- I
was not prepared.
- I'm honestly terrified.
- It is what it is.
- Cringe
worthy.
(soft upbeat music)
- Hi guys.
My name is Abia Ailleen.
- Hi my name is Shane Stinson.
- Hey I'm Asia.
- I'm Juliana.
And today we are going to be wearing bodycon dresses
for the entire day.
- My style is very quire.
It is eccentric and colorful
with just a cherry of damper on top.
I have not
worn a dress in over
12 years.
As a trans man,
it's always made me feel uncomfortable to wear a dress
but I've been medically transitioning
for about seven years now.
- Can't remember the last time I have worn a bodycon dress.
This pandemic has really deterred me from doing that.
I'm gonna see if I find anything
that I would be willing to wear.
- I would describe my style as pretty eclectic and colorful.
I like a lot of pattern.
I don't do fitted.
And part of that is because
I'm not sure I would like the shape on me.
And part of it is I feel like
it doesn't fit into my personal style.
Like when I think of bodycon, I think of that kind of like
neutral colored Kardashian look
and I feel like that's not me.
- Bodycon dresses are never on my radar.
Anytime I've been shopping for like going out
which fun fact I haven't really gone out
in the past like two or three years.
Bodycon dresses can be intimidating
because like in the photos,
it's normally girls with like really big boobs
or really nice butt.
- Now, what I am doing is shopping.
- Body
con
dress.
I'ma put plus size on there as well.
Oh, okay.
I am just now realizing,
you know what I have signed up for.
- I'm trying to find one that's like kind of casual
but at least not like nightclub looking.
This one I actually like
because it has the tie in the front
so I can kind of cheat it.
- So I think I'm gonna get this blue dress.
It looks sophisticated,
not too revealing which is important to me.
- This is exactly a Shane Stinson type of dress.
How do I even start thinking about sizing?
Clothing that is more stereotypically feminine.
I have to go up a size.
So usually like a 2X.
- You know what, sometimes I'm like afraid
of like being roasted.
Someone telling me I look like a big ass Cheetos
or something. (cat mewing)
This looks stretchy.
I'm gonna go for this.
- The dress is
here.
- I'm honestly terrified.
- It's very bold, very like artist.
I hope this will fit.
- It looks a little too big,
but you never know.
It seems very sheer, very costume material
I wanna say.
That's not scary at all
but I do like the color.
- It is tight but there is some give
and I immediately have a wedgie and I was like,
"Hmm, should I just like not wear underwear today?" (beep)
- Was not prepared.
I was not prepared
about how cute this was going to look.
Look at how cute
this is.
This pattern
and surprisingly,
I don't feel nearly as dysphoric
as I thought I was going to.
That is just such a testament to how much work I have done
on feeling at home in my body and loving my body
and the gift of being able to transition medically.
It just shows how much I can really embrace that
clothing has no gender.
- It is pretty see-through.
The tie not making not a bodycon dress.
It is very see-through..
- Not too revealing, which I like.
But I will say this looks like something my mom would wear
if she had
some type of PTA meeting after work.
- Because I am incredibly lame
I searched cool aesthetic makeup on Pinterest.
And they gave me their day to do cut crease.
So I have this little cropped cardigan on now.
'Cause I feel like this is cute
and doesn't cover up like my midsection.
- Paired this dress with one of my favorite pieces
of my closet, which is a velvet blue blazer
and borrowed these wonderful earrings for my fiance.
And they just matched this dress perfectly.
Then I topped things off of the beret
and gave myself some black boots as well.
(cat mewing) And as a transgender man,
who is plus-size,
if you ever told me
that I would have a bodycon dress in my wardrobe,
I would have told you, you were fibbing.
But
look at me
now.
I am here for this outfit.
- My old woman's side part matches my old woman dress
'cause apparently
gen Z hates side parts.
- I do feel mad cute in this dress. (laughs)
I'm not gonna fret.
♪ This is so weird to me. ♪
♪ This is so weird to me ♪
(laughs) (beep)
- I'm gonna take some pictures on my block,
in front of people, not in my house and not in my yard.
And we'll see if I get more used to it.
I'm kind of used to it but I have the urge to cover up.
So, I'm gonna try to fight that.
- I'm gonna go and show my fiance how it looks.
Let's see, let's go over this way.
- Oh my goodness!
- You like it? - Yes.
Oh oh. - I love you too, you see?
- Yes.
My baby. (laughs)
- [Indistinct] - This is different.
This is nice.
Like I haven't seen your shape besides
you being in like hoodies and like long pants so, (clicking)
- I'm about to go to the grocery store with my roommate
so we will test it out.
Successful grocery run.
Nobody complimented me but nobody insulted either.
So that's good.
- I just left the gas station
the place that I was dreading the most to go
for obvious reasons.
Cringe
worthy.
- I do feel like I look good in this so...
There is a boost of confidence in that
but I would feel that way even if I was wearing like
a really fly like bomber jacket or something,
you know what I mean?
In the future for like events or parties or any occasion
in which I would need to be dressed up
I might consider looking at bodycon dresses.
- I actually did like it a lot more than I thought I would.
It's really fitted but I kind of got used to that over time.
I might have to try bodycon more often.
I might be a convert.
- At the end of the day,
this definitely inspires me to just wear dresses more often.
I feel like this gave me a good place to start.
- Definitely be adding this bodycon dress to my wardrobe.
And I think it's gonna be a very sentimental
and monumental piece
and I will definitely be wearing it again.
This experience really reminded me
that I should never let society's expectations
of what is masculine or what is feminine
or what men are supposed to wear,
what women are supposed to wear.
I should never let those ideas
and those thoughts limit me from expressing myself
in the ways that bring me freedom
and in the ways that make me feel empowered in my identity
and in my body.
Wear whatever you want wear.
Wear what makes you feel powerful.
Wear what makes you feel at home
in your identity and in your body and in your expression.
(upbeat music)