I had not been to my favorite Nordstrom in roughly six months, and was sitting on a $50 Nordstrom gift card that was begging to be used (it was a Christmas gift from me TO me, because I got a $5 discount when buying it). 

It was the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and my wife was planning to play tennis at nine. Because of the pandemic, she had not been out a lot, but now fully vaccinated for almost two months, she was more comfortable going out. Her being out of the house meant I could dress (quickly) and go for a “bike ride”, which is often my cover story for my absence when out dressed.

A quick reminder. My wife knows I dress and has almost since we met in 1985. She doesn’t mind me dressing at home, but doesn’t like me going out, because she fears I will get outed, and people will feel sorry for her because she’s married to a crossdresser. To lower her anxiety level, I will often go out dressed without telling her. About five years ago, she said “lie to me”, so I do. I often do go bike riding, and I will often ride about 40 to 45 miles, which with a lunch stop, means a four to five hour outing–a long enough time window to get to the St. Louis Galleria and back. It also means I’ve become accomplished at changing genders in my car (girl off, boy on, or vice versa).

It was cool enough–rare for St. Louis in late May–to wear polka dot hose. I also had a dress I had found at Salvation Army that I hadn’t worn yet, and new T-strap heels I had bought online. I also paired it with a cardigan I bought in Australia that went well with the dress.

The last time I had been to Nordstrom–November 2020–I had tried on a black fake leather skirt with a zipper. I liked the look, although it’s on the younger side of the store. Six months later, the skirt was still there, but now reduced from $50 to $30. Sometimes waiting has it’s benefits.

I pulled some tops to try with the skirt, including some body suits in various colors. I am reluctant to wear body suits–and don’t own any–because they aren’t really designed for my anatomy. But I am always willing to try something on and see if it works or not. The body suit meant I would have to wear the skirt over the body suit, and show all the details of the skirt, which was a plus.

I didn’t buy any of the tops, but I did buy the skirt.

As usual for my days out, I text my GG friend Renee with pictures and updates. This was my series of texts to Renee recapping the day.

<<Fun to get out. Thought I looked good. Dontel at Nordstrom (dealt with him before) liked my dress and sweater and said I dress well. Talked to my friend Karla briefly. She said we needed to meet for lunch and catch up.

Also, in the near miss category…

Asked <my wife> how her tennis went.

The others cancelled and texted <her> they were cancelling, but she didn’t read the text and went anyway… but they were having a cardio tennis clinic so she stayed for that. Otherwise, she would have been home around 9:15 and I would have had a BIG surprise.>>

There are some risks to sneaking out–like your spouse returning home when you don’t expect her to. But it’s a risk I’m willing to take, because getting out and getting my girl on helps me stay sane.

In other Kandi’s Land news: