To start – Purchasing clothing to match your gender identity can be one of the first steps someone takes in their transition. Being able to dress and express yourself in ways that you see fit can be a euphoric and liberating process. However, for some trans girls who are new to buying feminine clothing, it can be intimidating. In my experience, I started buying feminine clothing before I identified as a trans girl. In the process of doing so, I spent too much money on the wrong type of clothing for me. Even though it is essential to find what works for you, there are still things that I wished I had done differently.
Self-sizing – Many different types of sizing exist for each subset of clothing. By figuring out your sizing beforehand, you save both time and money.
Transgender Pulse has a fantastic resource guide to help with sizing. They have measurement guidelines to help with bras, panties, shoes, and many others. If you are considering buying clothing and do not know where to start with sizing, I would highly recommend their guide, linked below.
Transgender Guide is an online forum that exists to help transgender people. However, their guide, in particular, is tailored to both crossdressers and trans women. One of the best things this guide offers is recommendations and styles to stay away from for specific characteristics. For instance, dolmen sleeves can make your shoulders look less prominent.
https://tgguide.com/transgender-resources/articles/clothing-fashion-sizes/shopping-guide/
Susan’s place is one of the oldest transgender forums. Even though some of the information is older, it still has value. A user compiled many size conversions and measurements for all different types of feminine clothing, linked below.
https://www.susans.org/wiki/Clothing_Sizes
However, time is still needed to figure out what style works for you. So many times, you find a piece of clothing that looks amazing on someone else, then you try it on, and it looks completely different. In my experience, even though I have been transitioning for the last four years, I still have difficulties with finding clothing and styles that work for me.
At the start of my transition, I bought most of my clothing from cheap places, like Forever 21 and Shein. Buying from those places successfully gave me lots of clothing; however, it was often lower quality and difficult to wear outside. Instead of buying from those places, thrift shopping would have been better. Buying from thrift stores will give you higher quality clothing while still maintaining a lower price tag. Thrift shops offer a vast selection of both feminine and masculine clothing for low prices. Even in the later stages of my transition, I still frequently go to thrift shops for clothing.
Not only that, but if you are in the earlier stages of your transition, many unisex clothing options available. I love doc martens, vans, and converse, all of which are unisex shoes. In the early stages of my transition, unisex clothing was my favorite. I enjoyed being able to present femininity and non-femininely without having to buy twice the wardrobe.
My experience – I started HRT in my senior year of high school. My school was in a conservative area and was not kind to transgender people. It was incredibly important to have clothing that was able to cover up the effects of estrogen. I frequently wore both baggy t-shirts, hoodies, and jeans. In my daily life, I saw no problem with wearing clothing like that; many cis girls would be wearing the same. However, I still wore male underwear. For me, male underwear tends to give me less dysphoria than girl underwear. Boxer briefs tend to be looser, which helps a ton with my bottom dysphoria. When I am at home, I almost entirely wear boxer briefs.
For panties, boyshorts have worked well for me. They tend to be looser and much longer than traditional panties. However, finding underwear that works well with you can be challenging. Many options exist, even ones specifically made for transgender women. However, they tend to be more expensive than traditional panties.
Anxiety – Many trans women have anxiety over going into a store to buy feminine clothing. For those who do have that fear, buying clothing online is always a safe bet. Lots of stores offer free returns if a piece of clothing does not fit properly. However, I would not recommend buying jeans online, especially if you have longer legs. Jeans can heavily vary depending on where you purchase them. Not only that, but basic sizing like small, medium and large can make it challenging to find a pair that works for taller trans girls. In my experience, psychically going to a store and trying on pairs has helped significantly.
If you have anxiety over going to a store for feminine clothing, bringing along a friend or a family member can significantly help. Women tend to know how to shop for women’s clothing and will be able to help you find what you need. Not only that, but people are more likely to read you as a girl if you are around other women. In my experience, taking my sister or my mom with me when I needed help shopping helped a great deal with my anxiety.
Furthermore, places like Nordstrom, Macy’s, and Victoria’s Secret are known for measuring your bra size. However, before doing so, make sure to check if they are trans-friendly. Victoria’s secret, for instance, has said transphobic statements before. I would not go to a store, especially for bra measurements, if they are transphobic.
To finish – Many amazing websites exist to help you correctly measurement yourself for feminine clothing. However, it can still take a large amount of time to find what works for you. Not only that, but if you have anxiety over going to a store for feminine clothing, bringing alongside a friend or a family member can help alleviate some of that anxiety. As well as shopping online. I hope my article has been helpful and wish you good luck in your transition 🙂
hi jane :3
hi robin!!!