Dress - General Information

These items will be addressed primarily to those who are new to general public exposure, but are intended to be helpful and informative to all audiences.

This particular page will discuss some general dress issues and information.


Our people have a very wide range of personal dress styles, and personal likes and dislikes.

Yes, for quite a few of our attendees, the opportunity to dress is the primary reason for attending DLV, and, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Our activities are held in a wide variety of venues, some which will be "safer" than the well-known TG conventions and rooms used for support group meetings, to those which will be wide-open general public settings.

For almost all activities, either mode of dress (boymode or girlmode) is perfectly fine. Any exceptions to this will be rare and very clearly noted.

We don't have many hard and fast "dress codes" for DLV, but some general dress guidelines for the event as a whole, and specific dress suggestions for each activity. The general guidelines are available HERE on the web.

This basically says that for any DLV activity you are expected to make a conscientious attempt to dress in a presentable manner, in good taste, and in a manner appropriate for that activity.

We have a number of casual activities, and quite a few more dressy ones where it's perfectly fine to dress up a bit, or quite a bit, if you choose to do so.

And yes, for those of you who want to put on the dog or dress in a manner that's a bit far out, yes, there will be activities where that is perfectly appropriate, even encouraged.


DLV Overview:

As you most likely know by now, DLV is a sequence of activities of all types, and there's no one-style-fits-all type of outfit.

When you select an outfit for any DLV activity, consider all of the following:

  1. Your personal style, your likes and dislikes, your comfort level, your mood at the time.

  2. Your age, height, weight, body type, and fitness level.

  3. The time, place, and circumstance of the activity, and what is usual and customary to wear to such an activity.

In general, very casual to moderately dressy attire, either boymode or girlmode, will be fine for almost all DLV activities.

Casual dress is required for some general-public activities, such as shopping and side trips.

Certain types of dress will be encouraged for some of the activities, but there will be a lot of slack in what's acceptable in almost all cases.

One very important item to note:

The one hard and fast rule that will be enforced at the upcoming DLV is that for "mainstream" (general public) activities, dress must be age-appropriate, size-appropriate, and occasion-appropriate.

These activities will be clearly noted as "This is a mainstream activity" on the final schedule.

As we head down the road toward DLV, we'll be giving some specific dress guidelines and suggestions as we feature the activities in these mailings.

We'll also further discuss various casual and dressy looks and how they can be created and used.


How not to dress for DLV:

First of all, if you're concerned about inadvertently dressing improperly, don't worry, honest mistakes and oversights can always be excused, and can be expected to happen in a group of our size. If you're trying to dress and act appropriately, you will be fine!

Costumes, obvious mixed-mode, "skag drag", incomplete outfits, and obvious out of place outfits are only allowed for specially designated activities.

There are a few common mistakes often made by those in the t* community who are new to public exposure, most of which are unintentional.

Common Blunders:

  • Overdressing, meaning wearing an outfit that is conspicuously more dressy than what's usual and customary. This is very common in the TG community. Those who are overdressed in Las Vegas will most certainly stand out and attract unwanted attention, particularly during the daytime.

  • Dressing one generation behind. Many of our community seem to like to dress in the styles that were popular during their teenage years. This might work for a retro party, but for general public, no.

  • Dressing one generation ahead. Someone in her 40's looks grossly out of place dressing as a teenager. Enough said on this one.

  • Not considering size, height, weight, and fitness level in selecting an outfit.

  • Being TOO natural! Unless you are youthful and have no facial hair and flawless skin, yes you need at least SOME makeup. Likewise, the average male body does need at least *SOME* padding and/or control to assume a feminine figure. This is covered in detail in another item in this series.

Wardrobe planning is also a personal thing with many variations.

Some really don't plan, but just throw things into a suitcase and take off. Others plan their outfits in excruciating detail for each activity, using a spreadsheet, listing all accessories, etc. Still others bring everything and anything, pushing the limits of airline baggage allowances, even ground-shipping some items.

We will cover wardrobe planning, packing tips, and outfit selection in some detail in future mailings.


Our activity features, which will be posted weekly with some exceptions in the DLV Discussion Forum, will also contain specific dress suggestions for that particular activity.

Detailed dress suggestions for each activity will be summarized in the Large Final Mailing which will come out shortly before DLV.

If you have any questions or concerns about dress, please bring these up at the DLV Discussion Forum.

If you would rather not post your concern in a public forum, you may e-mail dlv@geekbabe.com and one of our volunteer Big Sisters will get back to you.


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