I'm not gone.

Readers, I'm still alive! Priorities have shifted for me in the last two years as I've focused on my gender transition and, thus, rebuilding my wardrobe almost entirely from scratch. The online blogs I used to write for professionally have pretty much stopped being active as well, which is a source of additional income that has disappeared for me. Additionally, my career has recently shifted from made-to-measure, to trouser alterations, to altering dresses -- primarily bridal, bridesmaid, and prom -- all in the span of a year.

While I enjoyed many aspects of being a team lead at a shop focused entirely on MTM clothing, it was unfortunately not a good fit for me in the end due to the expectation that I perform the duties of an assistant manager yet not have the title and pay. Additionally, the insurance offered by them was not sufficient for my transition care needs and very overpriced.

Later, I moved back to a mass-market retailer I previously worked for since there was an opening for alterations fitters and sewers and I would get back the insurance I had before. However, the demands became too much, hours became scarce, management had no respect for my neurodivergence or gender identity, and rather than try to work with HR to resolve this and make myself the target of retaliation, I decided to move jobs yet again.

So far, the bridal industry has been good to me. I've learned more in my first two months than I did in the eight months I was at my prior employer. I have good managers who are good mentors and have confidence in my abilities. They accommodate my reasonable needs. Customers love me, just as they did in past jobs.

While gender dysphoria has become something of a recurring theme, I'm still happier with myself than I ever have been. I don't see quite the same number of rules I used to when it came to dressing well. I've embraced the colour black a lot more. Anyone who reads the archive of blog posts here dating back 17 years can see I was not a "failure" of a man. It was just a mask that I wore very well.

Needless to say, if you don't like transgender people or don't care about them, you are free to move on to another clothing blog. I'd hope you would educate yourself more about us and stick around, but I can't force people to change their minds. I simply hope you will find more love in your life for people who aren't hurting others by merely existing as themselves.

I'll still be covering some of the same subjects along with my insights in how I've shifted my dressing in the last couple years, how a menswear education informed it, and some tips and tricks for those who might still be closeted or starting in their own journeys as trans women.

Right now, I'm working on another movie wardrobe analysis article. Stay tuned. Hopefully it won't take a year this time.

Amazing what two years of difference can make.