PBC HRC Summer Soiree '26 - Society News

We made the Society News!!!

Political Cartoons 8-23-2026

 

    

Your Seventies...

What are you waiting for?

 

Fashion Folklore

As Labor Day approaches is it still acceptable to wear white?

According to History.com: 

 Rooted in both high society exclusivity and seasonal practicality, the old adage banning white after Labor Day has become a lasting piece of American fashion folklore.

Where did the 'No White After Labor Day' rule originate?

Exact origins of the rule are murky, but one popular theory is rooted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when New York’s nouveau riche (the new rich) were jockeying to join the long-established social elite. To guard their status, old-money circles imposed arbitrary fashion rules, including banning white after Labor Day, Marie Claire reports. 

It [was] insiders trying to keep other people out," Valerie Steele, director of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, told Time. "And outsiders trying to climb in by proving they [knew] the rules."

At the time, clothing was associated with summer leisure. The Gilded Age elite summered in areas like Newport, Rhode Island and Southampton, New York, donning seasonal white wardrobes. The wealthy often wore linen suits, breezy dresses and tennis outfits during their coastal vacations.

Labor Day, celebrated on the first Monday of September since Congress made the holiday official in 1894, marked the symbolic end of summer and the time for a wardrobe shift. 

By the mid-20th century, fashion magazines such as Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar reinforced the seasonal shift by featuring fall wardrobes with darker colors. Etiquette experts also chimed in, echoing the idea that white was for summer and darker colors were for fall and winter.

“One theory is that fashion magazines, which were mostly based in northeastern cities, reflected what fashion editors were wearing at the time,” notes Time. 

While many followed the rule, style icons such as designer Coco Chanel, actress Audrey Hepburn and author Tom Wolfe notably defied the rule and wore white in all seasons.

Election Watch / Victory Party

Lois Frankel on Tuesday won the Democratic nomination for U.S. House in Florida's 23rd Congressional District.

Tuesday night (Florida primary election day) I was invited to attend a watch party for US  House Incumbent Louis Frankel.   She had to stand for a prinary due to political re-districting meant to defeat her. She won the primary and will be the Democratic canidate in the November general election. 

Louis is an advocate and frined for the LGBTQ communty and I see her attending and supporting all of our events.  Thank you Louis. You have our support!

This is how the local news media reported the evening: 

Frankel, 78, celebrated Tuesday night's victory with her mother and son [and friends] at Table 26 in West Palm Beach.

Following Tuesday night's primary victory, Frankel spoke with WPTV reporter Kayla McDermott about the general election.

"I think the biggest challenge is making America more affordable. People can't afford their gas, their rent, putting food on the table," Frankel said. "We got to find ways to give people a lift up."

Watch the news report

 

 

Why Men Wear Women's Lingerie

 Welcome to Hourglass Lingerie!

My name is Dawn Mumaw, Co-Founder of Hourglass Lingerie along with my Husband Ken. I am an Hourglass Girl myself so I understand the frustration in finding the right size bra that is fun and comfortable. Hourglass Lingerie was  established in 2011 and is Baltimore's Largest and Best Bra Selection!!

So Why do men Wear Woman's Lingerie?

________________

Men are reaching for women's lingerie now more than ever before, and no longer feeling like they can't talk about it or how it makes them feel. It's a phenomenon that is increasing in numbers and popularity! Men of all walks of life and ages prefer women's lingerie over their own and why not, its soft and sensual. They are wearing it to work, to the gym, or hanging out. You may be surprised in the number of men that are wearing women's panties and that these men aren't necessarily gay or trying to fulfill a fetish, they just love the feel!

You would think that any man wearing women's panties is just fulfilling a kink, however, this is not true! Men wear women's panties for lots of reasons, but mostly to feel pretty and sensual. Here are my top 10 reasons given by my customers!  

1. The need to feel pretty, wearing panties arouses them, which in turn gives them excitement  
   
   
2. Sheer comfort: men's underwear just aren't comfortable to wear, women's panties are soft and delicate on the skin
   
   
3. Women's panties are made from soft cottons and lace, they are light and airy for the male anatomy, alleviating chaffing, sweating and rashes
   
   
4. Women's panties provide soft support for the male anatomy,
   
   
5. Wearing women's panties is sexual an erotic
   
   
6. Cross dressers wear women's panties when they have to look the "norm", if they can't dress feminine at least they can feel pretty and feminine wearing panties
   
   
7. Of course there is the Fetish factor, some men just get aroused and excited in panties
   
   
8. Some men want to experience what it feels like to be a woman and to be "desired" , so wearing panties gets them closer to knowing and understanding
   
   
9. Just the adrenaline rush of knowing they are doing something that is so taboo and forbidden, gets some men excited and that rush makes them feel "alive"
   
   
10.  Straight men in monogamous relations wear panties just to feel closer to their mates

Whatever your reason, we have lots of panties to choose from, so go ahead and make yourself happy!

Crossdressing Men in Lingerie: The New Wave of Feminine Men 

The Measure of A Society...

 

Kansas Put A Bounty on Trans People

 By Ariel KaminerEditor, Opinion

From ACLU: Kansas has not outright outlawed being transgender, but the state passed a restrictive law (Senate Bill 244) in February 2026 that invalidates updated gender markers on identity documents and restricts public bathroom access. The Republican-led legislature overrode Governor Laura Kelly's veto to enact the measure.

M. Gessen, a Times Opinion columnist who recently won the Pulitzer Prize in opinion writing, has reported from war zones and refugee crises around the world. This week they reported from closer to home. Kansas, to be precise.

What brought them there was Senate Bill 244, one of the nation’s most extreme efforts to restrict the rights of transgender people. The law mandates that trans people’s driver’s licenses must be marked with the gender that they were assigned at birth. It bans gender-neutral bathrooms in public buildings. And it empowers Kansans to sue any trans person — for “actual damages or liquidated damages in the amount of $1,000, as well as declaratory and injunctive relief” — if they suspect that person used a bathroom that did not align with their state-designated gender.

The law, M. found, has resulted in a lot of anguish among trans Kansans, some of whom transitioned decades ago — and many of whom are still struggling to navigate the confusing way the rules have been written and enforced. It has also resulted in what one person M. spoke to described as “a state-created refugee crisis,” as people pack up their lives, say goodbye to their friends and co-workers, and move across the state line to Colorado. But if these laws catch on in other parts of the country, is anywhere really safe?

Amid the fear and sadness M., who is trans, also encountered something else: “a kind, loving Kansas where neighbors accept one another and churches offer sanctuary to immigrants and create summer camps for queer kids.” They found two Kansases occupying the same state boundaries at the same time. The question now is which one will prevail, and whether the state’s trans residents will stick it out long enough to find out.

Political Cartoons 8-16-2026

 

I will never...

 

Thank you Mary Ellen - I could not have said it better!

In A Perfect World 2

My blog had 43 view yesterday... Guess no one likes "Elegant Flats".  

Elegant Flats - The Oxymoron?

Could it be? Say It ain't so....  

Getting fashion items form Temu is and hit-or-miss proposition.  I have gotten several off shoulder tops that work, and have received t-shirts that look nothing like what I ordered. Several pairs of shoes have been un-realistically narrow.  

The above pair of sandals / flats are the exception on the excellent side.  Women's Black Flat Sandals

These are elegant and work for casual too.  A shoe I could live in all evening on my feet. Wearing these, I feel like I am cheating on my beloved heels. However, practicality sometimes wins out.  So, can flats be elegant?  

The Women of Transvestia

 

From Pinterest:

My Note: See Femulate for more photos

Thanks to Linda, I recently gained access to 36 back issues of Transvestia published during the time that Virginia Prince was editing the periodical (1960 to 1980). Transvestia was written by its readers and I am fascinated by the first person accounts contained in the magazine. 

Reading them, I realize how some things never change. The women of that era had the same fears and emotions that we have today. Their experiences differed from ours because in that era, society abhorred crossdressing. In most places, you could be arrested for crossdressing. As a result, women were very closeted and only the very brave went out among the civilian population. In addition to the first person accounts, I absolutely adore the photos that accompany the stories. This was the era in which I was developing as a young woman, so I have an affinity for the fashions that the women wear in the photos. They usually are in their "Sunday best" because they are photo shooting with film and likely will only take a few shots, which they will sneak on a roll containing innocuous family photos. Unless they had a darkroom, they had to take the film to a camera shop or drug store to be developed and printed. Therefore, they had to look presentable so as not to arouse the suspicion of any civilians handling the film. By the way, I know one woman who built her own darkroom so she could shoot and print photos of her feminine self to heart's content. I'm sure she was not alone. In honor of the woman of Transvestia, I am posting a selection of their photos here today and in the future. 

I hope you will find their images as wonderful as I do. Audrey from New Jersey, 1961 Ramblin' Barbara from Connecticut, 1961 Carolyn from California, 1961 Members of the Los Angeles "Hose and Heels Club," Carolyn, Nancy, Catheryn and Joan, 1961 Catheryn mobile in California, 1961 Dee Ann from Ohio, 1961 Smokin' Doreen from Massachusetts, 1961 Gail from New York, 1961 Gloria and her twin sister from Pennsylvania, 1961 Jane from Kansas, 1961 (Is that her military portrait hanging on the wall?) Louise from Ohio, 1961 Marilyn from California, 1961 Another California girl, Mary, 1961 New York's Susanna of Casa Susanna fame, 1961 Transvestia cover girl, Terry, 1961 Vicki from New York, 1961 The Rocky Twins, Leif and Paal Roschberg, circa 1928

Any one out there that remembers Transvestia? 

I Want To Be...

 

Pack for An All Weekend Escape - BOHO Stype

 

"Bohemian" BOHO style

According to Wikipedia the "Bohemian" style is this:

Contemporary Bohemian (aka BOHO) fashion includes flowing fabrics, vibrant colors, and natural, woven materials instead of knits. This style draws inspiration from various sources, including the counterculture movements of the 1960s and 1970s, reminiscent of the attire worn by attendees of the inaugural Woodstock music festival.

For travel I have never tried this. So many times traveling my bag will not even fit in the overhead storage. Now that checked bags have gotten so expensive, let's be innivated. Add / wear the ogligatory jeans jacket for the flight and we are set for the weekend. Your jewlery, you wear and add sneakers for gate-to-gate hike. 

You will look so "with it". Both the top and skirt are cotten and will travel well in a carry-on.  Mixing and matching there are four outfits from casual to dressy.      

The top and skirt would be dressy for the evening's dinner plus the ballet flats or Espridrills.  I wore this to the Colony and a nice resterant just this past week.  

All for the pieces are Temu and value / quaily tested. The whole weekend look is under $100.  An added benefit and you will have enough left for dinner, maybe. 

 

Political Cartoons 8-9-2026

 

THE FIXER'S IN

Senate Confirms Todd Blanche As Attorney General Despite All His Corruption

Be You...

 

The Man Shirt - Feminine Differential

 Not Exactally 

LightInTheBox

"Women's Blouse" Buttons Print Plaid Stylish Casual Long Sleeve Shirt Collar Long Tops Daily Blue Black Pink Red Navy Blue Spring Fall 2026 - $21.99

Shania Twain said it best: Man! I Feel Like A Woman!

Why Are You Dressed Like A Girl?

 And Look So Good!

The caption Norman Rockwell never wrote.

When Was the Last Time For You?

 

Good Day For A Ride - Thumbs Up

All American Biker Girl - Well that is what the tee-shirts says...

 This past Saturday in the morning before it got so hot. The guy taking the phot at the Harley store insisted on the thumbs-up.  

How to Present Today?

Androgynous?

Androgynous?
Yes.

Not a days goes by without me asking that question. Sometimes pre-determined. However, at my stage of life and freedom, I play with many feminie options.  I discuss on this blog the "Feminibne Differentials", which present a menu of option; some just a little feminine or mostly all femine in look.

Please note - This is not crossdressing. it is living/being in my/your reality. 

My purpose is not to confuse or attract attention, but to be confortable and repersent myself to be nothing more that what I appear to be; myself. Let the observer determine. 

How about your thought process on choosing your daily presentation? 

___________________

The TheRealB decribe it this way:

The Power of Gender Neutral Outfits: Celebrating Diversity and Inclusivity 

Androgynous?
No.

 Androgynous fashion embraces a diverse range of styles, allowing individuals to express themselves authentically. Gender-fluid clothing is characterized by its versatility, simplicity, and minimalist designs. It often features clean lines, neutral colors, and a focus on tailoring that transcends gender norms. Androgynous outfits, with their androgunous style and androgynous look, can include tailored suits, oversized blazers, button-down shirts, trousers, androgynous dresses, and gender-neutral accessories. By blurring the boundaries between traditionally masculine and feminine aesthetics, androgynous fashion opens up a world of possibilities for personal expression.

The Rise of Androgynous Clothing Brands

With the growing demand for androgynous clothes, numerous fashion brands have emerged, dedicated to providing gender-neutral outfits for individuals seeking authentic self-expression. These androgynous clothing brands are at the forefront of the movement, offering a wide range of androgynous clothing styles and catering to diverse needs.

Gender-neutral dress is a significant component of androgynous fashion. These outfits embrace the idea of blurring the lines of gender identity, allowing individuals to express themselves without conforming to traditional gender roles. Gender-neutral outfits promote a sense of inclusivity and diversity, encouraging people to celebrate their unique identities. By embracing gender-neutral fashion, individuals can foster a more accepting society and challenge the stereotypes associated with gender.

Androgynous fashion is a powerful force reshaping the landscape of the fashion industry and challenging traditional gender norms. It provides a platform for individuals to express their authentic selves, blurring the lines of gender identity and promoting inclusivity. As this movement gains momentum, it is essential to celebrate the diverse range of androgynous clothing styles and the brands that champion this cause.

Political Cartoons 8-2-2026

 

Life Is Good... Happy Girlfriends Day

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