Cassette Glam!

This post is just a short one, really just an excise to show off some pictures I took today. My friend Deedee gave me a dress before Christmas. It was one that didn’t really fit her and she thought that I may want it. It’s not my usual style but I may have found a way to wear it.

Yesterday I bought a radio cassette player second hand. A proper 80s one! I’ve been on the lookout for one for a while as I still make the odd mixtape and it means I can now play them whilst cooking dinner and dancing badly. I had an idea this morning for a photo opportunity with the tape player and the dress. There wasn’t long to capture it as I had a bunch of other chores to do but I got a couple of good shots that I can maybe use as press shots or whatever.

Firstly, some pics of the dress…

At this point I switched to my DSLR as I prefer to use that. It works better for indoors…

Enter the cassette…

This next shot is my most favourite one!

Then I decided to try a few sitting down…

I’m really pleased with how they turned out especially the ones with the flash. I wouldn’t normally use it but it helped the glittery bits stick out 🙂

The Imaginatively Titled Post 100!

Hello there and welcome to my one hundredth post. Who’d have thought that was even possible…I wonder what the other 99 were about! 
I didn’t write one after my last gig as there wasn’t much to say to be honest. That night was the drugs themed poetry and spoken word night. I had written something specially, which I may share at a later date, but I’m not sure I was any good to be honest. It was a disappointing turnout – even the person running it turned up after the appointed start time. I also took the opportunity to try out mostly new material but the response was lacklustre sadly 😦

The look I rocked at that night can be seen above, sort of a cute librarian style. As there were meant to be a lot of folk reading the start time was early and supposedly rigid. I got away 30 mins early from work and actually got ready and was out the door in that half an hour. Perhaps I shouldn’t have bothered. I ended up leaving early and was home for just after 9pm. Actually who am I kidding…any excuse to cut about in the outside world in a cute skirt and boots!

With Halloween approaching and the now traditional dress up and watch a movie in the evening with my wife, a dressing possibility opened up two days earlier. That would mean I’d also be able to make a few more poetry videos as well as try out some new shoes and outfits. If I don’t get to do Halloween I won’t be upset as I did make the most of that chance. A lady in work had given me an orange dress with zips up the side a couple of weeks ago. It wasn’t too bad in fact it was quite comfy.

Also I dug out a rather cute top I haven’t worn for a couple of years and paired it with a black skirt I’ve become fond of. A comfy outfit to wear for my videos which I shall also share when I’ve edited them. 5 new poems including one I’ve been working on for a few weeks about my Irn Bru addiction…

I should point out that I’m wearing stockings as well. I plan to wear them at my next gig so was just rehearsing putting them on.

Also I found time to take a few Halloween style shots with some cheap vampire teeth. It’s my dodgy attempt at a sexy vampire!

Hope that didn’t scare you too much! Should’ve put up a warning or something ha ha 😄. The Prisma app has a special Halloween filter this week actually. It makes everything blood red and shit your pants scary so I processed those pics through it to see what’d happen.

Aah that’s much better. Hell on earth don’t you think? I better be going now, I hope you all have a fun and relatively safe Halloween. Until next time…it’s back into the closet I go!

Happy to be Red again!

I managed to get a little session last night to try some outfits and most excitingly a new wig which arrived that morning! It’s one I’ve been watching on eBay on and off for ages but finally cracked and bought earlier in the week.

Also I was looking forward to taking pictures with my good camera. Before I shaved and got changed I set it up in the bedroom and locked it off so I could do some male to female side by side shots. They turned out okay but because of the bed sheets it’s hard to match up the 2 images perfectly on my wee phone app.

I wish I’d spent a bit more time on it but I had to crack on with the other stuff I had planned. It was decided I’d make the most of my time and do a few different things I could keep on ice to release at later dates so as not to overshare.

The skirt isn’t new but given the volume of skirtage in my wardrobe some inevitably fall by the weyside. The next outfit was my favourite and the one I kept on for the longest (mainly due to having to recharge the camera battery and then having to wait to start again!).

I like that last one, I think I know how to sit down better than posing vertically!

The last look of the evening was a charity shop find from a few weeks back. Very smart it is too 🙂

As I mentioned earlier I did other things too like filmed a couple of the more recent poems and took some other photos which I may find another post for.

Earlier this morning I found out that the venue my next scheduled gig was to take place at is closing for good tonight. ‘Rockus’ in Finnieston Very sad as it was a really cool little place I could have got to know a lot better over the coming months. It means my next gig is the Extra Second night at The Blue Chair cafè, a themed poetry and spoken word night. This one is all about Drugs. I’ve nearly finished the piece I’m going to read and I’ll no doubt share it on this page once I’m sure it’s finished.

xxx

Valentines Greetings!

Just a quick post to a) Wish you all a happy 14th of February regardless of current status or whatever you’re up to xxx

Yes that is a close-up of my right eye – my best one as it happens…

…and b) share the link for my YouTube channel. It could potentially provide you with a giggle or two 😄 etc. Feel free to subscribe or check it out, there’s 10 videos on it now of varying quality.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpgcufsy-PeCeVjucBPkkuw

Hope you all have a lovely weekend, well, what remains of it anyway!

Look what the cabaret dragged in!

So I actually did it! Last Friday I took to the stage and dramatically recited some poetry Anna-style. Filled with excitement and a little bit of terror it was all over in a flash…and then I got changed and we went home.

In my plans the previous week I had decided to get changed in work and walk to the venue which I estimated to be around 20-25 minutes away. It’s a cafe so it doesn’t have a backstage so reportedly the performers fight over the disabled toilet. (Funnily when I did get changed to go home there were remnants of the burlesque dancers strewn around; glitter and boa feathers. A colourful restroom indeed). And this I did! Echoes of the last night out reverberated in my mind only this time my confidence was a few notches higher. I spent less time getting ready than that previous ocassion, about 45 minutes. I had chosen the toilet nearest the exit I was intending to use and before leaving I slipped into my comfy ankle boots – well I wasn’t going to wear my good red pumps en route. Especially as it was bloody raining. Luckily I had my umbrella.

The walk was very exciting as at the last minute my intended route changed. I was going to go a back way that would exchange a main road for something quieter but I thought what the hell! My umbrella would protect me. By the time I got to the Rio Cafe I must have looked a state. My eyeliner was running and I was rather warm but I soon climatised. My wife and her friend were already there and must have got a wee shock at coming face to face with the mad poet so soon. We had dinner and drinks and talked whilst many other folk arrived. I was really chuffed to see several friends turning up including my sister and her man. I think my set itself went well, there was applause and some laughter (which was intentional on my part). The ‘Stuck in a Dress’ poem went down the best I think. I could have done more but the well was dry and I dismounted the stage in a daze. One of my friends is a photographer and documented some of the proceedings. I had hoped to include some but haven’t seen them yet so I may include them in the next post. Here are a small selection – the lighting wasn’t very good sadly…

Someone we know also did some HD filming and uploaded a compilation of the night to Youtube which you can view from here…

I can’t wait to do it all again! I’ve been working on some more material and working out what else I can wear. I reckon I’ll use different hair next time too – something that frames the face better. There’s no sign of another gig yet but I’m working on it. I had such a close shave that I took the opportunity to do some make-up practice the next morning. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it! I want to master liquid eyeliner you see, does it look okay?

Trans Lives Matter: Anna

I’ve just been profiled in Frock Magazine! Many thanks to http://www.daniellaargento.com for turning my garbled answers to probing questions into readable prose 😄

Daniella's Ramblings

In an attempt to better understand the lived experiences of transgender (in the broadest sense) people from around the world I have been doing a series of interviews with people from around the world, asking them a common set of questions to understand who they are, what they experience on a daily basis and how they interact with the wider world. I hope that the following set of profiles will illuminate our shared experiences and also expose us all to new and different world views.

Anna Blair (no relation of the less well known and much less well liked Tony*) is a crossdresser, with a wicked sense of humour, who lives as a man just outside the Scottish City of Glasgow in the United Kingdom. She has no plans to transition. Her female persona is expressed ‘part-time’. Anna usually expresses her feminine side in private and behind closed doors but…

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Merry Christmas from Anna!

Hello there and if my calculations are correct you are reading the 50th post on this blog. What on earth were the other 49 about…one wonders. I decided the other day that it’d be cool to take a few Christmas themed photos having seen a lot of other gurls doing it elsewhere. Another intriguing question – how have I not thought to do it before?

I realise I’m about a week too early to do this but I am going to be quite busy over the next wee while. This way I’ve put them out there and should give interested parties time to see them in time for the event itself.

I do hope you all have a superb Christmas and are spoiled rotten by Santa’s sack!

Anna xxxxx

New Green Dress(es)

Hello there! Hope you are all well 🙂

Things have been getting pretty busy for myself in recent weeks. We’re getting ready to move house and I seem to be having a gig explosion which means I’ve had to rehearse for them. I’m terrible at remembering lyrics but the potential audience’s unfamiliarity with my stuff could see me getting away with it. I also seem to be getting a lot of offers of musical collaboration but we’ll see what happens with them. With all this in mind I forewent a rehearsal on Tuesday to get all dolled up for the last time in this current house (hopefully I’ll get a chance at Halloween!).

I had some new purchases from a few weeks ago to finally experience in context, ie wig and full make-up. First off was this purple skirt which I got from 99p in a charity shop. Sadly the lighting doesn’t really show it properly. It was from Etam (remember them) so I guess that means it’s vintage now lol.

The second item I’m rather fond of, a rare example of me paying full price for something from Primark. It’s an adorable green plaid dress with a peter pan collar and zip detail.

The last one I enjoyed the most, it was only £2.75 from a charity shop. I paid an extra £1.50 for an emerald stone necklace but frustratingly can’t seem to unentangle it. I needn’t have bothered as it looks fine without it. I took quite a few pics with this so….here we go!

This could definitely be the dress I wear if I have another night out any time soon. Hell this could be the impetus for one!

Before I packed it all away I decided to experiment with my corset and some hip pads to create the illusion of waist. It certainly looked and felt good but sadly doesn’t come across properly in the photos as the lighting got poorer.

Have a lovely weekend! I’ll be venturing into cupboards discovering long forgotten artefacts “oh look – it’s the sandwich toaster” etc…

X

Hand me down joy

It’s been a quiet old month on the whole though a week or so ago my wife had a big clearout and I couldn’t resist having a look through the piles! Sizing issues precluded most of it but I helped myself to a top or two, a couple of stretchy textured skirts, an intriguing black dress and some nightdresses (which I probably won’t wear as often but at the end of a session they are nice to slip into).

The Sunday morning I got was also a chance to try my new suspender belt. I wanted a simple lacy black one as the one I’ve had for years was part of a set, the only part I rescued sadly. It was nice to dress in the morning as I was able to apply my makeup at the living room window bathed in natural light. After years of going into the bathroom to do it (a bathroom with no window) it’s a revelation so it is! I think I did a pretty decent job.

I didn’t have very long before I had to snap out of my reverie and go and pick the kids up from my grandparents. On the way however I went shopping and have ended up with another couple of dresses. A really nice green one – it’s as green as you can get by the way! Like, Christmas green it is and only £2.50 to boot. The other one is from Primark and that was full price but totally my style, a dark green tartan dress with a black Peter Pan collar. It has a slight ‘school’ feel to it, hopefully it will make me look a bit younger. No pics of those yet, next time though!

I don’t know if any of my fellow crossdressers get this but I’m also experiencing that mad feeling of wanting to tell it to the world again. I realise I’m technically doing that by having an online presence but I mean like getting out the trumpets and standing atop a mountain – a large hill will do. Hopefully it will pass, I guess it must be normal. Maybe it’s also a good sign. A sign that perhaps I’ve finally began to accept myself which I never thought I would do.

XXX

An Unexpected Session

I had some well earned time off during the week and I got to do a whole bunch of fun family stuff. Days out (including the Edinburgh Festival), pottering around the house – that sort of thing. Probably one of the highlights was Tueaday when my wife said that once the kids were in bed I could dress up for a while and we’d watch something. There was a catch however…she would choose me an outfit and help me with my make-up. This should be interesting I thought so I began to look forward to it immensely. What would she put me in?

I had already pre-shaved while bathing the kids earlier so we did the make-up first. She gave me some tips on using my concealer – apparently I need a lighter one – and she gave me smoky eyes which is something I can’t do yet. For an outfit she picked out a couple of autumnal items, a burgandy top with lacey shoulders and neck and a purpley checked skirt. Sorry I have no pictures of that ensemble, I wasn’t really thinking about it at that point and was too shy to ask if she’d take a picture.

After catching up on some ‘Gotham’ we vegetated for a little longer and I inevitably craved an outfit change. I changed a couple of times, first into this tight stripey dress that I acquired recently.

Towards the end of the evening I changed into a new top I’d gotten at the weekend and a comfy tight black skirt. You can’t get a good view in this next pic but I guess you get the idea.

It’s a lovely little top, only cost a couple of pounds.

I had a nice pleasant evening in all, it felt comfortable too to be sharing this side a bit more with my wife. Hopefully she’s beginning to get a bit more comfortable with it as well, especially in light of recent revelations which did actually rock her a little. I do hope we do it again one time – no rush 🙂