Hi y’all! Do you have any advice on how to start building a wardrobe of femme clothing?
I’m starting to feel braver and want to start wearing girl clothes out in public more. The problem is 1) I have next to no girl clothes, just the few affirming things I wear around the house, and 2) I am overwhelmed by the amount of options I have and don’t know where to start.
Historically, I’ve dressed more workwear (flannel, denim, leather) in the winter, and more normcore (solid color tees and chino shorts) in the summer.
I’m not sure how to translate those into feminine clothes, if I even want to. I really more so want to take the opportunity to find a more expressive style (I always disliked how few options men are given when it comes to fashion), but I still feel like I need a few kind of “core” outfits that I can easily mix and match, like a capsule wardrobe.
I also expect there to be an awkward phase as my body changes and I start to figure out my style, but I’d prefer to not make any glaring faux pas either.
Any advice is greatly appreciated 😊
I am on the same journey! Let me share my tips.
Thrifting / second-hand clothes are a great starting point. It allows you to dip your toes into femme clothes shopping without blowing a hole in your budget.
Shop with a close friend. I personally have a cis female helping me out when I shop in person for femme clothes. Getting real-time feedback helps soooo much!
Be cautious about size options from online retailers. A Large shirt from company X may be different than a Large shirt from company Z. This is a known “feature” of femme clothing.
Dont worry too much about a specific style. Find clothes that resonate and make you happy and confident.
Thanks for the tips! It sounds like a thrifting day is in store for me soon :)
Are there any particular styles I should try to avoid? I guess I’m just worried about giving away that I don’t have a clue what I’m doing lol
Seconding thrift stores. That’s really where I’ve got my hands on most of my clothes. It’s cheap, cheap enough that if you don’t like it it’s no big deal just return or donate it. And quite often you find really cool stuff. If you live in an area that is poverty stricken it might be tough at those shops, I go to a more well off part of town and thrift there. You’d be amazed at what well off women will donate. Good luck on your journey!
I hear this a lot, but what qualifies as a “thrift” store in this case? Are we suggesting places like a Goodwill, or something else? I live in a pretty rural area, but I can get to a moderate city occasionally. My area is pretty much only Goodwill or WalMart/Target. What is everyone seeing in their minds when they hear “thrift store”?
Goodwill is ubiquitous but if you’re in America, rural areas should have church thrift shops or animal shelter thrift shops. They rely on donations to raise money for good causes and while they won’t have as much inventory, they are extremely motivated sellers. Goodwill, Value Village and Savers are big corporate chains with a lot of stuff and variety, but sometimes you can’t beat a little church thrift shop for a bargain.
I go to goodwill most times. It works for me
Oh yes, that’s a very good point. “Size” is a concept you should forget :3 I’m an M in one brand and 3L in another. (Particularly as a transfem my proportions are quite far off average)
Yup! Growing up with two cis females, they would complain about sizing issues sooooo much. I forgot, and I ran into this personally when i bought a handful of femme shirts online, all xl. One was a med, one was Large, other was XL. Very frustrating.