Introducing our Eye Candy of the Month: Liz Summers
This months Eye Candy Girl is someone we’ve had an eye on for a long time. She has an amazing and highly regarded blog called My Weekend Shoes where she shares her tales while offering advice to her fellow girls. We really enjoyed getting to know her better and we know you will too. So without further ado, say hello to Liz Summers.
Hi Liz. Thanks for taking the time to talk with us. Let’s start off by letting everyone know where you are from?
I’m from London (in the UK!), originally, but I ended up moving to the US after I finished uni (that’s “college” for all of you US readers), and have lived here ever since!
When did you first start dressing and how did it come about?
“Start” is a tricky word – I feel like the urge has always existed, and I have lots of memories going back at least to when I was 6 having considerations around gender, what it means, and how unfair it was to not be allowed a My Little Pony, or knowing it would be peculiar if I’d actually tried on a neighbor kid’s skirt when she offered it to me. It definitely became more of a consistent urge around 13 or 14, but I didn’t actually buy anything until after I got my first debit
card around 17.
How did you come up with your Femme name?
Liz Summers: A combination of two women! Liz: From Queen Elizabeth II – A friend of mine jokingly called me Queen Elizabeth once when I was dressed up, and it stuck in my mind. As for “Summers” that came about when I tried to create a Facebook account, and it demanded I have a real last name. I went back and forth a bit but settled on Summers after Buffy Summers, the badass Vampire Slayer we all know and love.
Are you married/in a relationship? If yes, are you able to share your female self with your partner?
Yes! Married for about twelve years now, and she’s always known and been supportive of my feminine side. She’s basically the best thing ever. I was always open with my dressing with people who were close to me, so long before we ever got romantically involved, she was aware
and supportive, and remains the best thing in my life 🙂
How often do you dress?
At peak, I used to dress about once a week. These days though, I find that I have much less time, so I’m trying to squeeze time in for it about once a month. I am currently behind on this goal! It got more difficult to squeeze in Liz time after my wife and I had a kid, plus I switched into a management role at work which is definitely more stressful than what I was doing before. A combination of both of those ends up as more stress, less time, which makes it difficult to find the time and energy to dress, but I try and plan around it and find the time where I can!
What are some of your favorite outfits/fashions?
Really anything A-line. Fit and Flare dresses are my jam and anything that’s classically feminine without going over the top. I’m trying to put together a library of separates that I can use to pick/choose/mix/match, and that’s coming along nicely! But a dress that works for your body will always be my go-to, to the point where I’m a little afraid to wear this one dress I have because I’m starting to feel like people think it’s all I’ve got!
Stockings or pantyhose?
Do I have to choose?! Stockings for picture taking! But pantyhose for the day-to-day. It’s flattering, you can wear shorter skirts, AND it stops my thighs rubbing together because I walk a LOT and have some muscular thighs. Hello, ladies!
Heels or flats?
Heels, definitely. After some searching around, you can find heels that you can walk in comfortably. It can take some effort, but so long as you’re not going for super skinny 6-inch stilettos, you’ll probably be fine with some practice. Heels are fun to walk in, super feminine, and
I love the clicky sound. Plus I like towering over people a bit! It makes me feel tough.
Favorite places to go when dressed?
My main destination is work, really, which is maybe a bit boring, but my partying days are more than over. Usually, when I’m dressed up, it’s at the office, and then maybe at a bar afterwards with my friends. Other than that, it’s either at home or in a hotel room where I’m attempting to do a photoshoot!
Go to accessories for a night out
A statement necklace, designer handbag, a girlfriend to hit the bathroom with.
Who is/are your female role model(s) and why?
Dana Scully – smart and capable, won’t take your shit. Ellen Ripley -she’ll kick your ass if you get in her way. Luna Lovegood: she’s a wackadoo, and she owns it.
Tell us about your blog Myweekendshoes.com. How did it come about? What are some of your favorite experiences while writing or researching your posts?
I decided to start my blog primarily because there were so few good resources back when I started it. Particularly ones where I felt like I connected with the author. I always wondered, where are the people like me? One day I decided that if no one else is going to be that
resource for people, then maybe I can be the one. I wonder how different things would have been when I was younger if I had someone further along the road to tell me that things would be fine, that I wasn’t a monster, but that I was deserving of love and happiness, and
this thing that I carry with me isn’t inherently bad, or a curse, but just another facet of humanity.
A lot of what I write about are things that are very personal to me – important experiences, or things I’ve thought a lot about and feel strongly about. And then some photoshoots, because I think we all have a deep desire to be validated when presenting ourselves, particularly
when we try so hard at it and put effort into it! I hope my writing has been a force for good in the world, if only in some small measure. I hope people have found their own hope in those words I’ve written. Because things aren’t all bad 🙂
Tell us some things we may not know about you. What are your hobbies (either when dressed or not), likes, things you do in your spare time or anything else you would like to share about yourself.
I got into lock-picking a couple of years ago, and have done some workshops at work to teach people some basic skills! I used to play guitar a LOT, but that’s tricky these days. I like to find random programming projects when I have some spare time – nothing super fancy, a website here, a game there, a proof of concept for something – I don’t code for my job anymore, but it’s fun and I like to keep my skills up! I have a tattoo of Ariel (From The Little Mermaid) on my forearm. She’s the best Disney princess.
Any stories you would like to share about yourself and your journey?
99% of my time out in public, I have positive experiences. I’ve had one person deliberately cut in front of me and stare me down while I was waiting for the women’s bathroom, and I had one creepy dude poke me weirdly with his elbow before following me off a train and ask me to get coffee with him. Other than that, everyone has been *lovely*. One of the best things I ever did was open up and be honest about who I am – everyone in my life knows about this now: my parents, my friends, my employer. And everyone’s fine with it. I’m lucky enough that I’m surrounded by love and acceptance, even when I thought that might not be the case. Use your own judgment, but maybe you are too. Also, one time when I was dressed up, I threw up on a train. Certainly not my proudest moment, and I still feel pretty guilty about it.
If you have social media, what is the best way for others to follow you?
Instagram is probably your best bet (https://instagram.com/myweekendshoes/).
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/myweekendshoes) is good too 🙂 Twitter works as well (http://twitter.com/myweekendshoes) but I rarely post there, because Twitter sucks. THERE, I SAID IT!
If you would like to send a message out there to your fellow girls or a closing statement.
The best things in life take work, and sometimes a little bravery. Life begins outside your comfort zone, so take those baby steps and fight for what you want, even if the person you’re fighting is yourself.
Thanks so much Liz and we look forward to seeing more from you and your amazing blog! To learn more about Liz and to see what she is up to, be sure to follow her blog Myweekendshoes.com.
For more Eye Candy, head over to our blog and enjoy! If you would like to be an Eye Candy Girl, email us at glambmarketing@gmail.com or by messaging us on our Facebook Page.