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I agree. It would not work for me either, but I have no trouble seeing that it works for him and he carries it well because it is a natural expression of self. Mine is considerably less flamboyant - and less flamboyant or dressy than @mlroseplant too. I’m boots and jeans casual. I do take more care with dressing when I am wearing heels because they feel more dressy and more if a personal expression, but my natural style is low key and with chunky heels and tall boots over jeans.

It's not a style that would work for you because lace shirts, wide legged/high waisted pants aren't your "thing". Nor is his hairstyle and jewelry. It's perfect because it works for him.

Hasty? I've been thinking of doing this since 2020. My father has paid over $600K USD in taxes to the US government and hasn't stepped foot in the US in over 20 years. That's a real crap deal if you ask me. All for what? Pride to be an American. I could give up my US citizenship right this very minute and save on capital gains forever since my second passport doesn't tax me on capital gains or income made outside of the homeland country. Secondly, my second passport doesn't carry the political stigma the US passport does. Third, my second passport grants me visa free access to Russia. Honestly, the quality of life in Moscow is 9/10. Far higher than anywhere in the US at far less cost. No homeless people littering the streets. No illegal immigrants clogging up the streets selling stolen goods. Clean and efficient public transport. Cheap food. Far lower cost of living. The world is dividing into in the West (US/EU/Australia) versus EuraAsia (Russia/China). This is the generational call for the next 20-40 years. I appreciate your concern that the US could become 4 different countries, but that's just a possibility on paper. The east versus west divide is already happening and that's the world I'm planning for. 100% agree. There are many alternatives. The US is still a land of opportunity, but it's over rated, imho. Raise a family around Transgender Story hour, homeless people everywhere, and illegal immigrants crashing property prices? Can do way better in Moscow even.

Man oh man - very, very late comer here to comment on a "resolved" issue, so my points may be utterly moot. My transition from wearing almost entirely covered heels to openly wearing them public was a challenge. Taking inspiration from others in this group, I eventually realized that "if they can do it, so can I," and I did. And since that time, I have not looked back or ever regretted my decision to wear heels out if public. This is not to say that it has always been a smooth road as it hasn't. There have been times of doubt and lacking confidence in new and uncertain circumstances. I have come to learn that the best way to approach this is as other have wrote - having confidence. These are some points I have learned: 1. Select footwear for comfort and occasion. Speaking only for myself, I wear very low heels to work and never, never, never "club heels" to the office. OTK boots will be paired with an appropriate length and styled skirt. 2. Pay attention to grooming. When I am out in heels, I am always well groomed - clean shaven, hair combed, fingernails "cleaned-up," etc. Keep your feet in good shape! Some heels are only designed to be worn for very brief periods of time. Thus, I always have a pair of flats or "street style" trainers nearby should my feet start to scream, "Get us out of here!" When I wear capris, the lower part of my legs are shaved. 3. If this anyone's "Thing," wear clothing and accessories that makes you comfortable as comfort exudes confidence. There are days/times/places where wearing a pair of heels just does not "feel right" for whatever reason. When those occur, as much as I may want to wear heels, I don't. Likewise, some days it might be all feminine clothing but other days it will be a mixture. 4. Be yourself! When you should find a style you like, go with it. I have found both heels and clothing that I love and have started to put my own style together. It took some work to get there such as quite a bit of weight loss, but I am there and I love how it looks. 5. Work towards an event for which you want to wear heels. My wedding anniversary is the most important day of the year, and my wife and I always celebrate it in high style. This year I have a leather skirt for the day (at the very end of October) and although it fits fairly well, I have to lose a few more pounds to make it fit "just right." I have idea of the boots I want to wear with the skirt thus, this gives an incentive to make sure I get there. So there you have it!

I wear open toe sandals all the time. And almost always the toes are painted. I get my toes (and fingers) done every 3 - 4 weeks. I know how to do it myself, but I don't have all the tools. My thumb is artifically supported, so it is very hard to work on my toes. Besides, I also enjoy the foot and leg massage.

First of "Howeveah" took me a moment to figure it out....(reminiscent of Mr. Ronald James Dio - sooooo showing my age!). I had always believed that open shoes, regardless of heel height and style, SHOULD (not could or can) not be worn with either tights (nylons, hose, etc) or unpainted toenails. Likewise, I automatically assumed that toenails should be painted with open toe shoes, especially with pumps worn for a "dressy" occasion or event. Well, yesterday, I noted that my immediate supervisor was wearing a pair of Toms - "Monica" slingback wedges and her toenails was not polished/painted. Thus, this gave me the inspiration I needed to try it for myself. As, I will pick-up some open toe sandals and see how it looks!

WOW! Those heels are fantastic!!!!! Love them!!! (Can you say Envious?) OK - I'm sorry to get up on my soapbox here, but I kind of have to do so... I fail to comprehend this whole 'washroom use must align with birth sex' baloney! In the end, who, other than clueless morons give a flying F*#% about it? I have so many places where the line for women to use the "women's" restroom has been proverbial mile long and if men are not using the stalls in "their" washroom, then let the women do it! What is the big deal about it? As to the point at hand - I personally love the sound and feel of my heels clicking across any solid surface - there is just an indescribable allure to it. If that happens to be in a public men's restroom, then so be it.

Don’t be too hasty. The way the world is spinning who knows where you will wind up. It’s entirely possible that the USA part of North America will wind up becoming four separate countries. One Liberal. One Conservative. One Hispanic and one Black. And, they all will be fighting each other. Each one struggling to dominate the others. Then, what difference will it make which passport you have?

Forgive me for saying, but I'm still mystified by this perfection.

That’s true - and as long as you feel at home there

But I guess it all depends on where you eat your oat meal and drink your beer. My as long as it’s hot and cold.

Now those look fantastic...

For sure!

perfect style IMHO. Make sure to swipe to the 4th and 5th pic https://www.instagram.com/p/C6blM-uIVhr/?igsh=YmR3ZnYzNzV5aThj

Australia is considerably different than the US - perhaps not if you are only visiting, there may seem to be superficial similarities, but as a place to live, work, raise children, the differences are huge. we live in troubled times, sure., but for overall standard of living and quality of life there are many worthy alternatives to the US. I’ve never been a fan of the idea that any country is “the greatest in the world”

International living is a crapshoot. Unrest is everywhere. Australia is more like the USA than any where else that I’ve ever been. Europe is imploding. Final result? We’re either reverting to conditions like the 1600’s or we’re going to look like Mars. like it says in the Bible says: “The meek will inherit the earth .“ But, in all reality. the wealthy will distroy it.

That’s what I did after more than 40 years of living outside the US and with Australian citizenship and no intention whatever of ever living in the US (I’ve not even set foot in the place in 15 years and only rarely before that)

Just out of curiosity, I perused the shoe collection to see how many pairs I had left from the early years, say before 2015, and it's three. Not counting my first two pairs of heels that I keep for sentimental reasons. So out of a hundred-some pairs, I have rotated clean through to where the majority of my shoes are less than five years old. The same cannot be said of my clothes. Most of my good dress clothes are probably in the neighborhood of 10 years old. Especially all of my suits. There's nothing wrong with the suits, and I still like them. What I don't like about them are the pants. They are all quite full-legged traditional suit pants. I used to have them hemmed long to accommodate my heels. I had a couple of suits for wearing flat men's shoes, and the rest required me to wear heels or the hem would be way too long. I'm not a huge fan of that look anymore. Even though that's sort of starting to come back, it's a different cut, and I'm still not a fan. I have a number of slimmer cut pants that match a few of my suits well enough to substitute for the pants that actually came with the suit. I usually wear those. Life has gotten much more casual, and these days, wearing a shirt and tie with no jacket puts me in the top five percent of dressiest clothing at church, and that includes the women. When I say my clothing is old, I basically mean my dress shirts and ties. My pants and my shorts are actually on the newer side.

hahaha! Currently I'm in Georgia. No crypto tax on personal capital gains here (for now). In the US, I'm a tax resident of Florida, so no capital gains. So only the IRS mafia. I have a 2d passport and am seriously considering giving up my US passport as part of my retirement plan too. Time will tell.

Like my old dad used to tell me If you live long enough you going to get old. I guess that applies to most everything else, also.

It was after midnight. Jane closed down the kitchen and walked up stairs and into the bedroom where she found James standing in front of the mirror considering the way he looked. Noticing her reflection in the mirror behind him, he remarked “I never imagined myself dressed this way or looking this good. I am dumbstruck at my transformation.” Jane busied herself clearing her purchases off of the bed. She put his new lingerie in a drawer in a closet cabinet, hung his blue dress on the rack next to hers and put his black pumps on the floor, remarking when looking at him “Now we have to undo all of this. Jane, in an instructional tone of voice, said “There are several stages a woman must go through, besides brushing her teeth, before she climbs into bed. A man has it easy, all he has to do undress, put on his pajamasi, wash his face, brush his teeth and hop into bed. Now I am going to take you through the process that a awoman has to go through before she can climb between the sheets.” “The first step “ Jane began, “is getting undressed. Take off your shoes and put them in the closet.” James walked into the closet, removed his high heels and placed them on the floor beside his black pumps. “The next step” according to Jane, “is to remove any jewelry she is wearing. A necklace and dangling earrings, for example. Also bracelets and large rings and anything else that might catch on the cloth of her dress. Removeing your wig and taking off your dress is next.” He reached up and took off his wig and put it back into the box that it came in and Jane, standing behind him, unzipped his dress and helped him pull it over his head. She hung it on the rack beside his blue dress. ”Underwear comes next” as she helped him take off his slip and pantyhose. As James stood in front of her wearing only his bra and panties,Jane reached into a drawer and took out a frilly nightgown and tossed it to him, saying “take off your bra and put this on. You can sleep in it tonight and put your robe on because we aren’t finished yet.” Then she picked up a pair of her silver high heel slippers and handed them to him, saying “You might as well wea these. With that, Jane led him back into the bathroom,stood him in front of the mirror and said “we have to remove the makeup and clean your face before washing it.” She picked up a bottle of exfoliate and poured some on a cotton swab. Then she began lightly scrubbing his face, easily cleaning off all of the makeup she had applied earlier. Next, using her hands she applied a generous portion of moisturizer on his face, lightly wiping it off using a soft cloth. After washing his face with a little soap and water she patted it dry with a soft towel. She told him that she was finished and he was ready for bed. James looked at his face in the mirror as he brushed his teeth. while his manly looks had returned, his hazel eyes sparkled and his face reflected a feminine glow With that, Jamie Donavan, taking off her robe and spike heel slippers and wearing her frilly nightgown slid between the sheets and into bed. On Tuesday morning, James got up early and began dressing in his women’s clothes. He was dressed to a point where he was about to pull on his high heels when Jane got up and saw him dressing in the same outfit he had on yesterday. She realized now that she should have bought some casual clothes for him. But, how was she to know quickly he would take to wearing dresses and heels. Had she any idea that he would have taken to dressing in women’s clothes so quickly, she would have brought some casual clothes for him. She kissed him as he picked up his robe, spike heel slippers and frilly nightgown, as he was putting them back where Jane kept them. She asked him why he was putting on his girls’ clothes? He replied that he only had three days to adjust to his new lifestyle so he had to take advantage of every minute to learn how to be a convincing girl. He had to practice. Besides, he said “ I really like wearing high heels.” They gave mea feeling of confidence while I am wearing them.” He has already decided that he was going to wear heels when ever it was possible, from now on. “So”, he said “if you have any problem seeing me wearing heels or dressing as a woman, it’s your fault.” WOW There was moment last night when Jane finished getting him ready for bed that she knew that he had gotten her point. She could tell that he had grasped how much effort was involved by a woman when getting dressed for a party or formal event. However, she wasn’t prepared for how quickly he had accepted dressing as a woman or his enjoying wearing high heels. Talk about altering a lifestyle! Jane could not think of another situation that could have a more profound affect upon any person’s or families’ life. Granted, as a man, James was the most handsome, best looking male Jane had ever seen. She was so proud that he had chosen her to be his wife. She knew deep in her heart that his love for her was real, deep and genuine. After yesterday’s experience, and the way he looked dressed completely as a woman, she was convinced he was also one of the most beautiful females she had ever seen. And, as a professional female fashion expert and widely sought after fashion model, with world wide recognition and reputation, and after working with the most beautiful women on earth, she should know. Where do we go from here? How do we handle this? Weil, Jane already knew how to deal with his male personality because she’s been with him every step of the way since they were married, so that part can go on as is. No change is needed at this time. Jane knew that she had to develop some sort of strategy for dealing with the female aspect of his newly uncovered personality. But what and how ?Jane instinctively knew they had to finish what they had started. They had to go out to dinner as planned on Thursdays night. What other way was there for James to experience what awaited him whenever he chose to appear in public dressed as a woman. Later that afternoon, after carefully thinking it over, Jane decided that if James was going to wear women’s clothes every day, he was going to need a larger wardrobe. The clothes she had brought for him to wear to dinner were too dressy for casual, everyday wear. She thought jeans and tennis shoes were too casual. Besides he already had a good supply of that stuff and unless he was planning on wearing a tennis skirt. There wasn’t much difference between men’s and women’s. athletic clothing (except in jeans and shoes. She sat down at her desk and began to make a shopping list. He would have to start from scratch. So begin at the beginning, she thought. Dress him from inside out and from top to bottom. Starting with lingerie. Brassieres: she already bought 2. Buy 2 more. Panties (she wondered if he would ever wear a pair of boxers or briefs again? He had already told her how much he loved the feeling of soft cotton panties.) She had already bought 4 pairs. 4 more pairs should be enough for the time being. Pantyhose. She bought 3 pair. He mentioned that he would like to try a pair of stockings, so she added 3 pairs of stockings and a garter belt, that way they could find out for sure what he preferred. Two more slips, A couple of sweaters, 3 skirts and 3blouses. 3 outfits. Mix an match so he has 3 or 4 different outfits. That leaves shoes He already has 2 pairs of high heel pumps. What he needs are three pair of office style Penny Loafers with 3 or 4 inch heels and a couple of pairs of flats and sandals with stiletto or wedge heels. Jane, taking her list, drove into town and spent the next three hours shopping. When she got home, James helped her unload the packages. They unpacked everything and put it away. Jane was sitting on the bed thinking about supper when Jame walked out of the bathroom. He stood there waiting for her to tell him what was next on their “to do” list. She looked up and saw him standing in front of her dressed in his woman’s clothes and wearing his high heels. She stood up, put her arms around him and and told him how much she loved him and not because he was the most beautiful man in girls clothing in the world.it was way more than that. James spent the rest of Tuesday afternoon wearing one of the new casual dresses that Jane just bought. On Wednesday, he was having a hard time deciding which outfit was more comfortable, the skirt and blouse he was wearing or the dress he wore yesterday. Not that it would make much difference because he loved wearing both outfits. He was also wearing his black pumps with the 5 1/2 heels. He thought he should break them in, in the event that Jane decided that he should wear his blue gown to dinner tomorrow night. He guessed that the weather would have a lot to do with which gown she would choose. The red gown was better suited for cooler temperatures while the blue gown was made of lighter material better suited for warmer weather. He did manage to walk to the mailbox at the end of their driveway wearing these pumps. It was a half mile walk to the mail box and back to the house. Surprisingly these very high heels were comfortable and he loved the way they felt walking in them. He changed clothes and drove to his office thinking “How am I ever I going to keep my two lives separate Wednesday passed quickly. Both James and Jane spent most of the day working at their day jobs. Jane, completing an article on a new designer that chose to work out of Chicago and James setting up a quick international flight to Italy where his company was having trouble getting parts from a contractor. They did have time for a quick session on teaching James how to apply eyelashes, outline his eyes and shape his eyebrows. Shortly after supper, armed with fresh cups of coffee,they went into the den and spent an hour practicing his feminine mannerisms and female voice inflections at which he was making good progress. It rained early Thursday morning. The sky had cleared by 7:45 AM. Jane looked at the clock and jumped out of bed, put on her robe and slippers. She looked over at James peacefully sleeping, one leg poking out from under the covers. She decided to let him sleep. Today was going to be a busy day. She mentally reviewed her schedule as she charged down to the kitchen, flipping on the lights and staring the coffee pot. She knew that she had two online interviews and an article due to her publishers. Besides, she had to make reservations for dinner tonight. She didn’t have any idea what James’ schedule was like. She knew he had some aircraft maintenance things that he had to deal with, but other than that, she didn’t have a clue. in retrospect, Jane was regretting creating this whole charade. If James hadn’t reacted the way he had when she told him she didn’t like to wear really high heel shoes every time they dressed to go out, she never would’ve insisted that he take her to dinner while dressed as a woman. What neither of them expected was James’ reaction to dressing in women’s clothes. The day turned out to be busier than either Jane or James expected. Jane’s, online interviews turned out OK. James’ maintenance issues were more serious than expected. Jane had remembered to call the restaurant for reservations for dinner at 8. Going through her wardrobe looked over a large selection of outfits. Jane thought she should wear something tasteful that would not overshadow her husband’s red outfit. She chose a elegant black and white outfit by a famous Austrian designer that she had recently modeled. It was from his latest winter collection and a picture of her wearing it appeared in Vogue magazine a couple of months ago. The outfit consisted of a black and white houndstooth jacket, a beautiful black skirt with white seam accents, a natural color Chinese Silk blouse with very thin black stripes running through it. With a Japanese pearl necklace of mixed black and white pearls and matching earrings for accent. For shoes Jane chose a pair of black and white spectator pumps with 6 inch heels, worn with sheer almost black hose. Talk about traffic stopping , WOW. She began to get James’ things together. First, she unwrapped an extra feminine pair of lacy white silk panties. Next she took his white brassiere and inserted the breast forms into the cups and laid it on the bed beside his panties. She then opened a package containing a pair of almost nude colored pantyhose that she placed along side of the other things. A beautiful full length white silk lace slip was the last item of underwear she on the bed. Finally, she removed his dress from the hanger and put it beside the underwear and put his red pumps on the floor beside by the bed. Jane stood back and appraised the collection and thought that if wearing these things didn’t make him feel feminine, she didn’t know what would. James walked into the house at 4:30, about an hour later getting home than he thought he would. He explained to Jane that several members of his company’s executive staff were stuck in Chicago and he had to go and get them. He flew to Chicago and back to Charleston. A quick,uneventful trip. They spent the next hour together talking about their day. Jane, looking at the clock, “said it’s about time for us to start getting ready. And, now that we are two women trying to get dressed at the same time, we should give ourselves a few extra minutes” With that, she got up and taking James’ hand, led him up stairs to begin the “get ready “ routine. Walking into the bedroom she told James to undress and get into the bathtub. Then turning on the water, she took a bottle of lavender bath salts and poured a cap full into the filling tub. Handing him a razor, she told him to do the shaving thing. His face, arm pits and legs. While he was doing this, Jane did her own bathing in the guest bathroom. They finished bathing at about the same time. James saw his things laid out on the bed and began putting them on. Panties, brassiere (he had learned the trick of first putting it around himself backwards, fasting the strap together, turning it to the front, putting his arms through the straps and pulling it up, into places.) pantyhose and slip. About that time, Jane, already wearing her underwear, walked in and quickly inspected James. A little straightening here and a little smoothing there, she was satisfied with the way he looked. selecting a bottle of red finger nail polish she sat James on the bed she did his fingers. She did her own while waiting for his to dry. Going to her dressing table she sat him down and, taking out her makeup case, she expertly did his face. Eyebrows, lashes, a little blush on his cheeks and a light layer of lipstick and she was done. She helped him put on his dress and zip up the back. After helping him with his hair and fastening an authentic green Japanese jade necklace around his neck and clipping on a pair of matching earrings, he put on his red high heels. She took him over into a stronger light and critically looked him over. Standing with her hands on her hips looking at him, she exclaimed “you are absolutely gorgeous.” Jane, lightly kissing him, told him to go and sit in the den while she finished getting ready. Quickly applying her makeup and doing her eyes, she dressed in the outfit that she had selected earlier. After stepping into her black and white pumps, she stood in the strong light looking at her reflection in the mirror. She was satisfied with the way she looked. She thought while she was tastefully dressed, her appearance would not over shadow her husband. James, looking up from the magazine he was reading as she walked into the den.” It has to be magic” he said as he looked at the way she was dressed. She looked at him quizzically, “what?” She uttered, thinking she must have misunderstood him. He held up the magazine showing a picture of her wearing the same outfit saying “what other man on this earth that, white looking at the picture of the most beautiful girl in the world in a magazine, when looked up,see her standing in front of him in the flesh? Jane, laughing replied”What other group of people would be so fortunate to see two of the most beautiful girls in this community walk into a restaurant on a night like tonight? “. Then she said Common. We had better get going if we’re “gonna keep our reservation. He asked “Are we driving ourselves or did you call for a limo?” She said laughing as she handed him the keys for her car, “get into the car Charlie”.

It's funny how we don't keep track of some of these dates. I just know I started my switch to women's shoes in October of 2011 and high heels mid-February 2015, but that's the closest I can guessimate. I had a 22-year out T-shirt on this week. How time flys.

Hell NO! I’ve spent my entire life trying to avoid them All I know is there is an agency like the IRS in every country. They all have the same goal: SQUEEZE as much our of you as they can. Especially EXPATs.

You're not IRS are you Bubba?

Here is my church outfit of the week, which was kind of a sad one for me because my choir director of seven years has taken another position at another church. This was the last Sunday that my son and I got to make music with him. I think we finished pretty strong, even though once again, we had no rehearsal. This week's choice was totally based around my new Stuart Weitzman shoes, the details of which are cataloged elsewhere. I actually have a pair of pants that matches their dark olive green color more closely, but they're getting a little bit ratty looking lately, so I chose a lighter colored, but newer, pair of pants. My shirt and tie were chosen mainly to not offend the rest of the outfit. I missed celebrating my 12th anniversary of "coming out" in heels. Perhaps "going out" would be better phraseology for shoes. It's funny, I don't remember the exact date for sure, but I remember what day of the week it was, so I'm calling it Wednesday, May 16th, 2012, as the first day I ever stepped foot in front of anybody wearing heels as my own serious footwear. Oddly enough, the location was at my church at a choir rehearsal. Perhaps this is why I think of it now. The point of this last paragraph is not so much to celebrate my own accomplishments, but rather to note that enough time has gone by that the clothes I bought to match my new persona are starting to physically wear out. I have bought quite a bit of clothing over the years, but I have gotten rid of precious little, unlike my shoe collection. Some of that clothing, like most probably the tie I wore three days ago, predates my heeling days, and a lot of it needs to be retired for one reason or another. Perhaps this is a subject for another rumination in the future.