“I want to be a gentleman, you just need to give me a chance!”

My personality, actions and demeanour are always a mix between masculine characteristics, and female traits, so finding an obvious way for expressing masculinity is not always as easy as it could be if I wasn't such an outlandish gender-bender.

I express my feminine traits with ways of dress, clothing styles, and sometimes even with cosmetics. I have a few feminine habits such as folding my legs while sitting, and gesturing my hands often when speaking. You may be surprised what volumes your common physical habits can speak.

However, expressing masculinity is a little bit harder when stereotypically, people see me as the kind of person who would much rather be the less dominant figure in a group of both men and woman.

Little acts of kindness acting towards females really help. It makes a lady feel good, and it makes a man feel more ‘dominant’ (please don’t take offense to my terminology if there are any ladies reading this, I’m certainly not saying that woman are any less than men).

• Pulling out someone’s chair when they sit down
• Opening doors for your friends, girlfriend, or strangers behind you
• Holding a girl’s hand when walking across a street (mostly applying to couples, other’s may be offended or annoyed)
• Taking your lover’s jacket, or putting it on when leaving or coming to a place indoors
• Carrying books for someone (students: you may think it’s out of date, but it’s very much not so!)
• Complimenting someone when greeting them
• Treat all woman with respect, even ones who haven’t given you any. (It may seem pointless to be nice to someone who will never give any thought to liking you, but other people will see how tolerant you are of that sort of thing, and it’s very attractive in a man.)
• A gentleman will not swear in the presence of a lady, or someone in authority of you. (Boss, parent, etc.)
• Gift your lover with flowers, candy or whatever it is she fancies. All though I used the typical flower/candy gift as an example, other things like music, or jewellery are also important. Jut ask what sort of things she likes.
• Don’t let other people insult any lady you are with, but don’t start fights either. Just make sure that the women you are with get their desired respect.

I’m not a lady, darling! My name is Freddie!

Do I lose my right as being called a ‘he’ when I dress myself femininely?

“Hello, ladies!” “Can I help you ma’am?” “Excuse me, miss".”

Whenever I’m out shopping with my friends, I’m always, and I mean always, mistaken for a woman. Do I mind? Absolutely not! I understand it, of course, for I’m dressed like one, I look like one, I sound like one, it’s just the way I was made. My question is however, am I ‘allowed’ to correct whoever mistakes me for a woman? Do I have the right to say, “I’m not a girl, I’m a boy.”

I wouldn’t want the store clerk, oh whoever to be embarrassed, I wouldn’t want them to think that I am annoyed by their honest mistake. If they really had no way of knowing, there is no fault to it. I’d make sure that my correction is more of an introduction of myself rather than acting as if they were berating me. And surely, not everyone has to be corrected. Not everyone has to know, but only if it will benefit the future of our short term relationship.

Some say that I am unable to correct people, that because I chose to put on a type of clothing, or chose to wear make-up, I am representing myself a certain way to others, and I simply lose the privilege to confuse them, by telling them I am a of a different sort. In fact, some people have even said that I lose my privilege to flirt with other straight girls, because I’m escorting them to consider that I am another woman, and that in fact, I’m complicating their sexual boundaries and orientation. Wow!

Some others say I have every right to correct anyone and everyone, because a person shouldn’t be so quick to judge a person by their way of dress. I don’t know if that’s true, either, because if I honestly minded the fact that people were unknowing of what gender I am, I would probably make it apparent, wearing what the normal group of boys wear now days, but I don’t. Maybe the world is a little bit split down the middle as far as gender, but maybe that’s a good thing as well. How is a stranger ‘supposed’ to great you? “Hello sir/ma’am!’, or “How are you all doing, group of individuals?” (rather than saying ‘guys/girls’). So then, how come when a girl dresses herself in clothes normally associated with men, why does she not get jumped to the conclusion that she is a boy? Is it because if you accidentally call a woman a man-completely by mistake, a woman would appear to be more offended?

Maybe it shouldn’t be looked at with such detail at all. I’m not a girl, I don’t want any purposeful association with that. I would prefer to be, a ‘boy’, or just completely sexless at all. But, more importantly, I will be who I really am- ‘Freddie’. No one can convince me that I am not ‘Freddie’, and as long as I am Freddie, I don’t to be anyone, or anything else. Maybe I should just let sleeping dogs lie. If being mistaken for a woman doesn’t bother me, is it really worth looking into?

Men in Lipstick?

Dazzling, Colourful, and Glamorous

 

Men in Lipstick?

Men don’t usually wear lipstick. It’s a pretty obvious fact. However, straight men wearing lipstick is becoming more and more common each day.

Seeing a man wearing lip colour doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s walking around wearing a bright orange or red colour, but maybe a soft nude colour that is almost impossible to notice from afar. However, an individual should be able to wear whatever he or she pleases, so if you wish to wear bright colours, there should be nothing stopping you.

The key thing about wearing lip colours, especially the unnatural shades, is of course confidence. There may be stares, rude remarks, or teasing, but it’s key to remember that there is no reason for any of that. There should be more freedom of male expression.

If you don’t own any tubes of lip colour and you are unsure of what colour to buy, don’t be to afraid visit a make up counter in a department store. The individuals working there most likely won’t mind that you are a boy, and will do their best to help you find a colour that fits what you are looking for and looks wonderful too.

Some woman find men in lipstick incredibly sexual. Some are even drawn to it. All though others will be completely in horror by it, the fact is that these days more and more people are becoming open minded to men who wear cosmetics. In some subcultures, such as punk, goth and ‘emo’, wearing things such as eyeliner is incredibly common now. Using touches of make up to fix up the look of your face, eyebrows, etc. is also wonderfully acceptable.

So, to wrap things up, what is your opinion on a straight man wearing lipstick?

Flamboyant, but Not a Homosexual

 

When a woman is acts a little masculine, it really isn’t that big of a deal. In fact a lot of woman act ‘masculine’. It’s not something they can help, but part of their personality. In fact, some men find that sort of personality sexy. Just because a woman is a bit masculine doesn’t mean she’s lesbian, transgender, or transvestite in any stretch of the imagination. Luckily, for most people it’s quite acceptable. A woman can wear men’s clothing, pants, and lovely short haircuts without question.

So why is it so completely appalling when a man is feminine…and straight?

We see ‘feminine’ men quite often now days, but, stereotypically they are homosexual. And even homosexual men aren’t able to get away with walking around in woman’s clothing without teasing, or a comment here and there. If a guy walks into his high-school classroom in a dress, he is suddenly ‘gay’ or a ‘fag’. A man walks to the shop with a purse, he is automatically classified as a ‘homo’.

It’s happened to me quite a bit. It’s no secret that I like to wear a bizarre style of clothing, or occasionally some eye-catching make-up, and some people are quite accepting of it, but usually their reaction to something that is along the lines of “Oh, so you’re gay? Oh!”.

I’m not a homosexual, if anything, I’m a bisexual, or just a little bit queer in general. I like woman, more than anything, but it takes a very special and open minded woman to like me. Most (and I say most, not all) woman want a man who is strong, attractive, self reliant, and daring, not a sensitive and delicate guy like myself.

Wearing cross-sexual styles, and cosmetics doesn’t make me feel like any less of a man. I don’t mind the teasing, or the stares, or the comments. I’m just curious as to why a girl can still be a girl when she uses a wallet rather than a purse, or decides to get a men’s haircut, but when a man decides to put on lipstick, he becomes a ‘homo’?

Maybe I should be thankful, there was a time where it was unheard of for a woman to wear pants, and unacceptable for men to have too long of hair. But It would be nice if people could stop assuming that a man who looks feminine or acts is gay, it’s more of part of his nature, or identity, and personality then it is his sexuality.

The hardest part of being a flamboyant straight man is dating. What sort of girls am I supposed to date? Straight woman? Feminine woman? Masculine woman? Bisexual woman? I just like who I like, but most girls find it hard to get past the femininity in myself, especially since it hasn’t been ‘popular’ since the glam rock era.

I totally respect feminine homosexuals who love the same sort of thing as me, and transvestites, and transgender woman, but people should realize there is a difference between each one of them, and just because I fit the popular stereotype for a flaming homosexual, it doesn’t necessarily mean I like men.

Taking Care of Dyed Red Hair

Dying Red Hair

 

 

Before Colouring:

When you are considering dying your hair, you should think about some things before you do so:

First, how often will you be able to re-colour and touch up your hair? Depending on your natural hair colour and style, your roots may begin to show faster than if you used a different colour, and it may end up being quite important to you, that you will need to dye your roots every four to six weeks. Are you willing to take the time to do that? If you don’t like the look of roots, and you don’t have time, you may want to consider another colour. But also take into consideration, that if it’s an unnatural red colour, no one is going believe it’s not dyed anyhow, so it may not even matter if your roots show slightly for a little while between colours!

Second, if you have very dark hair, or even black, you may have to either bleach your hair, or lighten it before you add the colour. Every time you fix up your roots, you’ll have to go through the process of lightening/bleaching, before re-colouring. Not only will it begin to damage your hair, but it will be rather annoying to have to spend such a long time on your hair every so often, especially if you don’t much like doing it. However, if you like changing up your hair colour often, and you use a bleaching and temporary dye method, it really shouldn’t matter much to you anyway.

Third, will it look ‘good’ on you? Now don’t take my word for it, if you want red hair, go for it! But if you are worried about the final result, you may want to take a few things into consideration. Your eyebrows will be a different colour. It’s easy to pencil in a red colour on lighter brows, but if you have dark or black hair, it may be harder. It may look a little strange if you have dark eyebrows and bright red hair, especially if you are dying it a natural looking shade of red, but it really doesn’t matter if you don’t want it to. It may also make your facial complexion look a bit more pale, or something. But it probably won’t do anything to horrible, not at all.

Lastly, you may want to ‘deep condition’ your hair a little while before colouring hair, especially if you are worried about dry/damaged hair later.

Colouring Your Hair:

Depending on how comfortable you feel with dying your own hair, or how much you are willing to pay, you can choose either do get it professionally done at a salon, or to dye it yourself.

If you choose to get it done at a salon, it may end up being quite expensive, but the colour will most likely be very high in quality, and you’ll be sure that you didn’t miss a spot, or mess up in any way. While you are at the salon, remember to carefully explain exactly how you want it done. I know that some people are a little timid when it comes to ‘bossing’ a hair stylist around, but remember that it’s their job, they are paid to make you look how you want, and they have most likely had much ‘bossier’ customers than you. Remember to ask questions such as ‘How can I make my colour last the longest’ or ‘How should I take care of my hair?’. They will most likely offer up the information as you ask.

If you choose to colour your own hair, go out to the store (they sell dye in a lot of places, and you can pick up a box from either a convenience store, or a salon store.) and pick up a box that looks appealing to you. Make sure it’s what you want, whether it be permanent or temporary, and that it will work well with the colour of your hair. Then, when you have enough time to dye, open the box, and fallow the directions as well as you can. When it comes time to rinse out the dye, rinse in cold water.

General Care:

• Wash hair with shampoo every other to every three days. Generally as little as possible.
• Use colour depositing shampoos, or mix a little bit of temporary red colour (Raw Colour, Manic Panic, etc.) in your regular shampoo.
• If you swim quite a bit, you should invest in a swim cap (if you don’t already use one). Those chlorine filled pools will suck the red right out!
• If you don’t swim very often (once or twice between colourings), you don’t necessarily need a cap if you rinse your hair down with cold water before entering the pool, and if you keep your hair above water as much as possible.
• The sun seems to fade red hair the fastest, so if you plan on being in the sun for a long period of time, wear a hat!
• Use shampoo/conditioner that is specifically for dyed hair, or even red hair. It may be a bit more expensive, but it really does help in the long run.
• Deep condition your hair as frequently as possible.
• Take cold showers, as cold as you can stand them!
• Re-colour every 6-8 weeks.
• Try to use as little heat as possible (hair dryers, flat irons, curling irons).
• Three weeks after dying hair, I use a temporary colour (Raw Hair Colour) to liven my shade up a bit.
• Make sure that your hair is something you really enjoy! If it seems like caring for it is a burden, and not worth it, then you may not want to keep it. But keep in mind that no hair is perfect, and if you want to swim everyday without a cap, go for it!
  
  

Have a great day!

New Tunes

The other day I went to a commercial shopping plaza on the far side of town that no one really visits anymore. I spent a lot of time there when I was younger, because my mother used to work at one of the stores for only a year or so. It was fairly populated then, but now it’s mostly populated by mall walkers (who only come to walk indoors for sport), or patients at the clinic that they built on the far end of the mall.
I like going there, because they have a wonderful antique shop with a great assortment of antiques, a JoAnne’s fabric, along with some other smaller fabric/sewing shop, and a man who sells records, tapes, and even CDs.
He has a wide selection of each, some used, and some still in their original plastic package. Some straight from the 60s and 70s, and others recently ordered from a magazine. I seek out music from three locations, and I have had the most luck with his vinyl collection, where most of the other places I visit have more of a Cassette Tape collection.
The last time I went, I picked up a few things that I liked. The person I was with was looking through the vinyl, while I browsed the cassettes. After a while, she told me that “she thinks she struck gold”, and when I came over, I saw five or so brand new Ramones albums. (I happen to like the Ramones, quite a bit). So, I looked through them, and ended up purchasing two of the five, the ones I liked the best.

This album- “The Ramones- Ramones” this was their debut album, released on April 23, 1976.

This is the 9th song on the record, and one of my favourites.

Secondly, I got “Ramones- Road to Ruin” It was released on September 21, 1978 and was their fourth studio album.

The 7th song on this album, and another great one.

These are two wonderful records to own (in my opinion), and who doesn’t love coloured vinyl, especially when it’s red!
So, if you haven’t head The Ramones before, I strongly suggest you give them a try, you might just end up liking them.

Sewing Patterns Straight from the Time Capsule

Recently, I was given an old bread box full of scraps of fabric, ribbons and laces, buttons, and nine excellent sewing patterns that dated mainly from the late 1960s to the early and mid 1970s. The box was really a sort of time capsule, straight from someone’s home. It included shopping bags full of freshly purchased fabric and ribbons, and even an old booklet that was advertising ‘Stich Witchery’ from December of 1972.

Of course, my favourite of all the content of the bread box sewing capsule was the mixed patterns. I am in love with and intrigued by the fashion and style of the period. I haven’t even been able to look inside the patterns, for I was busy with other sewing projects for the longest time, (and still am). However, today I had time to quickly look through them, and photograph them, for you wonderful people.

This first one is actually older than I thought it was. I couldn’t find a date on the package or on the instruction paper like the others, so I simply assumed it was from the same time periods as the other patterns despite it’s ‘older’ looking style. In reality, this pattern is from 1956. This is the oldest one that was in the box, and the only one that was an Advance pattern. (The pattern number is 7812). Well, they certainly do not make them as they once did. People do not generally even use aprons for cooking or cleaning anymore (even though I’m sure that many still do), it’s not really a necessity as far as clothing anymore. This pattern was originally charged for 35¢ in the U.S. and 40¢ in Canada.

 

This next pattern is Simplicity 7641 and was dated 1968. It’s a collarless A-line dress with a high round neckline and a zipper in the back. It could have been made with or without short sleeves. There was also a pattern for a long sleeved, button up jacket with a lined collar. From what I have seen, this dress style was quite common and popular among young girls in this era. Although I personally would not usually wear something quite as feminine as this (I am a boy, after all), I think it was an attractive and daring style for other individuals who would fancy to wear it. I’m thinking about making it, but sizing it for somebody else who would like to wear it. This outfit is dainty and ladylike, and was originally priced at 75c for both the U.S. and Canada.

This particular pattern is the Simplicity 8200 from 1969. It includes patterns for a jumpsuit, jumper, and blouse. (Let me apologies for the big, missing cut out in the photo, I’m not sure what happened, of course, but I hope you can still get the image).The blouse has a button closing in the back, set in sleeves gathered at the arm hole (long or short options), and a two piece ‘Peter-Pan collar’. The long sleeved option of the shirt has elastic casing forming ‘self ruffles’. (shown in the second picture, it was cut out of the first). The sleeveless and collarless jumpsuit and jumper have a low, round neckline and a zipper on the back side. Personally, I absolutely love jumpsuits similar to this. Not necessarily the same exact, but some of them that I have seen are absolutely wonderful. This lovable and dreamy jumpsuit pattern was charged for 75c in the U.S. and 85c in Canada.

Here is another from 1969, Simplicity 8498. This pattern features a dress optional in two lengths. It has no collar and a front seam (along the ‘skirt’ part of the dress). It has a zipper in the back. It has optional long or short sleeves, and an option for a fabric belt, stitched into the dress and buttoned in the back. The skirt can be chosen to be made to reach the knees or the ankle (which seams to carry a more elegant look). The general style of this type of dress is similar to the 7641, or the pattern from 1968 shown above. However it is also quite different, due to the fact that this pattern has seams  in the front under the torso and the centre of the skirt. This appears to be a more prototypical and essential outfit. It was originally charged for 85c in the U.S. and 90c in Canada.

This bouncy and spunky looking outfit is from 1971, Simplicity 9319. It’s a jumpsuit and jacket, and the animated colours used to illustrate it on the pattern are a perfect example of the liveliness an outfit like this shows. The jumpsuit has leg length sizes from mid thigh, to ankle and has a zipper located in the front, and a low square neckline and an option of braid trim. Then there is an unlined jacket also with braid trim and a front button closing, long sleeves, a ‘V’ shaped neck line and patch pockets with ‘self flaps’. In the illustration, it is modelled with a white belt (on the middle, long leg length jumpsuit), and I think that it looks absolutely wonderful. I don’t usually see people wearing jumpsuits anymore, and what an intriguing thing it would be to put back into style. This coordinated outfit was originally charged for a solid $1 in both Canada and the U.S.

This is Simplicity 5204,coming from the year 1972. It includes patterns for long, high-waisted pants, a mini skirt, and a vest. The miniskirt has a zipper in the back and a waistband. The vest has a ‘V’ shaped neckline and and false pockets. The pants also have a back zipper closing as well as turned cuffs along the ankle. ‘Clothing that matches’ has sort of taken a new meaning these days. Wearing two items that are the same colour, is matching. It’s very rare that someone wears, say, a vest that has the exact fabric pattern as their pants. (Shown in the illustrated model on the far left). I personally love such a combination, but I guess matching like that isn’t an everyday thing anymore. This pattern was charged for $1 in the U.S. and $1.10 in Canada.

Also from 1972, is this next pattern, Simplicity 9887. This is an unlined jacket, mini-skirt, pants and shorts. The mini-skirt, pants and shorts all have a left-side zipper and an elastic waistband. The mini-skirt displays pleats in the front. The pants are slightly ‘bell shaped’ (Oh!). The jacket is unlined with a button closing in the front and notched collar, peats in the back, long set-in sleeves, patch-pockets and an optional back band. This outfit seems to have a brilliant audacious look to it. This once cost $1 in the U.S. and $1.10 in Canada.

Jumping forward a bit to 1975, I show you this pattern, Simplicity 7093. It’s a shirt-jacket, a skirt, and/or pants. The original pattern included transfers for stitching on the floral designs shown on the illustrated model on the farthest right. The shirt-jacket has a front band and button closing, or snap closing ‘shirt-type’ collar, long set-in sleeves that are pleated to the button or snap fastened cuffs. It has patch pockets with a flap, fastened with a button or snap. The pants and skirt have a front zipper and waistband. The pants have curved seaming. Maybe it’s just me, but something about this outfit has a wonderful ‘rainy day’ feel to it. This pattern originally sold for $1.50 in both Canada and the U.S.

Lastly, is the Simplicity 7185, also from 1975. It looks very similar to the last pattern shown. It’s a simple pantsuit, with a top stitched jacket, trimmed with embroidery or some optional designs. The jacket has a front button closing, a ‘shirt-type’ collar, patch pocket with button flaps, and long sleeves with buttoned cuffs. Also, includes the pattern for top stitched pants with a fly front zipper. With the right kind of fabric, this look could really go along way. It’s agreeably casual but still quite alluring and attractive. It originally sold for $1.50 in both Canada and the U.S.