Mens High Heels

FtM, Genderqueer, Transgender, etc: Where do you shop for clothes?

I was talking to my partner the other day about getting a nice suit jacket for myself - I'm always envying his. He'd like to take me to the store where he buys all his nice shirts, ties and jackets from (He's taken me there before, and bought me a gorgeous shirt and tie). It's very much a Men's clothing store, run by these older Italian men, where they measure you and make sure everything's a good fit. I'm... not entirely comfortable with this idea. I already have a difficult time shopping for clothes as it is, without having to worry about being measured, etc. in the store. I know I dress (and pass for the most part) as male, but the men who work in this store have only really seen me as a woman, not a man. I think why it bothers me most is I don't want to be the center of attention. I'd really like to be able to shop and not be bothered by this kind of thing. FtM/TS/TG/GQ/ETC, where do you shop for clothing, and do you have any kind of difficulty from sales associates? I mean, personally I just want to be left alone, it's like clothes shopping is already traumatic enough without adding to it. I wish I could be just a bit more confident when I'm out, I just don't know why this bothers me so much. Anyone else run into this kind of an issue? Thanks in advance for your replies. Jay: I don't really have anyone to "shopping buddy" with, let alone someone who understands the issues I'm dealing with. :(

Public Comments

1. i shop at walmart, target, salvation army, marshals, and my local mall.
2. West 49 or places like that
3. Everywhere! I love to shop it's like a sport and I'm an all-star. LOL! I dunno I never had the fear of shopping even when I was in my genderqueer phase before transition I didn't hesitate to ask to try something on in a womens store. Yeah a couple of times I got a weird look or snarky comment but oh well it's their problem not mine. Screw'em Spooky it's their problem not yours.
4. i'm MtF but the situation is pretty much the same.... i buy my apparel just about anywhere where i can get clothes i like, basically (from stores to ebay)... it did help me that i "had to" buy clothes for my best friend sometimes and thats really when i started buying stuff for myself too... i still feel nervous about it though, no matter how many times i've done it ^^ i can see your problem with the measuring up, i wouldnt like that either... i'm not out yet and i dont openly dress as a woman (... not usually and not too obviously)... well i guess most people just think i'm buying things for my gf (which is the most likely thing)... since i usually know quite well what i want i dont bother much with salespeople, so i usually just tell them i'm fine if they ask (just look confident and they probably wont) ... oh, and as far as i see it you've got the advantage that most of society doesnt really care if a woman is wearing male clothes ;) ...so not even those older italian men should complain? women in suits are sexy! ... yeah i know thats not you but why would they care about your motives? you'd buy their products (probably not cheap) and it sounds like the kind of store that would care about every single (regular) customer
5. Wow, just today this was running through my mind as well. I was at the mall with Lunchbox (who is terrible to shop for clothes with on the best of days) and after about 20 minutes and three stores I gave up buying clothes. It was just terrible. I get really frustrated about clothes too. Which is why if I seriously need to get new clothes, I take my mother or father along with me for moral (and financial, hehe) support. It sounds really childish I'm sure. But I know that when I am with my mother in a store people just see a mother shopping for clothes with her son, and don't even notice that her son is a little hunched over himself (to hide what little chest mass he has) or if they notice they chalk it up to a teenage thing. My father is authoritative enough in appearance that no one even approaches us because dude walks like he owns the store, even if he's never been there before. I guess what my solution to clothing anxiety boils down to is to pick someone (ironically not your partner) to be a clothing buddy. Someone you know gets why it's such a pain for you to buy clothes who can be there to suggest things in your style and to keep the sales associates from getting in your space. My father was great at my first suit fitting. I had binded for the occasion, and the tailor went to get at my waistline. Dad was in on my shirt so fast (to keep it from getting raised to the point where you could see my terrible Tensor job) I think the tailor got whiplash. The guy had not a clue he was fitting a transman with a suit. He thought I was some teenager... since he suggested to not alter the arms of the suit so I could "grow into" the length... My favorite place has been Stitches for a long time... but they discontinued my style of jean this season... so I might have to find a new place to shop...
6. About evenly divided between thrift stores, the clearance racks of department stores, and if there's one thing I need, the other sections of department stores. I hardly ever shopped pre-transition, so I wouldn't be a familiar face, and I'm slowly replacing things as they wear out and getting new things as they are needed.