Whether we do so intentionally or not, many of us use clothing and makeup to express ourselves every single day. When a person transitions their gender, that notion of self-expression takes on an even deeper meaning.

For Stella Sacco , finding clothing and building her wardrobe felt daunting when she first came out as transgender in November 2017.

I know there are people who can really pull off wearing clothing for their authentic gender right away, she told HuffPost. But just like cis women, trans women are all different. We all have different body shapes. Some of us are traditionally feminine to start and some of us are not. Im 61 and shaped like a carrot.

Finding comfort and confidence, then, was somewhat of a challenge in the beginning. Sacco, 32, had her first experience shopping publicly in the womens department when a friend and his wife gave her an H&M gift card to kickstart her new wardrobe. She recalled the experience as daunting but powerful.

That first time I picked out an outfit for myself felt amazing, she said. Even the feeling of going in and being really stressed out and thinking, Are people judging me because Im in the girls section and people think Im a guy? was hard. But picking out the outfit and being like, this is a full outfit I picked out thats a feeling even now I carry with me every time I go shopping.