FRANZISKA OUT AND ABOUT

Getting ready to go out en femme can take me three hours or more, say, if nothing is prepared, if I have no idea yet what to wear, if I want to do everything right and to the best of my abilities. And I might thoroughly enjoy and celebrate the time of this transformation process, running around in my lingerie, trying on different outfits, listening to girly music, and possibly drinking a glass of “Perlwein.” This time it was different. I had made use of the evening before to select an outfit. And as I was working out of our home that day, I made use of my breaks to prepare everything that could be prepared before: wig brushed, shoes polished, handbag packed, make-up and jewelry taken out, etc. I did mention before – some time ago, I think – that I work with a checklist, which I had developed some years ago already. This checklist delineates the tasks that can be prepared beforehand and those that need to be carried out right before going out. This list has several advantages:  It p...

What can you learn from looking back at your archives? The key conclusions for me: I have since improved on putting together an outfit. I have since improved on my make-up skills. I have since improved my skills to crossdress (aka emulating a woman’s appearance and behavior). How wonderful! All these three skills need practice. Putting together an outfit and learning how to apply make-up is what cis girls learn when they are in their early teens. And doing it daily, builds these skills quickly. A crossdresser like me, who leaves the house en femme just once a month, however, will take years (if ever) to reach the same level. On the other hand, quite a few cis girls never seem to learn the skills of putting together a proper outfit. Or as my wife puts it: the fashion industry continues to miserably fail on its purpose. Another conclusion is: my photographic skills improved as well. The wig I am wearing in these 2017 pictures is synthetic. I bought it 10 years back in Shanghai for around...

Regular readers to my blog will know that I have covered several years of Franzi days out-and-about by now; to be precise: 2018 to 2024. I have also recently shared a picture from my very first day out-and-about in 2013. Hence, there are five more years of historic Franzi pictures and stories to be shared – as we go along. The year 2017 has seen 20 outings of Franzi, some of them as short as three to four hours during a weeknight. Let’s take a look at the first three of them, before we move to into 2025. Portrait of the evening A little odd, that red scarf, don’t you think? A somewhat adolescent look, I nowadays think. I still own that necklace, but nowadays find few occasions to wear it. Why is that? It looks like I am carrying a briefcase. What was I thinking? Or was I coming home from the office? Stay tuned for my next posting to find the answer to these three questions.

We continue to dip into the archives of 2018. This is the last day out and about in 2018 and it will be covered in two postings: daytime and evening.   Late December 2018, shortly before the end of the year, but I have no clue what I was up to. Hence, no story, no background information, no trivialities, no useless knowledge – today. I will continue to write such matter, though, as-long-as you don’t stop me. Judging from the pictures, shopping seems to have been in order that day – and lunch.   Portrait of the day Final check in the large mirror of the entrance hall of where we lived in 2018 At one of the department stores Lunch at one of the 3-4 different Italian restaurants in downtown Frankfurt that Franziska frequents. Man (no pun intended), I was quite a – what, in German, we would call – “Pummelchen” back in 2018.

Dipping into the archives of 2018! This day out and about in Frankfurt was very different from the last day out and about in Frankfurt. Let me tell you why. As I had reported, I started going out en femme deliberately, planned, and with the intention to develop the skills needed to pass as of 2013. The first two years were challenging, at times uncomfortable, and I know that have been read many times.   In 2015, I received a new professional challenge and spent the week elsewhere, while being at home on the weekends only. This situation allowed me to regularly find time for shorter outings in the evening during the week, some of them lasting not more than an hour or two. These opportunities – combined with a growing wardrobe and set of accessories – lead to an accelerated development of the skills needed to feel very comfortable out en femme and to be able to pass more easily. In the middle of 2018, the assignment came to an end, and I reverted to full days out and about in Frankfu...

"Rusalka" is an opera written by Antonín Dvořák that was first performed in Prague in 1901. It is a sad story, … , but it is also the basis to many modern-day mermaid stories and movies that you might know. In this production of Rusalka at the opera house of the Stuttgart state theaters, several of the characters – including Rusalka herself – were staffed twice, once by an actor and once by an actress. Only one of them sang, while the other one followed around, sort of like a shadow, but displaying the character’s emotional state and inner feelings. There were also some light and funny scenes, e.g., when three wood sprites (sirens, mermaids), all played by men, were teasing Rusalka’s father, the water goblin Vodník, with their feminine charms. This was one of the best, probably  the  best opera performance so far in my life. I had an issue with my camera, for which reason I had to take some of the following pictures with my cellular phone.   Portrait of the evening. Outfi...

“Bohnenviertel” – a really strange name for a borough – is named after the common bean or garden bean, known to be the food of the poorer folks that formerly lived in this now lively and hip neighborhood, in walking distance to the center of town. Antique shops, galleries, cafes, restaurants, and bars line the streets, which – of course – makes this part of Stuttgart highly attractive for food-, wine-, and arts-loving Franziska.   Portrait of the evening. On the way to the “Bohnenviertel” for dinner: A picture of Franziska in a sleeveless, silky wrap dress, black sandals, and a black leather jacket – in two versions. Dinner at a very nice, small, local Mediterranean restaurant, operated by a German chef and his wife. She took that picture and complimented – on my very cute, little camera. It is a great camera, which is small enough to fit even in the small outside pocket of a women's blazer. And – no surprise to all regular visitors to this blog – some red wine at the end of the ev...

The last day out and about that year, shortly before the long and dreadful COVID-related winter lock-down 2020/21. Franziska took the train to Aschaffenburg, a medieval city some 40 km from Frankfurt. That is in Bavaria and the clocks are ticking differently in smaller cities anyway, as you might know. People tend be both shorter than in large cities and more suspicious – in particular of tall (big city) women.   Portrait of the day. A different wig, as I am sure you noticed. In recent years, I have used two wigs, both made from natural hair. This was the first time Franziska was wearing this brunette wig and it was yet straight and un-coiffed. You'll see it styled in different ways in later postings. Lunch at a traditional, local restaurant, where Franziska’s male alter ego had been several times before. Outfit of the day. A knit dress I bought. Dinner at a restaurant close to the Stadttheater (Municipal Theater), followed by – you may have guessed – a visit to a (nice traditional...

A winter day out in Frankfurt. It wasn’t very cold out and the plans – shopping and dinner – didn’t call for a specific dress code either.   Portrait of the day. Crossing the “Iron Bridge.” Franziska’s favorite pastimes: shopping and taking photos of herself. I believe, photographs, in particular those taken by others, are the true trophies of crossdressers. Dinner at an Italian restaurant off of Frankfurt’s “Freßgass” (Große Bockenheimer Straße).