Being Visible

 I have been out to clubs and restaurants many times, at the trans friendly clubs I could easily
wear something that 'stood out' as in comparison with many others attending the venue, I would still be somewhat tame in appearance. However when going to more mainstream places be it shopping or for a meal out I wanted to blend, by that I mean not to stand out, I wanted to 'pass' for want of a better term. 'Passing' is the holy grail of many people like me, they want to be out in the world, but without drawing attention to themselves. That is completely sensible of course, because we want to go about whatever we are doing without any risk of confrontation. Although it has to be said in my case, so far at least, I have had no problems whatsoever when out and about. 

So far so good, that would be my default setting and I suspect the way many others would feel. However last time I was out, something special happened....... I was due to go to a restaurant with a lovely lady friend of mine, we had discussed what I should wear and she suggested the long Monsoon dress. This is a lovely dress that I first saw in a shop window many years ago, but never thought I would be lucky enough to own one. It is a very striking dress and it is long, how many women wear long dresses at all these days let alone going to a restaurant? So the decision was made, I would wear the dress and I would need to wear a strapless bra with it as with this particular dress bra straps would just not look right. That in itself is a challenge as many of you will know, but you can you very good strapless bras form a well known discount store here in the UK, but this night would be the test! 

I decided to wear block heels as the last thing I wanted was to stumble when making a grand entrance! I chose a pink jacket, itself a bold colour to wear over the top for our short walk to the restaurant from our hotel. We had elected to go earlier than our booking so that we could have a drink beforehand, so on arrival we went to the bar to order two gin and tonic's then found a table to sit at. It was fairly quiet but I was aware of being looked at, but not in an unpleasant way. I felt very happy and confident, after my friend took a photo of me drinking my G&T I thought a full length photo was in order and my friend duly obliged and took the photo reproduced here. The Manageress who was busy doing something on a computer then came over to us and suggested taking photos of both of us, which was lovely. I just felt completely at home despite the striking dress and being taller than all the women there. 

We had a lovely meal, the staff were fabulous and I enjoyed the evening very much. As we left the restaurant for the short walk back to the hotel, a group of people were chatting just outside the door and moved apart to let us pass, smiling as they did so. I can tell you I was also smiling, a fabulous evening, not hiding away but out and proud, and very proud of my lovely friend that made the whole evening so special. 

I have included this photo on the left so dear reader you can see the dress in all it's glory as we didn't get around to take any photos after I took  jacket off in the restaurant.........