Daniella's Ramblings

On Saturday we were child free and able to go and do some much needed retail therapy. Unfortunately my wife has been ill and I was not sure we would get out, but she is such a trooper that she persevered and went out for me. She was also keen to get some retail therapy in so that helped!

I had planned two possible outfits and settled on my new flared white skirt with the black butterfly motif top. I had a problem with shoes. The outfit  probably needs white shoes, but I am deficient in this category. I decided to go with my low heeled black sandals which are very elegant. Unfortunately I bought these online and have never been able to wear them as whilst they fit well, they just keep slipping off my feet. I have tried wearing them around the house but get too frustrated after just a few minutes. I tried again but before we could leave I changed them for my flat ‘gladiator-lite’ sandals as they stay on my feet.

The sandals were way more comfortable but were just wrong as they are black and tan which doesn’t really suit the outfit and I think it looks better with a heel. Anyway, a girl can only be so uncomfortable and I do like to be comfortable.

We arrived at the mall and decided to go for a bite to eat before doing anything else. We stopped at the first restaurant (Mugg and Bean) we found as my wife needed to eat and take her medication. Our waiter was a trainee and we engaged him in some conversation. He was very friendly but was somewhat confused by me and seemed far happier talking to my wife. He remained polite and respectful, so that was fine by me. We paid and gave him a decent tip as his service was good and I think it is good to reward people who are accepting and polite.

We then headed off to do our retail therapy. What fun! We started at Edgars which is a relatively up market South African clothing store. They have a wide range of clothing and as we had gift cards from our birthdays it seemed a good place to start. I was looking for skirts and saw a beautiful one by Jo Borkett that I really liked. But I just could not justify spending over R800 ($55) for a skirt that would seldom be worn. We spent a bit of time looking at tops as my wife needs some new ones and we found quite a few contenders. Then we headed to the shoes. I found a pair that I liked for but they were not comfortable. My wife found a lovely pair of red shoes to go with the sun dress we got her in Paris. Perfect. Sadly, some of the tops we had picked out were just wrong so she only got the one top (the one I found) and the shoes.

We then went to the pharmacy to get some concealer, false nails and some other bits and bobs. Sadly my champagne tastes came to the fore. I found a divine lipstick in just the right colour but my choice was nixed as it was considered too expensive. My sense of value is clouded when shopping en femme so I appreciated having a level head with me. We got some false nails and left.

The next stop was Mr Price. Mr Price is aimed at the ‘value shopper’ (their stuff is cheap). I am usually quite quality conscious as I like to buy things that last. But crossdressing is shall we say, different. As a part time girl I do not get to wear my clothes very often and part of the fun is wearing clothes that are fashionable and look good. Thus quality (which comes at a price) is a far from ideal concept. If an item of clothing only gets worn a few times and you then replace it, as long as it was cheap in the first place, all is good. You stay relatively fashionable and you do not break the bank. This is a rather plebian ‘take’ on things, but there you go, I am what I am.

Now my shop fest started! first stop was the shoe area. oh my word! So many shoes to choose from. And they had many styles in my size. I am very lucky in that I take a UK size 8 which is on the large side for a woman in south Africa but is far from uncommon, so it is relatively easy to find shoes in that size in a number of styles. I found a lot of shoes that I really liked but narrowed the selection down to three pairs that would definitely work with my outfit. As an added bonus they were really comfortable as well. This was the first time that I have shopped in person for woman’s shoes and while online shoe shopping is fun being able to try the shoes on is a big win.

All this time my wife had been looking for tops (again) as she was unhappy with the ones we had seen in Edgars. She found me and I showed her the shoes I found. She then showed me three skirts (one skater and two flared) that she had found for me. They were all on sale and had been marked down to around R50 each ($3.50). I decided to try them on and she wanted to try on some tops she had found as well.

We went to the fitting rooms. Top tip for all trans people in South Africa, Mr Price has one set of fitting rooms so there is no stress about using the ‘wrong’ fitting room. The shop was very busy and we had to queue to use the fitting rooms. I asked the person in charge if I could leave my shoes with her and engaged her in a little conversation. To her credit she did not bat an eyelid although surely she must have worked out that I was not all that I seemed. Anyway. two of the skirts were great but the third was just a teeny bit too small. I exited and found my wife outside. She was mostly happy with her tops but one was also the wrong size. We went to look for another skirt and found one in the same style that was a size up.

I returned to the fitting room and again had some conversation with the  supervisor. The skirt was a perfect fit. Result! On returning to my wife she said she had found a casual outfit denim shorts and a green top that she wanted to try on, but that she was unsure about the style and wanted my opinion. So back we went to the fitting rooms. I asked if I could sit on the bench in the hall and wait for my wife to model her clothes. By this time I think the supervisor may have thought I was deliberately trying to engage her in conversation and it is undoubtedly the most I have ever spoken to a shop assistant whilst dressed. But again she was professional and polite so all good there.

The outfit looked great so we were finally able to go and pay. For less than a pair of shoes or a skirt at Edgars, I was able to get two pairs of shoes, three skirts, two tops and a pair of denim shorts. Chinese mass manufacturing processes for the win!

By now my wife was feeling a bit poorly (she has not been well) and we returned home. But not before I changed shoes for the trip to the car and home. (Have I mentioned how much I love my new shoes?)