Started last year at 40. I just jumped in at the deep end, buying and wearing only clothes marketed to women. I started with reasonably androgynous outfits and experimented with more femme stuff at home. To start with I had no idea what I was doing, but trying stuff out and copying other women has slowly gotten me to the point where at least I'm kind of happy with how I look.

Voice also, I watched a few videos to get an idea of the basics and just started doing it 24/7. I feel a bit bad for my coworkers who had to put up with a frankly terrible voice at first. Listening to recordings I think it sounds pretty good now.

And you probably pass a lot better than you think. I've certainly had times in the past where I was obviously read as a woman and didn't quite believe it. But now I can kind of see it myself, and nobody bats an eye when I use the women's bathroom or whatever.

I transitioned at almost 50. I spent about a month on the fence and then just decided to go for it and went full femme right when i started HRT. When i look back at those first couple months all i feel is gratefulness to my community because nobody made me feel like shit even though i had no idea what i was doing yet. I'm never going to pass so I just don't sweat it. I'm non-op and i only wear skirts and dresses i hate pants and got rid of all of them. My hair was also suuuper short and my glasses were very masculine which didn't help!

Things just got better and better as i sorted these issues out and my hair grew. Masks can be very feminizing if you get a nice one that fits your head it hides your jawline completely. I used puffy headbands until my hair grew out as they alter your head shape and add feminization. plus its fun to match the colors to parts of your outfit.

if your ears aren't pierced they sell clip on earrings. don't get your ears pierced with a gun at claires in the mall! The right earrings can be very feminizing.

feminine sunglasses with contacts until i got actual feminine frames which helped a LOT. I got oversized feminine frames and probably my next pair in december will be more normal sized. You can get giant sunglasses that fit over your regular glasses and are femme too if you have to wait. If you don't wear glasses you can get fashion frames but they never have any anti glare coatings so they kind of suck.

Mascara and eyeliner are actually hugely feminizing and if you need help with a basic makeup routine we can help you or if you have bank you can go to sephora and get color matched and learn from an aesthetician, they are so nice. mascara is very easy to put on, eyeliner is slightly difficult but you pick it up quick. You can also get stick on eyelashes that are huuugely feminizing but god they are a pain in the ass.

painted nails are very feminizing and i love them, if you can get and maintain acrylics you'll probably get compliments on them!

finding feminine clothes that fit your body shape is huge. Dresses are amazing if you are plus sized if you can find ones that go in at your waistline they sort of turn all your middle chub into booty. it's wild. Skirts are super forgiving, way more so than pants.

If you use an electric razor make sure it's a foil razor. At home IPL actually works really well if you're light skinned and even though it doesn't get the white hairs those are also the most difficult to see. epilating is incredibly painful I really wish i could stand it especially on my chest i love the smoothness but i am just too sensitive for it.

a feminine haircut helps soooo much. I had a big bald spot (hrt has made it significantly smaller!) and receding hairline but a good cut and careful styling hide 90% if it. My stylist dyed my hair blonde and it really helped hide the bald spot a lot. It's grown out enough now that if i brush it right and fix it with a headband you could never tell.

if you are new to perfume check out ScentBird! it lets you try out high quality purfume at drugstore prices. I finally found a smell i love that goes well with my natural smell after 6 months or so, i treasure it because it gets me compliments! also a drop of scented baby oil in the bath pairs very well with your new soft smooth skin. and if you aren't already doing it look into exfoliation for magically smooth skin. I use sugar scrub, those little korean cloths and chemical exfoliator for my chest and neck.

Make sure you are wearing sunscreen every time you go in the sun!! your new more delicate skin will thank you.

get a cute little purse you like and put some pepper spray on it if it's legal for you. You're a bigger target than you were before it's just a sad fact of our society. keep that in mind when you're parking and walking places at night as well. You might be the same height as you were before but just the fact that you're a woman now means you have to be more wary.

The first few months were definitely the hardest but i recommend treating it like swimming in cold water. Just throw yourself in deep and you'll get the hang of it.

for voice i love Lucy and Zhea

I hope any of that helps!!! I know you didn't exactly ask for feminization tips, but intense femme-maxing is exactly how I got through those first few months. now that it's been a year and the HRT has had an effect I don't feel the heed to tryhard on every aspect. They call it a transition for a reason!

This is a difficult thing that we do and those first steps are the scariest but oh is it soooo rewarding when these pieces start to fit together and you discover who you are. Congrats and i'm proud of you!

happy to elaborate on any of these issues :) op (and only op) if you would like to see my timeline between now and month 1 pm me and i'll send you some pics so you can see the cumulative effect of what i'm describing above.

/dump