fake if they have any transparency to them. Pearl is also a nice neutral color.
The glue tabs will function OK, but you might try a brush-on cyanoacrylate (super) nail glue. They come off less frequently with such and are even reasonably easy to get off with some practice. (find an edge and slide another nail in under it slowly and they will eventually 'pop' off)
Even if you use press-ons - pre-colored or plain - don't count out nail polish. Faster drying polishes are much easier to use than the old 15 minute wait stuff. In the case of plain press-ons, you can get any color you want and not be limited to those colors Lee thinks is gosh that week. For pre-colored nails, you will find that there are many transparent nail coatings as well as solid colors. A thin coat of candy red on red press-ons or sparkly pink pearl on the pearl nails is great! It enhances the depth of color of the acrylic and also can help blend the corners of the nail to your real nail if enough coats are used and if the nail is applied right against the back or even slightly under the cuticle. A nice distraction in itself to hide the fact you are wearing fake nails!

Hair

If you have long hair - I am jealous. Mine was long - had to cut it to interview for jobs as my other self. (one of these days Kathy is going to find a friendly job - then LOOK OUT!) For most of us, wigs are going to be a requirement.
Some have mentioned that in its long glory, the blonde wig did not do me any flattery - keep in mind, not all wig styles or colors will look good on you. For the most part, I do not like short curly wigs ON ANYONE. Wavy or straight hair usually look more feminine and natural. You might be able to use part of the wig to obscure parts of your face to increase an effect.
Some have criticized me for 'hiding' my eyes - which are a positive feature on me - especially when the make-up is applied properly - however, although I obscure part of my eyes, I rarely cover all of them and/or both of them. The hair just helps feminize the look and also helps to cover the ugly edge of the wig.
Never give up on a wig (at least not right away anyway) if it does not look good at first. Witness the earlier pictures of me in the dark Party Page wig. By flipping it around backwards, it completely changed the look and style of this wig.

Jewelry

Although Jewelry in general is fun, care must really be taken in what and where. I note that as a rule, most clip-on earrings are gaudy - in that mostly old ladies love to wear them. Nice earrings can definately enhance a look as well as provide a feminine ruse, but keep in mind, that although such 'distractions' are helpful to take attention away from your more masculine features, you don't want any one item that will in fact draw too much attention to you in the first place.
Most people don't stop to stare at you long enough to put any idea in their mind that something may be 'different' - don't give them a reason too. Stick to conservative and pretty necklaces (great to distract from chest stubble), earrings and rings. Bracelets, however are great! Even tons of danglies that rattle and clink can still have a great affect and often draw that attention right off your clumpy hands! (trust me! and they are fun, so what the hell....)

Shoes

Hmm - some of you 'bigfeet' out there may have fun on this one. I try to stick to the narrow shoes or at least those that will taper to narrow. About the only acception are 'trendy' items like boots often adorned by the younger girls in our society these days.
Try to witness what kinds of shoes look good with what outfits as you watch women from day to day. I have not quite fully digested the 'shoe thing' yet, but I have already caught enough of the bug to know there is a science to what shoes go with what - and many woman - for whatever reason - love to scope out the shoes and that might be the undue attention you don't need!

Voice

Voice is a biggy. Please be sure to check out Melanie Anne's great page on

How to Develop a Female Voice

If you are still in the process of working up a more feminine voice, just keep your voice down. It is usually better to repeat something than to speak to loudly and perhaps say something in too masculine of a manner that would be overheard and tip people off.

Stance, Posture and Maneurisms

For walking, my biggest tips are to keep the weight on the balls of the feet, legs close together and keep steps in a line rather than spread apart. Do this in heels for a while, and you will even start to develop more feminine musculature in your legs.
Examine female maneurisms. Body language and posture are handy tools to complete your illusion. Perhaps get in practice of torquing your butt out a bit, keeping the heels and legs together, sucking in the tummy a bit, slightly poking out the chest and keeping the shoulders/arms back. If you were to ever see me walk out of the house en femme - you might even see the thought process as I go down the walk... (as my weight transfers to the balls of my feet - my hips rock forward a bit, my stomach suddenly pulls in, and then my shoulders swivel back! Watch me sometime - you'll see me do it - perhaps some day I won't have to think about it as much)

Body Features

Believe it or not, you can find parts of your body that look fem enough to compensate for those non-fem portions. Legs are the biggie! So long as you are not a body builder, shaved legs - regardless of the shape - will almost always be one of the first places to catch at least a man's eye when exposed.
Butt maybe a close second with breasts competing somewhere amongst the three depending on which direction you are walking. Additionally, I have noticed that keeping the legs together, jutting the butt back a bit and perhaps even slightly pointing the toes inward increases the appearance of hip size.
Shaved arms (for those without a monster build) look good too. If you are fairhaired like me, just lightly dance a razor across the skin to either shorten longer hairs or selectively thin out the amount of hair. (I do the same to thin out eyebrows by the way)
The best be for this is to simply watch women. Learn what they do and try to figure out why it looks good so you can come up with ways to emulate it successfully without being obtrusive about it.

Any other ideas for healthy distractions? Please drop me a note as I would love to hear about them!