Try &buy or grab & buy

[Penni SO]

Hi ya Gals,

How many of you actually go out shopping en femme?
When you do,do you try on the clothes you like before you puchase them,or do you see what you like and then pay for it and hope for the best that when you get home the items will fit????

Asked the same question on our forum and 1 of the gals said she tried on one shoe,it fitted,picked up the shoe next to it and found out when she got home the other shoe was 2 sizes to big.
Most of the others said they tended to grab and buy and hope it fitted when they got home.


OOO almost forgot www.chameleonswa.com has now been open for 3 months,we have some great topics posted and I would love you all to come and visit sometime.

Hugs Penny

[Jenney Love]

I have never gone out en femme, probally never will. I am a man in a skirt.
I am for the most part a grabber, never have tried something on, though I do at times hold it up to me to see if it will fit. I have gotton pretty good at getting the right size. It all depends on the day and the people in the store, if I can even look at the cloths, sometimes I can slowly brouse, other times I can not go near anyhing, because someone may figure out what I am doing. I so have to get over it!

I did buy a pair of shoes at payless one time, I thought I was going to collapse before I got out of the store.

Jenney

[DonnaT]

I've never shopped enfemme.

I have, however, tried on. Some items, like tops with buttons, I've tried right on the main shop floor. Others I've taken to the men's dressing room.

But, mostly I do not try on, as I do know my sizes. Shoes can be a pain though, as they can vary between a women's size 8 or 8.5.

[Connie]

I've shopped for women's garments both in drab and en femme. In both presentations I think I take time to decide if I like the item (color, style, etc.) and whether I can afford it at the time...

I much prefer shopping for women's clothes en femme, I feel much more comfortable looking and at a minimum holding the item up to my body in a mirror to see how it might look.

I have been offered to use a changing room (in a Lane Bryant store) but did not do so, but actually did try on several items (and bought one) in a Dress Barn. I like to think of the saleslady in the Dress Barn as one of those yappy little dogs. I was barely in the door when she was asking what my size was and what I was interested in...

By this time I think I have a good idea what my sizes are, it's just that I sometimes think some items purchase were miss-marked for size.

Connie

[Sallee]

I have done it both ways I have gone in drab and taken the item to the dressing room, male dressing room be it a skirt blouse or whatever and I have gone to the fem dressing room while dressed also. That is a thrill to take an item to the female dressing room get your # from the attendant and go in to the stall and try things on. I have only done that several times but it was no problem except for my jitters. I actually went the the counter and bought what I tried one.

[Gaven McLaren]

I shop En Drab if you could really call it that. I do not try to pass so En Femm is an odd concept in relation to me. I have gotten better at trying items on. My new roommate helped with that. Before she married my best friend a person I consider a brother to me we went out and just tried clothes on. We started at Torrid and ended at Hot Topic. I found out that I have lost enough weight to wear clothes from Hot Topic. I did not think that I had. I tried on a little skirt there that if either she or I had the money for we would have bought it.
http://www.hottopic.com/hottopic/store/ ... 0631339460

That is a link to the skirt. I looked really good on.

[Danette]

Hi Penni,
I'm usaully just a internet buyer but I do look and sometimes buy in the women's department. One time I was at a Goodwill store and a lady was staring at me and I said " What's the madder you never seen a man in the women department before " and I started to laugh. I think I freaked her out.

Hugs'
Danette

[Kendra Lynn]

Hello all: I've done it "both ways." I will generally check out out a place in "drab" first.
There are certain neighborhoods and stores where going "en femme" is easier; there are stores, malls, and neighborhoods where it is too risky-- too many teenagers, too many young working class men.
Yes, it is more "fun" to shop for "femme" stuff "en femme." (but that is not always possible).
I have tried the trick of trying on "femme" stuff in a men's dressing room-- haven't been caught yet!
But-- I did get caught trying on a pair of women's shoes at Burlington Coat Factory by a security guard (young immigrant male). So I know I have to buy without trying on at that place. In that mall, which is frequented by minority teenagers and young men, being "read" could lead to uncomfortable situations, so I will not go there cross dressed.
Have not run into any problems at Payless no matter which way I'm dressed-- the staff generally does not care and the customers are involved with their own business. (Actually, the downtown D.C. store has been pretty cool-- I've been there "dressed" several times. )
Stores that are on one level and have unisex (all in one area) dressing rooms are the easiest to deal with.
I have visited all of the vintage shops in Takoma Park, Maryland "dressed." Takoma Park is a diverse, tolerant town, and vintage store owners and customers are likely to be more "accepting" also.
I have ordered from the toll free numbers at GAP and BEDFORD FAIR/WILLOW RIDGE. Have had no trouble with the actual ordering process, but BF/WR sizing is variable and I have had to return items to them. That means packing it all up, making sure the forms are filled out properly, and taking it all over to the post office. BUT THE STUFF THAT DOES FIT AND LOOKS RIGHT-- WOW!!
Have many of you shopped at DSW? A new one opened up near me and I have not visited there yet.
I'll probably have more thoughts on this topic, but this will do for now.
Peace-- Kendra Lynn.

[Tania María López]

I´ve never gone shopping en femme. But when I´m shopping in drab in a department store I try on the clothes in the changing room. I began to do it a few montos ago and I´ve never had problems.

[Marlena Dahlstrom]

I prefer to shop in person. Preferably en femme, since en homme I don't have the right curves so it's hard to be sure the fit is correct.

OTOH, plus size selection isn't always great, so I do end up doing much of my shopping online because there are specialty retailers that have nicer stuff. Even plus-size stores like Avenue and Lane Bryant often seem to have stuff that's online that's not in the stores (especially in pants and jackets, where I need to go to a tall).

[Jaye]

Since this past spring, I do most of my shopping en femme. Like Marlena says, I can better tell how things fit around my "curves". Plus, it's a lot less jarring for other customers if I come out of the fitting room to show someone.

[Stephanie W]

Shopping en femme is a wonderful experience so I will always try something on first before buying. So far, never had a problem with dressing rooms, either those open area ones or the cubicles. I usually will ask permission first and have found the sales girls are usually polite and accommodating. One time I was trying on a gypsy style skirt and the dressing room must have had about a dozen excited young women in there, all busy exchanging comments with each other about the various outfits they were trying on. None of them even gave me a second look which proved to me that when a woman is in shopping mode, I doubt even a naked Brad Pitt walking in is going to distract her.

Shopping in drab is a different story so I will usually buy something and try it on when I get home. I have a pretty good idea of my size so more often that not, I don't have to return it. Only ever asked one time to try something on in the ladies dept. while in drab and was almost shamed out of the store. That would be Sears whose staff at this particular store were sadly lacking in diversity training and basic customer service skills.

Stephanie

[Sallee]

I think a naked Bradd Pitt would stop them. That would stop me and I am not to guys.
I agree shopping enfemme is a kick I have never had a problem with a dressing room either. the attend either doesn't care, doesn't read me or it is no big deal. I think it is a little of all 3

[Paulie]

I've never gone out shopping "en femme", would really love to, but, that will have to wait for more courage.

I sometimes will try something on, using the mens fitting rooms. But, I'm pretty good with sizes, and usually can tell if the item will fit. I've only had to return a couple things over the years. Although, I got caught on the shoe size thing once. I went with what the sticker said rather than checking the size on the shoe. There were actually two sizes smaller than the store sticker! Had to take those back.

[DeniseL]

I have shopped both drab and en-femme.

Just this past summer i was in a Ladies store that i go to often, in drab, as i was coming back from a medical appoingment, and browsing around.
I saw a dress that kind of took my fancy. The sales girl must have seen me looking at it, and the way i was holding it, she came over and asked if i would like to try it on. Good thing I did as i needed the next size larger.

When i am shopping for Denise, I now shop totally femme, as I find it so much easier, and i feel much more comfortable shopping for Denise as Denise.
I find that there is so much variation in sizes, depending on the manufacturer, and the cut of the clothes, that I will not buy something If I can not try it on. I have now taken the stand if I cant try it on I will not buy it.
When Femme, I have never had any problems with trying things on, nor with the fitting rooms, regardless of how many ladies might be there, regardless too of what they are trying on.
Trying clothes on when shopping is part of the fun of shopping. The big thing i find when shopping as Denise, is to be confident, and act like it is the most normal thing that you do.

Denise