My name is John Taylor, very appropriate really as that is my profession, “Bespoke tailoring for the discerning gentlemen’, as it states on my business card. I’m in a partnership with an old family friend, Gerald Forsyth, who is more or less an honorary uncle.

My profession was pre-destined really, my mother worked from home as a dressmaker and seamstress, and from a very young age I was often called on to help her. It started out with being a general help keeping her workroom tidy , but she soon taught me how to use a sewing machine and the various finishing-off hand stitches.

By the age of 11 I was quite proficient with the machine, and whilst she carried out most of the intricate work, I was cutting-out from patterns and tacking the pieces together ready for her to do the fittings. She would then do the pinning to suit the figures of her clients, complete the finished seams and add any trimmings.

By the age of 16 , when I was finishing school, I was making skirts, dresses, and Ladies’ suits from start to finish. However a lot of her customers were wary about a young boy measuring them and handling them as they wore the half-finished tacked items whist pinning to the final fit, so I often did not get to see the client in the finished outfit.

Although I was good at what I was doing, in some things even outshining my mother, I decided that a male dressmaker would never build up a regular client base, and went to work as an apprentice to Gerald. Initially I was mainly doing what I had been doing for my mother, working in the cutting room, on the more basic tasks, but soon learned to modify my skills to deal with the different materials and styles of mens’ suits.

During the early years that I worked there, Gerald was front-of-house, dealing with our clients and managing the business, whereas I was the more creative partner and had a better feel for styling and fabrics, concentrating on the actual tailoring That is where I met my future wife, Samantha. She had come into the shop with her father, who ran a small legal practice, needing a suit made up quickly for a special function, during which he was to be inducted as the area chairman of the Law Society, the professional regulatory body for solicitors.

While Gerald was dealing with her father, I chatted to Samantha and we found that we had a lot of common interests, which led to us dating and, despite her father’s deep reservations, eventually marrying two years later, by which time she had qualified as a solicitor herself and had joined her father’s practice.

Although she and I were happy and contented, she was never comfortable with my job as a tailor. She felt that as the husband of a solicitor I should be in an equivalent level profession, and was always on at me to look for something else, a point-of-view strongly echoed by her father, but I was doing something that I could do well and enjoyed my job in the tailors shop.

However five years later disaster struck. Gerald suffered a major stroke after which it was risky him living alone, so he moved into a care home, a very expensive care home. He needed the money to pay for his care and his only option was to sell the business. He offered me first option of taking over, but Samantha was adamant that the business would always struggle to pay its way, and she refused to let me go ahead and throw ‘her hard-earned bank account’ into what she called ‘a money-pit’.

Unfortunately bespoke tailoring was, as Samantha had quite rightly said, on it’s last legs, business and social wear was becoming much more casual, and the market still there was limited due to what were now good quality and a lot cheaper imports from the Far East. I found it impossible to find another position and had no qualifications, interest, or ability to do anything else.

For the first few months, in addition to doing all the domestic chores around the house, I was gradually ticking off the to-do list of DIY jobs, and redecoration. Soon all the DIY jobs were completed and I filled my time more and more with housekeeping, becoming quite a proficient baker, and started to go regularly for tea and cakes with two of my neighbours, Sue and Polly.

One day when emptying the laundry basket for the weekly wash, I noticed a bag next to it containing a couple of Samantha’s skirts and a dress, which on closer inspection looked in need of a bit of repair work. One of the skirts needed a new zip, the other had lost the clip on the waistband where the fabric had frayed, and the dress had torn stitching on the seams and hem.

After I had finished preparing the evening meal and generally tidying up, just as a change from my normal routine I dug out the sewing machine that I had used when working with my mother which had lain in the loft for a lot of years. After checking that it was all working and the tensioners were fully functional, I rummaged through the bag of bits-and-pieces alongside it, found suitable threads and a zip to repair Samantha’s things. It didn’t take long to get the clothes looking perfect again, and brought back memories of the times when I had helped my mother. I was quite pleased with what I had done and was looking forward to showing Samantha when she got back home.

When she eventually arrived home from the office, late as usual, and we had finished our dinner, I told her that I had repaired her skirts and dress, expecting her to be pleased, but she didn’t seem too interested or concerned.

“You needn’t have bothered John, it’s all old stuff that I don’t wear anymore, and was bagged up to go to the Air Ambulance charity shop.”

“That’s a shame they are all good quality apart from the minor repairs needed, and I have always liked you in the beige chino skirt.”

“I’ve said that I don’t want them, that’s why I had them packed to give away, if you like them so much you can have them.” she snapped back.

“Very funny, and what am I supposed to do with them?”

“Have you looked at your life lately, you never go anywhere and are turning into a domestic goddess housewife, you’ve even now started sewing and repairing things. You might as well be wearing a skirt, it would fit in with how you spend your day, doing the household chores and then going next door for your girly-talk teas with Sue and Polly. Now I come to think of it, this is not just since you lost your job, you have always been happy to do most of the housework, cooking, cleaning, washing, shopping and such like, while I have been hard at work earning the money to keep our finances together.”she sneered at me rolling her eyes.

“Those shorts you have on have seen better days and are getting a bit tight, with this warm weather we are having you’ll probably find the chino skirt a lot more comfortable and cooler and with your small frame it will probably fit you, It may even help you fit in better with the neighbours. You seem to relate to them, and they to you but it might be even more comfortable if you dress like them. If you want to give it a try feel free, if you don’t feel comfortable just throw everything out, I don’t want them back.”

That set the tone for the rest of the evening we hardly spoke after that, she went off to bed early, claiming to have a headache, telling me to sleep in the spare room.

When I awoke she had already left for work, so I just went to the kitchen to have toast and a coffee before going back upstairs to get dressed. Over breakfast I thought about what Samantha had said last night, and although I didn’t like to admit it she was probably right. The only break I had from the housework was having an afternoon coffee with Sue my neighbour and Polly from over the road, which mainly involved gossip about the latest celebrity scandals or which of the neighbours were getting up to mischief. The only thing differentiating my life from theirs were the clothes I was wearing and my general appearance, and even that wasn’t striking. Since losing my job, I hadn’t been bothered about my grooming, I just wore sloppy casual clothes, usually shorts and T-shirts, didn’t bother showering daily anymore, and my hair had grown quite long and was usually unkempt or brushed back in a low ponytail. I needed a kick up the pants to get me back together again and maybe Samantha’s suggestion was the way to do it. If I was turning into a housewife I decided that I may as well see how I would look as one.

After a long luxurious shower and washing and conditioning my hair, I sat down to brush it all out, getting rid of all the tats, and was surprised to see how long it had got. I used Samantha’s styling dryer to straighten out all the natural curls after which it was sitting down to my collar in quite a feminine bob with a centre parting and a high crown.

I though that wearing a dress was a bit much and decided to wear the beige skirt that I had altered. Samantha had recently lost a bit of weight and it was a bit loose around the waist even for me, so it was back to the sewing machine to take in the waistband. When I was finished it fit me quite snugly, and I found it to be a lot more comfortable than my shorts, as Samantha had suggested. I found a fairly plain cotton top from one of Samantha’s drawers, pulled it over my head and tucked it into the skirt. I was just admiring my image in the hall mirror before getting changed back into my normal clothes when Sue unexpectedly camein the kitchen door from the rear garden we shared.

“Hi is John in?’ she asked me looking around, before suddenly realising that she was looking at me. “What on earth are you doing John?”

“It’s not what it looks like Sue, It’s for a game I’m playing with Sam. She had a go at me last night, calling me a domestic goddess housewife , suggesting I might fit in better with you and Polly if I wore a skirt, and I thought that I would play it back to her.”

“ I’ll believe you, thousands wouldn’t ! Anyway I have to go out later, I have a medical appointment, so I thought I’d see if was convenient for you to come round for coffee a bit earlier.”

“That’s fine, give me a few minutes to get changed.”

“You needn’t bother, it’s only Polly and me, just come as you are, you’re clean and tidy, but before you do, has Samantha any lipstick lying around? I’ll put some on for you, since you are dressed as a woman, you must wear some.”

“I’m not sure I want to do this, I feel weird and Heaven knows what you think of me.”

“What is there to feel weird about, half the population wear skirts regularly, when they are not in trousers. Don’t be silly. You should know Polly and me by now, I promise we will not make fun of you. Let’s go, Polly should be here soon.”

We had just got in and sat down when Polly arrived, looked around the room for John, wondering who the new guest was, until she finally realised, and her jaw dropped.

“OMG John. I know that you enjoy being in our company and joining in our chats, but there is no need to take it this far.” she giggled.

“I think it’s best if we keep it to Jen for the moment, I am getting confused talking about John when he looks anything but. Right oh JEN, you only gave us part of the story, c’mon girl spill the beans.” Sue quickly added.

John told them all about Samantha’s bit of a tantrum. “Instead of being thanked for my efforts and skill in repairing her dress and skirts. she had said that if I liked them so much that I could keep them. Perhaps it was meant as a sarcastic joke but I decided to play it back at her and tried on one of the skirts and found a top to go with it, which is when Sue walked in on me.”

“You’re lucky that it fits you so well, you couldn’t ask for a better fit, it sits really snugly on you.” Polly commented, waggling her fingers to signal me to stand up and turn around.

“ It didn’t really fit me, it’s an old one of Sam’s from before she lost a lot of weight, dropping a couple of dress sizes, I had to pull in the waistband and refit the zip I had replaced yesterday.”

“That’s really clever Jen, I wish I could do something like that, I don’t know about Polly but my sewing skills are at the level of re-fixing buttons, Anything more is beyond me, but then you are a tailor and things like that are part of the job.”

“It’s not just that Sue. When I was younger my mother worked as a seamstress and dressmaker and I grew up helping her, learning how to make dresses and skirts. At first I was just cutting out the patterns and tacking the pieces together ready for my mother to finish off, but gradually I was making the dresses up myself, Mum only had to do the final fit pinning up for me to complete the clothes, it didn’t seem right for me to fiddle around the clients pinning the seams together. When I’ve got a bit of spare time I’ll teach you both the basics if you wish.”

“That would be brilliant Jen, maybe we can link our coffee meetings to sewing classes.”

“Jen, if you don’t mind me saying, and it doesn’t embarrass you, you have done your hair nicely and dressed reasonably stylishly, but if you are going to be dressing as a woman you need breasts, the outfit looks a bit strange without them.”

“This is a one-off, just to play the joke back to Samantha I hadn’t given a thought to doing it again. She might accept me wearing this outfit as a joke, but if I raided her undies drawer and borrowed a bra, I think that will be taking it too far for her.”

“No need to upset her, you can have one of mine, just stay there for a minute.” Sue walked out and I heard her noisily running up and down the stairs and then pottering about in the kitchen.

“Ok Jen take off your top, you are just about to get your first bra, at least I hope that it’s your first.” she giggled. It didn’t take long for Sue to shown me how to fasten the bra clasp at the back and fill the cups with the bags of rice she had made up in the kitchen.

“That’s a lot better Jen, you can keep the bra, I’ll now be able to get my head around the three of us having a girlie chat. As for not doing this again, don’t be silly, if you’re going to give us dressmaking lessons you will be doing it as one of the girls. Don’t you agree Polly?”

“Totally, if we are going to be measured, having you kneeling down pinning up hems and seams and playing around with bust-lines, I’ll be a lot more comfortable working with you as Jen rather than John.”

“Two-to-one Jen, it looks like we’ll be seeing more of you. You should be ok with the couple of skirts you’ve been given until we can go shopping to get you something else, but you need a few more tops, you can’t wear that one all the time. Before you go I’ll dig out some for you, I’ve loads, of them I never wear.”

That had taken up a lot more than the hour we normally spent together, but with the general gossip which followed time seemed to fly and it was now late afternoon.

‘It’s time I need to be off for my doctors appointment, so we’ll see what happens over the next couple of days. If you are going to keep up your reputation as a domestic goddess Jen you need to be getting back to prepare the evening meal for Sam. You know what, that has got a ring to it Jen and Sam, almost sounds like the traditional girl-boy relationship, I’ve always called her Samantha, but with you as Jen Sam sounds a lot better.”

“I’ve already got everything prepared, I made a three-fish pie and an apple tart earlier which are ready in the fridge so it’s just a case of warming up the fish and steaming the vegetables, the apple pie desert can be baking as Sam and I are having the fish pie.”

“What do you Know Polly, she cooks and bakes as well, Sam might be right calling her a domestic goddess. See you in a couple of days girls. Oh, one last thing Jen, if you are going to do this again, it would look aa lot better if you shaved you legs and arms, they aren’t too bad but could do with a bit of a cleanup.”

Back home I was in two minds whether to stay dressed as Jen or change back, but decided to face down Sam for calling me a housewife and suggesting that I wear the repaired skirts.

When Sam returned later she called out “I’m home at a decent time tonight John, where are you?”

“I’m in the kitchen just finishing things off for dinner, go and get changed and I’ll pour a glass of wine ready for you when you come back downstairs.”

When Sam came into the kitchen a little later she was shocked to see me dressed in a skirt and one of her tops which was snug enough to show of the false breasts.”

“What do you think you are playing at John?” She shrieked

“It was your suggestion that I am a domestic goddess housewife and that wearing a skirt would be more appropriate for me, so I thought that I would give it a try, what do you think?” John was enjoying her discomfort.

“You’ve, been through my things to take one of my tops and have obviously been in my undies drawer to get a bra as well.”

“Guilty for the top, but the bra is not yours, it’s one that Sue gave me when I was over there this afternoon.”

“ What? You have been out like that and other people have seen you ! ”she shouted in disbelief, “You’ve even styled your hair and are wearing lipstick.”

“Just Sue and Polly, it was our regular get together for coffee and what you called our ‘girly chat’. I was just going to change back to go to Sue’s and then dress again for you coming home, but Sue came in saw me and insisted I went round for tea dressed like this”

“And they’re happy to see you like that?”

“They were fine and after the initial surprise we settled down for our usual housewifely gossip, and they said they would prefer for Jen to be there next time we meet. In fact after I told them about repairing the clothes you gave me and having to alter this skirt to fit they want me to teach them the basics of dressmaking at our future get-togethers.” Sam was getting redder and redder, but John was enjoying seeing her lose her self-control.

“I don’t believe this, and who the hell is Jen, how many more people know?”

“Just the three of us, and now you of course. They decided that when they were chatting with me dressed like this it was less confusing to call me Jen. Anyway, now that is all cleared up shall we sit down to dinner?”

“You are unbelievable John, you can’t expect me to calmly sit down and eat after all that, I’m off to the bedroom and I don’t expect you to join me tonight.” She stormed off slamming the door behind her.

When I went down for a coffee in the morning, there was a note on the counter next to the kettle “I will be away for a few days, don’t call me, I need to think about what I will do next.”

Although I hadn’t planned to, as I had only stayed in the women’s clothes to respond to her digs at me, I decided to have another day as Jen, the skirt and top hadn’t been put away and I had found them comfortable to work in around the house. I thought that if I was going to be dressed as a woman that I would do it properly. As Sue had suggested I had a close shave including legs, arms and even armpits. Sitting at the dressing table I ran the styling brush through my hair again and put on basic makeup just lipstick and mascara, along with the clothes from the day before, including the bra and padding.

I was just finishing breakfast when there was knock on the door. When I answered it, Polly was on the doorstep with a big bag in her hand.

“Hi Jen, here’s a bag of things that I was going to put out tomorrow for collection by the Air Ambulance people, but have a look to see if there is anything you like that suits you. I wasn’t sure whether to bring them but seeing you dressed again tells me I’ve not done the wrong thing,”

“Come on in Polly and have a coffee, Sam was absolutely livid last night, she has gone off in a huff for a few days, I’m at a bit of a loss as to what is going to happen next.”

“That’s a shame, I know t must have been a bit of a shock for her, but storming off in a huff is a bit over-the-top. Can I ask you a favour? Last time I wore my best dress at a cousin’s wedding it caught on something and ripped the seam, I’ve got another wedding at the weekend, could you repair it for me before then.”

“Bring it over and I’ll have look to see what can be done.”

“It’s the bag, just hang on, I’ll dig it out.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem, luckily it just the seam that’s damaged, but I’ve an idea, put it on so I can see how it looks on you.” To my surprise she pulled off her top and dropped her skirt , standing there unconcerned at me seeing her in just her bra and panties before pulling on the dress.

“Hmm, you’ve lost a bit of weight or else it was always a big size for you, if you want I can take in the seams, and maybe dress it up a bit for you. Take it off and put it on inside-out and I will pin the seams to make it a snugger fit. Thats it all done, it shouldn’t take too long, I’ll pop over with it later, Do you mind if I make a few alteration, change it to a a one-shoulder neckline with a ruched drop, but obviously you will need a strapless bra with it, and if I cut it to a waterfall hemline with soft pleats it will be more dramatic and will look like a completely different dress.”

“I like the sound of all that, I know that I said it is my favourite but in reality it is my only formal occasion dress, are you sure it will be ok and ready for the wedding.”

“I’ll work it later, undo a few seams and pin it temporarily so you can judge for yourself, if you don't like it I’ll put it back as it is now except for making it a better fit. Let me have a go at it and I’ll see you later.”

Again Polly calmly stripped off to change back into the clothes she had arrived wearing.

When I took it over later and Polly tried it on, she was almost in tears. “That’s stunning Jen, so much more stylish, I’m sure that Bob will love me in it, I think the weekend might a lot spicier than normal. Finish it off like this and I’ll be ever so grateful. Jen I’ve just realised that I was quite happily stripping off and changing my clothes in front of you and wasn’t in the least embarrassed or shy about it, I hope you don’t mind me saying it was as if you were just another woman and I wasn’t showing you anything you hadn’t seen lots of times before.”

“Strangely I was not embarrassed either. Yesterday I felt a bit awkward wearing the skirt and even more so when Sue fitted me with the bra, but today, when I got dressed they were just comfortable clothes, except for the bra, that will take a bit of getting used to.”

“Why not, Sue and I are quite happy to see you as Jen, if anything I probably prefer it, it was always a bit strange having John join us for what was mainly a girly chat.”

“OK Polly, see you later.”

Rather than cut the dress in case she didn’t like what I had suggested, I unpicked the right shoulder seam, pleated it to give a ruched off-the-shoulder look, tacked it together, and then followed up with the creation of a waterfall hem. When I held it up to myself and looked in the mirror I was quite pleased with how it looked, or would look when it was finished, and would drop it off to Polly later.

As I needed to go to the shops for a few bits and pieces, I borrowed one of Sam’s long cardigans , packed a shoulder bag with wallet keys and phone, satisfied that I looked acceptable and drove to the local supermarket, my first time out in public as Jen, where I had no problems being accepted as a woman. That gave me the confidence to continue as Jen for a while, and I even bought some packs of panties and bras to last a few days, at least until Sam returned.

When I was safely back home I decided that although the bags of rice pretending to be breasts did the job, I needed something better, After an hour flicking through Amazon and google sites I finally ordered for next day delivery a pair of silicone B-cup breasts, which from the description were more realistic than the cheaper foam ones and size-wise were more in keeping with my 36” chest.

I went over to Polly’s with the tacked-together dress, and had her try it on. She was delighted with the look and asked me to finish it off properly. Again she had no modesty problems changing into it, or when I was fiddling with minor changes to the seam around the bust-line.or under the hemline.

Back at home as there had been no messages from Sam I decided that she wasn’t coming back in a hurry, so picked a bit of the fish pie out of the fridge for heating up later and portioned the rest into the freezer Not having to cook gave me time to work for a couple of hours finishing off Polly’s dress.

I was having breakfast next morning still in sleepwear and dressing gown when the Amazon delivery arrived. “Parcel for Jen Taylor, sign here please darling.” he said with a cheery smile, in a hurry to get to his next delivery.

I finished the coffee and toast and quickly opened the parcel to look at the breast forms which appeared and felt totally realistic, then took of the bra and discarded the rice bags. After carefully reading the instructions I applied the glue and placed them on my chest. It felt strange when I sat up and felt the weight of them pulling on my skin, so put the bra back on wanting to make sure that they were properly held in place before going upstairs to get dressed.

I put on the other skirt that Sam had given me, a mid-thigh A-line denim with tie waistband and picked out a cream v-neck cotton top from the bag that Polly had given me which hugged the new breasts and showed a bit of cleavage, leaving no room for doubt that I was totally acceptable as a female. I carried out all the odd jobs around the house, getting used to the movement and bounce of the breasts which was totally different to the firmness of the bags of rice, before delivering the dress to Polly.

“That’s gorgeous Jen, it would have cost a fortune in the shops I owe you a big favour. I often feel a bit underdressed among the other women in the family, but this time I’ll outshine them all at the wedding.” She came over and gave a big hug before standing back, staring at my chest.

“Wow, where did those come from, it felt like hugging another woman, and they look so realistic. I didn’t notice when you came in, I was so focussed on the dress. Lift up your top and let me have a good look. You have them fixed on too, you’ve got no choice now about being Jen, let me give Sue a call, she just has to see this.“

‘ Oh, I love the dress Polly, is that why you asked me over?”

“ Not really, take a good look at Jen and tell me if you see anything different about her.”

“Different outfit, she looks quite stylish,…….oh, she has grown boobs overnight, that is amazing Jen, are you keeping them.”

“For the moment yes, they are stuck on, but there is a remover for the glue if I get fed up with them. I know that I am committed now, unless Sam reappears but I still feel it’s all a bit weird.”

“Look Jen you need to change your mindset if you are going to continue as Jen. You have to stop thinking of yourself as a man in a skirt, and turn that around to being a woman who used to look like a man, Now that you have proper breasts does the bra I gave you yesterday still fit properly?”Sue asked.

“Yes, it’s fine but I put a fresh one of my own on that I got this morning at the supermarket when I was out getting some groceries.”

“Well done, having they confidence to go out in public and even going through the undie racks to get some of your own, I’m sure that John, like most men would have been embarrassed picking things out.”

“Sue, put the kettle on for coffee while I go and get changed and hang up this dress before it gets dirty.” Polly called as she left to take the dress upstairs.

“How was it at the doctors yesterday Sue?”

“Not a big problem, just a bad case of vaginal thrush. They gave me a prescription for a tube of high-strength Clotrimazole, which should soon clear it up, it worked last time I had the problem. I can recommend it if you ever have the problem Jen.”

“I can’t see me suffering with vaginal thrush, can you?” I replied sarcastically.

“Oops, sorry Jen, my tongue raced ahead of my brain, which is easy looking at you showing off those breasts.”

They sat for a coffee and chat for a while before Polly had to leave for a waxing, nail treatment and general makeover to save time in the morning getting ready for the early wedding. On the way back over home Sue asked me to go in with her.

“Jen, you did a really good job with the dress for Polly, will you do something for me? The zip has gone on a couple of my skirts, you said you fixed your own, you seem to know what you are doing. If I can push my luck, will you make a dress for me, there is a big celebration at Matt’s golf club soon and I would like something special, some of the women who will be there think nothing of spending hundreds of pounds on an outfit.”

“The skirts should be a quick job, I’ll do them later. What sort of dress do you want?”

“I’ve seen something on the internet that I really like but it was awfully expensive, a delightful
A-line Scoop Illusion Asymmetrical Sequin Lace Evening Dress, shall I show you?”

“You’re right that would really suit you. Let’s go to ’Fabrics R Us’ in town, they normally have a decent selection, pick out some suitable material that you like, and see if they have a pattern pack that is something similar. It will be a lot quicker and easier if someone has already done the hard work with the cutting out designs.”

We looked at lots of pattern packs before finding one similar that Sue really liked, and found some lovely soft fabrics that would really fall into place to match the style.

“That was really useful Jen, I’m glad you were there with me explaining everything, I would never have known that some of the styles would be so difficult to make up and which fabrics were just inappropriate, I can’t wait to see it all finished.”

Monday afternoon we got together for our coffee meeting, and Polly was full of stories about the wedding and how wonderful her dress was.

“I had so many compliments and people wanting to know where I had bought it, nobody realised it was the one I had worn before, the last time the wider family were together for a celebration. It also sparked a love interest from Bob, it has been one on our most active weekends for a long time,” she added with a guilty smile. What do I owe you for it Jen, and don’t say no cost?”

“Too much information about how you spent your nights Polly. I offered to do it for you, apart from the fabrics and the patterns which you paid for in the shop there were no material costs other than a zip and a bit of trimming. Let’s settle on a bill of a bottle of decent wine next time we all meet.”

At the end of the week I had Sue’s dress all tacked for her to try for size, before calling her round for a first fitting, pinning the seams to fit her snugly to show off her slim figure. Just like Polly had been Sue had no shyness about stripping and changing in front of me or when I was fiddling around the hemlines and the lines of the halter top. As I was working I was telling Sue everything I was doing, giving her the first lesson in dressmaking.

There was still no word from Samantha as to when or even whether she would return. As I was regularly meeting up with the girls, I just stayed in female mode, and was getting used to wearing a skirt and no longer thought about having breasts, they were now just a part of me and I had settled into life as a woman.

One day, when I answered the door, I saw that Polly had a couple of people with her, who I assumed from a family resemblance were her sisters.

“Hi Jen, I hope you don’t mind, these are my sisters Carol and Rebecca, can we come in?’

“Of course, what can I do for you?”

“We thought that Polly was adorable in her new dress and when she told us that you had altered it for her, we both wondered if you were doing it as a business as we would like you to make some things up for us. Obviously we will pay you for it, you can’t keep doing things for a shared bottle of wine like you did for Polly.” Becky was the first to open the conversation

“I hadn’t really planned on it, but it sounds like a good idea. I need to do something to bring in the money. I was made redundant from my job and my partner is now retired with ii-health, funds are running low. I must tell you though that anything I make as one-offs will not be as cheap as off-the-shelf stuff in the shops.”

“That’s understandable, quality clothes always carry a price. I need a full-length dramatic cocktail dress and I want a confirmation dress for my daughter, can you manage those.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem depending on the exact style you want, when I was growing up I worked with my mum who was a seamstress and I’ve made up most styles. Pick some photos from a magazine or on-line shop that you like, send them to me and I will suggest the best one for you, and quote you a price. What about you Carol?”

“I will need a formal suit for work later on in the year, I always need to look professional when I am meeting my major clients. For the moment, I would just like a couple of dresses taken in a bit, all the visits to the gym are causing the weight to drop off me.”

“That’s fine Carol, bring them round and we’ll do a fitting.”

That was the start of word-of-mouth recommendations to their friends and colleagues and I was soon working flat out as a seamstress and dressmaker. As the clients were comfortable dealing with me as a woman I felt it necessary to continue to work and live as Jen, which was now becoming the normal for me. As Sue had suggested I no longer considered myself be a man in a skirt, and just went about my daily business as naturally as any other woman, however I was soon to get a rude awakening.

One morning I received a letter which carried the return address of ‘Chambers and Kirkpatrick’ the legal firm of which Samantha and her father were partners. Nervously I opened the envelope and unfolded the letter inside.

‘Dear Mr(?) Taylor,
I write on behalf of our client, Ms Samantha Kirkpatrick, formerly Taylor. Following her discovery of your penchant for wearing female clothes and presenting yourself as a woman, which obviously came as a shock to her, coupled with her gross distaste for such activities, we inform you that we have commenced presenting a petition for divorce on the grounds of your unreasonable and unacceptable behaviour. Our client was originally prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt and accept that this was not a frequent occurrence. However on at least two occasions when she intended to discuss things with you, she saw you welcoming visitors to your home, fully dressed and groomed as a woman, and on other occasions when you were out in public shopping, all of which in the company of other apparent women , if not people who share your tendencies.

It is obvious therefore that you are continuing with this unacceptable behaviour and this gives her no hope for a reconciliation between you. We will write again in due course regarding our proposals for the terms of the divorce and any associated financial settlements.Please note that our client has now reverted to her maiden name, Kirkpatrick, all correspondence to her is to use that title and should be through your solicitor, she does not wish to have any further personal contact with you

Yours faithfully,
James Kirkpatrick
Partner

I sat there in a daze brooding on the hard-heartedness of Samantha and her father, wondering how to deal with the situation. I felt the need to share my concerns and called Sue and Polly inviting them over.

“Hi girls, I thought that things were going along too well, but I received this letter this morning which has really upset things.”

“Oh Jen, I would normally say sorry to see that, but in this case I think that you are well shot of Sam and her family. I never mentioned it before as I didn’t want to rock the boat, but I never felt comfortable at the way Sam was always putting you down and telling everyone that she was disappointed that you have never had a career in keeping with her professional status.” Polly came over to give me a sisterly hug.

“Normally it is the wife who has to deal with a rejection and blunt dismissal like that, maybe she was right that you had turned into the wife in your relationship. She was totally in control of your life, your finances and who you visited, other than us two who she probably thought suited your personality and outlook on life and reinforced her opinion of you. She’s a right callous bitch, pardon me for being so blunt.” Sue added.

“Right girl, we need to get this sorted out, the first thing is to get a good solicitor. As they all know each other socially, this is only a small town, it might be best to go into the next town where you should be able to get unprejudiced advice.”

“Thanks for your support girls, I wasn’t sure how you would react, women tend to stick together in situations like this.”

“I know that you haven’t had long to adjust but you must really get it into your head that you look like a woman, dress like a woman, work as a woman, socialise as a woman. Put your past life as a man into your storage memory, you are now to all intents a woman, and need to think of yourself as a woman.That’s precisely why you have our support, as far as we are concerned you are one of our female friends who is being badly treated, and we all have to stick together and support each other. Let me call my friend Monica, she has recently been through a divorce and came out of it surprisingly successfully, let’s find out who acted for her.” Polly offered

“Sounds a good idea, but unless it becomes absolutely necessary when you speak to her , I am Jen, one of your friends, the less people that know about John the better.”

A week later, with Polly supporting me, I arrived at the offices of solicitor Karen Daly tor my appointment o discuss the forthcoming divorce.

“Good morning Jen, it was good to talk to you the other day on the phone, thank you for being open and honest about your situation, it makes my life a lot easier if there are no hidden surprises. Usually I act for the wife in a divorce, but your situation reflects the common position of the wife and I will be taking the same approach that I normally do. I must say that you are not what I was expecting to see, you present totally as a woman, you have obviously been dressing as a woman for some time and I must assume that your wife was aware.”

“Not at all, I first dressed in a skirt a few weeks ago after my wife made cutting remarks emphasising my role as the housewife in our relationship, intending to only to pay her back for her comments. Instead of taking it as a joke back at her, she took it as a disgusting spectacle and made insulting comments before leaving the house in a huff. The next thing I knew was when I received the letter from her solicitor, who also happens to be her father.”

“That is believable but why have you continued to present as a woman, that reinforces any argument from her that you have often done this?”

“I have known Polly and another neighbour Sue for some time and have often socialised with them, which allowed my wife to accuse me of being naturally comfortable with what she sarcastically called ‘girly chats’. They had helped me the first time to dress appropriately, and after that it just seemed the thing to do to continue being Jen with them and has led to me starting a business as a dressmaker.”

“That’s enough background for the moment, let’s get down to brass tacks. I’ve come across both your wife and father-in-law in court and, to be be blunt, neither of them take prisoners. You can expect them to do everything they can to leave you penniless after the divorce settlement. You need to be equally aggressive and show no sympathy or consideration for your wife, if you cannot agree to that we are wasting our time here, divorce settlements are almost a ‘winner-takes-all’ result. Are you happy to proceed on that basis.”

“I was hoping that it could be an amicable compromise, but listening to your advice, we need to be as forceful as possible.”

“There is virtually no chance of an amicable divorce, especially where there is an allegation of sexual impropriety, and I can assure you that they will make the most of your penchant for crossdressing, particularly as it looks like you intend to continue. As soon as you get home, change the passwords for any online apps for your bank accounts, savings, investments etc so that she cannot drain or close the accounts, and then transfer everything into new accounts that she has no knowledge of. If you have a joint account withdraw 50% of it and transfer it to your new account. Finally for the moment please find the deeds to your house, hopefully it is in joint names, if so I will immediately put a lien, a restraint, on the property to prevent her selling it leaving you homeless.”

“Actually I might be lucky, although most of the income has been from her job and she has managed the finances, for tax-avoidance reasons most things are in my name. I‘m not sure about the house though.”

“I’ll contact Chambers and Kirkpatrick to advise them that I am acting on your behalf. Please do not have any further direct contact with them, all correspondence and discussions need to be via me, that includes not accepting any phone calls. Leave everything with me and come to see me in two day’s time.”

“Wow !” Said Polly as they went for a coffee after leaving the office. “She’s a bit of a tiger, I can see why my friend Monica came out of her divorce so well. Let’s get you home and we’ll work through those bank accounts together.”

With the help of Polly, who was much more adept with online accounts than I was, Jen soon had all the accounts transferred or passwords changed. Thanks to the advice from Karen we had got there ahead of Samantha. We had been unable to find the deeds for the house but were able to access the Land Registry Title Register which showed that I was the legal sole owner. A quick email was sent to Karen confirming what we had done, before we relaxed with a glass of wine to celebrate.

Later when we met up with Sue to put her in the picture, she was amazed that Samantha hadn’t got to the bank accounts first, but perhaps she had thought that John had no idea about the family finances. “Well that should let you feel more confident about the future, you know now that you will not be homeless and penniless.You are really adjusting to livings a woman, do you intend to stay as one of us. You seem much happier and it is so much easier for us to relate to you.”

“For the immediate future I probably have to, I’ve got lot’s of clients who only know me as Jen and it’s turning into quite a profitable business. Besides I am quite comfortable dressing and living like this.”

A few days later, I was finishing off a dress for one of my clients when the phone buzzed announcing the arrival of a text message, after opening it I saw that it was from Samantha.

“You scheming money-grabbing bitch, you have stolen most of my hard-earned money that I earned while you were playing at being a tailor, whilst all time were secretly wanting to be a seamstress and dressmaker. You have not heard the last of this, I will be getting my money back from you, if you think that you are going to have a comfortable life as a woman, you can think again.”

I smiled wryly to myself, thankful for Karen’s advice that we got to the bank accounts before Samantha closed them down, which she had obviously tried to do. I forwarded the text to Karen to put it on file as evidence.

The business was really taking off, men’s tailoring may have taken a nosedive, but women’s fashion was as buoyant as ever. I felt that rather than working from home that it would appear more professional if we had more of a public presence. When I found that the shop where Gerald Forsyth had run his business had been bought by a ‘buy-to-rent’ landlord I took on a 2 year lease to test the water as to whether it would be a viable long-term business. The bonus was that the landlord had not cleared out the premises and most of the old fittings and tailoring equipment were still there and would be mine to have or dispose of as I saw fit.

With the help of Polly and Sue the shop was soon cleaned, tidied up, repainted in soothing pastel colours and ‘Jen’s Designs’ opened for business. Sue offered to work part-time as my assistant dealing with the front-of-house attention to customers, letting me concentrate on the dressmaking side. We also branched out into special-occasion dress-hire, with garments I had made myself in a way that could be easily adjusted to give a perfect fit. It was not long before business was so brisk that two more assistants were taken on, Sally to work with Polly front-of-house and Kathy as a seamstress in the workshop with me.

Meanwhile the divorce proceedings were concluded after a lot of acrimonious allegations by Samantha. Thanks to the experience of Karen, I came out of it financially very well, allowing me to plough more cash into the business and open two more outlets in neighbouring towns. As part of the proceedings my background as John was strongly highlighted and criticised by Samantha and I was worried that this would impact on the business. However, on the basis that ‘no publicity is bad publicity’, the press reports of the divorce case actually attracted more customers into the shops. A few months later, I was surprised to see Samantha come into the shop looking at the for-hire evening dresses which I assumed was an excuse to get a good look at me, her ex-husband.

“Hi Samantha, can I help you.” I asked, determined to not let her intimidate me anymore.

“Hello John, I see you are doing well, if you had shown the same drive to be a success when we were together, things might have been different.”

“It’s Jen now, as you know fine well. If you have come here as a customer, I’m happy to help you, but if you’re here just to annoy me, please leave before either of us say something we shouldn’t.”

“I just thought that I would let you know that I am now happy with a real man, rather than the wimpy housekeeper that I lived with for so long. You are more suited now in your new lifestyle than you were before. I am moving out of the area, so you won’t have to face me again, and by the way, my new partner is extremely wealthy and successful, so you won’t be pestered with any more squabbles about money or the house. Enjoy your new life.” With that parting shot she left the shop and was never seen or heard of again, leaving me relieved and happy.

Within only a few months I had transformed from the surrogate housewife persona to being a successful businesswoman, and had started steps to transition to clear all physical traces of John. Although Samantha’s barbed comments had hurt at the time, I have come to realise that it was the kick in the pants that was needed to get my life on the right track.

The end.