My (Aussie) wife and I have returned to the Melbourne area, where we own an apartment in a Melbourne suburb. We’ve come here in January for about the last ten years, save 2021–for reasons you can probably understand. I’ll be here for ten weeks total, until late March. My wife stays longer to do things with friends and family. Weep not for me; my being home while she’s here gives me more freedom to do Dee things back home for a couple months.
Traveling here to Australia means packing for two, although I have both boy and Dee stuff here. I mostly bring a few favourite dresses and outfits, a wig, makeup, and the like. Boy me brings a lot of exercise clothes, because it’s my time to run, bike, and swim during the Melbourne summer, to both get in shape for my next races, and to fit into slinkier Dee outfits–both are motivators.
Since arriving, my wife and I have done our normal things, like a day at the Australian Open (tennis), playing tennis with our local group, visiting with her (our) relatives, and the Satur-Dee Parkrun.
One of her friends was in town from Sydney for the tennis, so my wife met with them one day. As she was going out, that meant I could too. My wife asked me (she’s tolerant, but prefers I wouldn’t go out) what I was going to do? I answered “I’m going to do my thing.” She said have fun–but not too much fun. I tried to comply.
I try to assuage my wife’s fears about me being discovered by the neighbors. I now have have an extra complication; my niece (and her boyfriend) are living in a unit near ours. Whereas I don’t know many of the others in the apartment complex (ten total units located in a “L” shape), I’ve known the niece since she was a toddler.
Getting out of our apartment complex means getting mostly dressed, doing my makeup (but no lipstick), put boy clothes over my girl stuff, walking to our car, carrying extra stuff (wig, purse, change of shoes, etc) in a shopping bag, walking to our car (in the shared carport), then driving a couple of blocks to near the train station, and finishing the change (lipstick, wig, shoes, accessories, the lot).
Our station is the second last one on the train line, so the station is generally pretty empty when I board, and adds riders while headed to town. Today’s destination was an area called Brunswick with lots of thrift stores, about a thirty minute ride with a change of trains, but I’m used to the process by now.
My first stop was a Salvo’s, where I didn’t find any dresses, but as it’s summer, I scoped out the swimsuit rack. I bought a bikini top and bottom, a red bikini bottom (I have a red swim top), and a black one piece. Do I need three more swimsuits (well, two-and-a-half)?
No.
Did I mention the total was $AUD 8.50 for all of them (or about $USD 5)? Of course I bought them all.
It’s also an area with formal dress stores, so I did some window shopping along the walk between the stores, but did not go in. I did visit a couple more thrifts and a Savers (there are a couple of them in Melbourne, and they look pretty much the same as the US ones). My GG friend Ms Dee-ism loves seeing me in hats, and as she’s on a mission to buy me red lipsticks, I try to keep her happy. I find a hat at a second thrift store and we both thought it was a winner (I message her pictures during my shopping trips, and she shares her opinions). I bought the hat, cut off the tags, and wore it out of the shop ($AUD 7, or about $USD 4).
I then stopped at a Macca’s for a hamburger and a frozen coke (my addiction). I’ve (mostly) sworn off frozen cokes lately to help lose the extra weight I put on last fall–plus ten more after that. Why own cute clothes (or bikinis) if you can’t fit into (or look good in) them?
Besides the multiple thrift stores, there is also my favourite chain store, Dangerfield. The staff is fun and diverse, and the clothes are young and funky. The skater skirt I was wearing was a Dangerfield skirt, and I’ve worn it often, as it’s a favourite.
I checked out the discount rack and found a few funky tops to try on. I also found the swimsuits and tried them on to (I bought a Dangerfield bikini a couple of years ago and I love it). The one piece suits tended to be slimming and I like them, but having bought three suits already I wasn’t in the market for another (but I might change my mind another day). I still have two more months here, so time to try on more stuff on a later trip and find something(s) I like.
The SA liked my hat, and I told her were I found it, and that they had more. She appreciated the info.
I headed home, cleaned up in the car, and returned home. My wife was home but didn’t say too much. She’s just happy to see me return as a boy.
