RANSVESTIA

for the suit black suede ones, both "court" style, that is, plain with medium heels. They were rather hard to put on over bare feet but Mrs. Ellis, watching me struggling, said she would have stockings for every- one by the dress rehearsal; and for me, she mused, there had better be a slip since the voile dress was too revealing in stage lighting.

By the first dress rehearsal all the alterations were done and all the clothes neatly hung up under our characters names. The shoes sat on the floor below. I first went through make-up, done by another teacher's wife and a friend, and was given a much more careful job than the pre- vious year. I was amazed and vaguely flattered by the transformation done by sticks, rouge. liners and lipstick and a dark-brown wig- until I stood up to go and saw a boy in undershirt and grey trousers with a girl's head! Since Lady Sneerwell appears in the opening scene I was first through make-up and first in the dressing-room, where Mrs. Ellis was waiting for me. After having me remove my undershirt she slipped bra over my arms and shoulders, fastened it behind and then filled out the cups with cotton wool. “This is the front of it,” she told me as she handed me a pale blue rayon slip into which I slithered with- out difficulty. It tumbled down over my body and shaped itself over my false bosom in a way that sent a little quiver of pleasure through me. I hoped Mrs. Ellis had not noticed. “Now take your other things off and see if you can pull this on. Keep these two garters to the front.”

"This" was a plain what-was-then-called two-way stretch girdle. I took off my trousers under the slip and, greatly daring, my undershorts too. With my back to Mrs. Ellis I stepped into the girdle and worked it up my legs until it was comfortably settled at waist and hips, then fluff- ing the slip down to my knees again. (Dresses were then a few inches below the knee.)

"If I roll the stockings for you like this," she said, "I think you can pull them on and then I'll show you how to fasten them. Do it carefully now." They were of very fine material, or so it seemed to me; they were probably artificial silk, much heavier than today's nylons. I sat down to get them on, eased them up as far as I could and Mrs. Ellis told me to hold up my slip while she fastened the two rear garters. After showing me how to fasten one of the front ones she invited me to do the other one, and after a little fumbling I succeeded.

“Now you'd better put these on.”

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