A lot of people take HRT while still boymoding, sometimes for years. The same people are also often firmly convinced they do not pass at all when they clearly look like girls already. You can get away with this for half a year or even longer, that happens, but i've been asked in the workplace if i'm trans months before i even got on hormones and i'm not alone in that. It tends to show that we aren't dudes.

I feel that i also have to warn you that actively hiding who you are is an extremely draining, painful way of life. A good friend of mine is out in every context except to her parents, while still living in the same house as them, and having to go into boymode every time she goes home is incredibly taxing for her. Like, she's coming back from the bathroom in her old clothes and without her makeup and with a beanie instead of her whig and she just looks dead inside, that sparkle in her eyes all gone, slouched over and beaten, it's so awful to see her like that. I don't know your workplace situation and can't judge how safe coming out is for you, and that's for you to decide anyway, but do not underestimate how much staying closeted will fuck with you in the long run. Have a plan B for when you reach the point where it becomes unbearable, because it most likely will get to that point.

However oblivious you think cis people are, you're underestimating. You absolutely can do that for a long time, and it's very common.

I would recommend against binding, though, because it can interfere with breast development (assuming that you want that development ofc). It wouldn't even be a concern for a while anyway though- I'm on 1.5 years HRT and my tits are only just starting to get big enough that I would even have to consider that if I wanted to hide them, and if I DID want to hide them my clothing choices might be enough to do that. And I'm led to believe my tits are growing faster/more than average.

The real limit here is how long you actually WANT to stay closeted. I planned to boymode for a long time (I had a wedding planned for 8 months after I started and I was even considering boymoding for that), but once I started transition in earnest I found I really couldn't stand being closeted. And I say this as someone who presents pretty masc by choice!

You can totally boymode at work, it takes a while to get breast growth. Binding while they're growing probably isn't good for long term size and shape etc. Your breasts will probably be small enough to not need binding for a while anyway.

I wasn't on HRT but I boymoded at work for years until I couldn't take it anymore. That entire time still feels like a blur, do not recommend. I quit and that gave me the push to just be out, I've never been happier.

I've been taking hrt for six years and i'm out everywhere I go but I still boymode cause its just easier a lot of the time and i'm comfy in jeans and a tshirt. even with tits people still routinely id me as a guy, and I dont think there's any malice most of the time, I just think it's how I read. it's been years and I've made peace with it mostly, it can still hurt but for the most part i'm comfy and I know who I am, what other people think of me isnt important. (it used to be)

cards on the table my partner once described me as a very serious dyke and i'm pretty certain I was just always copying butches

Incredibly common, in my experience. Most present masc until it begins to become hard to hide and people who matter already know. I even know transfemmes who never stopped presenting masc or present masc for work/family/religion etc.

For some of them it just kind of tipped over into butch at some point though and I don't have the heart to tell them why they're suddenly getting better dating odds.

It's what I've been doing since I started estrogen two months ago, remember noone can dictate how you transition but you.

Yes. Depending on how big ypu get you can go months hiding the girls with sports bras.