Recently one of my friends in the crossdressing community discovered the joys of shopping in public and oh was she a woman unleashed. Her outings enfemme spiked and she bought a lot more outfits than she would normally do so online.

Online shopping has its perks, but it doesn't hold a candle to shopping in person, at least for us crossdressers. Ever since I started shopping in person, I've stopped buying Isabelle's items online unless it cannot be easily obtained in brick and mortar shops (e.g. wigs, breastforms, costumey outfits) or I see something I really like at a good deal. Why wait 1 week for the few selected outfits to arrive in the mail when you can have IMMEDIATE gratification in the shops? Go to the right malls and you can even hit multiple shops in a few hours. Efficient and effective.

My friend's shopping spree is not unique to crossdressers in their discovery phase and it is likely temporary, so the damage to her wallet won't be that large of a bomb. 

Crossdressing is expensive. As if upkeeping 1 wardrobe isn't enough, crossdressers need to spend money buying pretty outfits on a regular basis to satisfy the inner girl (almost like maintaining a mistress, except she also shares your body 🤣). I think it is ok to buy clothes as long as you can afford it and it makes you happy, but my advice to crossdressers who have just discovered the joys of in-person shopping is to avoid what I term, the "shopping chain reaction".

The "shopping chain reaction" is where you buy 3 outfits on your first shopping trip. You wear one of these outfits during your next trip and buy 3 more pretty outfits. And 3 more in your next shopping trip. It's basically a nuclear chain reaction but for shopping (very geeky I know 😅). Before long, you'll have more outfits than actual outings to wear them. You need to realise that changing rooms have really soft lighting that makes you look great in the mirror, and because you're sort of on a high during these initial shopping trips, every other item you pick looks great in the mirror. I've wasted money buying so many clothes I no longer wear because I don't like them anymore.

So to do your wallet a favour, here's my 3 rules to rein in your inner shopaholic:

Regardless, have fun on those shopping trips! Sales people really don't care whether you're a guy in a dress or not, as long as you're a serious customer. So don't worry too much about being clocked or using your male voice if you really need to speak. Just own it and enjoy your moment enfemme.