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Many years ago I came into possession of a book entitled "The Undergrowth of Literature" by Gillian Freeman, which some years later Susan Macdonald then reviewed in Petticoat Discipline Monthly Vol 3 No 2. My interest in the book, obviously replicated by Susan, was the chapter dealing with petticoat discipline in fiction. Ms Freeman quoted short excerpts from several books and magazines, including some brief extracts that I found particularly fascinating from a story entitled "My Strangest Customer". The story appeared, from these extracts, to be very much to my tastes, being an account of a husband undergoing petticoating and humiliation at the hands of his wife as a punishment for causing financial problems by reckless spending. Unfortunately, over many years I have never managed to track down the full story which regrettably Ms Freeman did not attribute it in her article. So fascinated have I become that I decided that, with input from Penelope, I would endeavour to construct the story myself from the little hints of style and content provided by Gillian Freeman. Here, with respect to the original author, is my attempt to capture how the full story might have looked. I now run a successful, and, though I say so myself, rather exclusive, Ladies' Outfitters shop in a small and wealthy country town some distance from London. However, like all businesses, we started small and things were often a struggle in those early days. That is one reason why I have particularly fond memories of one particular customer who appeared in my shop one morning soon after we started trading and is, to this day, one of the most lucrative I ever had - and certainly by far the strangest. In those early days my partner and I had invested pretty much all we had in stocking our new shop. We had set out with the aim of being able to supply just about anything a lady would need for her wardrobe from underwear to raincoats, what would be called today "a one-stop shop", hence our calling the business "Over and Under". Customers were not that frequent in those early days so I was very pleased to see a smartly-dressed and fairly obviously well-to-do lady enter the shop that morning. I would describe her, I suppose, as "formidable". Tall and well-preserved, with striking blonde hair she rather put me in mind of a more sophisticated version of the popular film personality of the time, Diana Dors. It occurred to me that I had seen her before, browsing the racks the previous day, which I took as a good sign that she had seen something worth her coming back for. I stepped forward to greet her politely and asked if there was anything with which I could help her. "Well, having looked around yesterday I think you can supply me with everything I need, but I have a rather unusual request and I'm not sure you'd feel able to help me. You see I'm looking for several outfits for my husband and I don't know what your attitude would be to clothing a man". I was perplexed. I indicated our stock, "I don't see how I can help really, as you can see we can supply almost anything for a lady but I'm afraid we don't carry any men's clothing at all" She smiled "I'm afraid I didn't make myself clear, it's ladies clothing I want for him - quite a lot of it in fact". I'm sure I must have looked completely stunned. "I'd better explain" she went on. I listened in silence and growing disbelief as she continued. "This is my second husband. We've been married a couple of years and I'm afraid that I've always half-suspected that part of the reason he married me was for my money. He works in my business and I make him a generous monthly allowance. However he has grossly overspent, mainly on gambling but on other things as well I suspect and got himself into huge debts with some fairly nasty people. So, we've come to an arrangement, well, he had no choice really. I've paid off all his debts but in order to pay me back he's got to help me make some savings in our budget. One saving is that I've got rid of my maid and cleaner and he will be taking on those duties. He's going to experience something which I believe is called "petticoat discipline". He will be suitably attired for these positions and therefore will not be tempted to leave the house getting himself into trouble. I would think in about 6 months I'll have saved enough on domestic salaries to cover his debts that I've had to pay. So that's where you come in, if you're happy to get involved, you seem to have absolutely everything I'm looking for and I'm prepared to pay well for this er, slightly unusual commission, after all I will just be adding your bill to his debt, so he might have to spend even longer in his new role to pay me off". I was by now highly intrigued and beginning to realise that this could be a very nice sale indeed. "Yes I think we could do that" I answered, "when would you like to bring him in?" She then surprised me again "He's here now" she answered, leading me to the shop door and indicating an open-topped red sports car parked across the street. I almost had to rub my eyes in disbelief. There in the open-topped sports car he say, scrunched down to make himself look as small as possible. He was wearing a brightly-coloured printed silk dress and a headscarf on his head, dark glasses and heavy foundation, big earrings and bold lipstick. I couldn't help laughing aloud at this incredible sight. I tried to stifle my amusement and began to apologise. "Don't be silly, dear" chuckled my new customer, "I want everyone who sees him to have a good laugh at his expense, humiliation is going to be an important part of his punishment, I don't want him to forget this lesson in a hurry. Shall I fetch him in?" I readily agreed, this was going to be quite a day! As if to emphasise her point, she opened the shop door and stepping outside beckoned her husband to enter, quite audibly calling "Richard, come along, we can get you everything you need here"! Under the astonished (and amused) gaze of a couple of women who happened to be passing the petticoated man struggled out of the car in his tight dress and tottered uncertainly in his heels across the pavement as he tried desperately to quickly gain the sanctuary of the shop, where his ordeal was to begin! As he stood before us I couldn't believe just how abject and subservient he appeared. Eyes downcast, blushing bright red, shifting anxiously from foot to foot, all the time looking around in absolute terror of further exposure, it was obvious that a dose of "petticoat discipline" was working admirably. "Right, let's get started" said my customer, brusquely, "As you can see, what he's wearing, which is basically my cast-offs, don't fit that well, largely because the lazy so and so's carrying too much weight. That'll change, but meanwhile he's going to need a couple of nice firm corselettes to get him into shape. I noticed you have some nice ones over here, let's get him into one of those and then we can fit his dresses properly". The poor man looked stunned and was clearly on the point of protest when his wife grabbed him firmly by the arm and dragged him, tottering helplessly in his heels, towards my fitting room "Get in there and get stripped off to your knickers while we choose your pretty corselette, I'll be in to help you into it n a moment". He looked at her beseechingly for a moment before entering the cubicle, but clearly realised the lady was not about to take no for an answer! As he was undressing she asked my advice about a nice firm corselette that would not be too restrictive to impede him working. We quickly selected a nice pale pink Triumph in a 40C, which she had already ascertained was his size. She smiled wickedly, "Yes, he's certainly going to know he's wearing this" she chuckled as she entered the cubicle. After some amusing sounds of struggle she emerged, saying to him as she left, "Get your stockings done up properly and get out here so that we can choose the rest of your outfit" and, as he obviously started to protest, "don't argue or I'll leave you here like this"! She turned to me, "Yes, that's perfect, I'll take two of those, now he'll need some nice petticoats, plain black skirts, white blouses and pinnies and for his maid duties". Even I was quite taken aback as she insisted that he emerge from the comparative safety of the changing cubicle and stood, obviously absolutely petrified, before us clad only in the corselette, stockings and a pair of frilly white knickers. "Now stand still whilst this lady measures you" she said firmly, nodding to me. Producing my tape I proceeded, to his obvious exquisite embarrassment, to take rather intimate measurements! Now closely observing him I could see that he was a rather handsome, well-built man who would certainly be attractive to many women and I began to understand part of the motivation for his punishment - not many women were going to take him seriously by the time this admirable wife was finished with him! Having selected a nice white satin slip in his size with pretty lace at the bust and hem he was ordered to try it on. Gratefully he slunk back in to the cubicle as we looked through my stock for suitable items for his maid duties. "How is he doing as a maid?" I enquired as I directed her to some suitable black skirts. "The house has never looked cleaner" she chuckled "and he's becoming an excellent laundress. He's learned to take up hems now and sew a little. I enjoy making him do little feminine tasks" I was really starting to see the attraction of a male housemaid! She soon had him trying on a plain straight black skirt which as he was quite tall finished an inch or two above his knees. However when I commented that it was perhaps a little on the short side for him the lady, who had by now introduced herself as Marilyn Cole, just smiled and said that it would help ensure that he learned to walk and sit correctly if he was to minimise his embarrassment. "He wouldn't want people teasing him because his slip was showing would he?" she laughed. We next moved on to the blouse section where she selected a nice plain short sleeved white cotton blouse and a more formal satin long-sleeved blouse with lacy frills at the collar and cuffs. She had him try on the short-sleeved garment first and then the frillier version. As she appeared undecided I suggested that there were possibly occasions when one would be more suitable than the other. She agreed that this was probably the case and said she would take two of each - this was really becoming a very nice order! There he stood before us, a picture of subjection, in his black stockings, short black skirt and frilly white blouse, all he needed to complete his "uniform" was a nice pinny and that's where we went next. I kept pinnies, for which there was not a great demand, in drawers behind the counter so he was forced to follow us to the front of the shop whilst his wife made her selection. This of course meant that he was more or less in clear view of anyone passing the shop front and I could see him cringing and trying to stay behind one of the dress racks but his wife was of course not about to show any mercy and insisted he stepped forward as she tied a cute little frilly waitress pinny round him and knotted it firmly. Somehow this final confirmation of servility seemed to crush him completely and I could see the beginnings of a tear in his eyes as he stood before us, with his wife fussily arranging the frills of his pinny and blouse as she didn't want her maid looking untidy. As luck would have it, at the very moment that he stood there in maximum exposure two ladies came in to look around. They were astonished, and highly amused at this man in a maid's uniform who they almost had to step around to get into the shop. Their amusement rapidly turned to hilarity as in response to their enquiry as to whether he was being fitted out for a fancy dress party Mrs Cole happily told them of the real reason, that he was being "petticoat punished" and was to become her housemaid. They were delighted and eventually after making their purchase, (I can't remember what, but do remember that his wife insisted he stand there "on display" whilst I served them) left congratulating Mrs Cole warmly on her excellent idea and saying their husbands had better watch out or they'd be experiencing something of the same! Even now Mrs Cole was not finished with her "punishment binge". She looked thoughtfully at her cowering husband. "Right, I think that'll do for his formal duties but I think we need something for cleaning and dirtier jobs, we can't have him getting his nice skirts and blouses in a mess can we? Did I see you had some overalls in stock?" Of course I was only too glad to direct her to the few that we had on a rack hidden away at the back of the shop. He was soon trying on a pink check nylon overall that came with a belt which really made it look more like a dress, which I guess was part of the attraction to her as she pronounced herself well pleased with his appearance. The pastel pink of the overall (again rather short on his tall male body) contrasted prettily with his black stockings. She was delighted when I pointed out that matching headsquares were available and soon had one on him which actually made him look quite cute! His face by now was a lot pinker than his uniform! We found him another of the same in his size in lemon yellow, again with matching headwear which Mrs Cole then said she thought completed his workwear. After adding several pairs of black stockings and six pairs of knickers, three plain and three satin and frilled ("depending on what mood I'm in" she chuckled) she then mortified him even more with her next comment "He'd better have something for outdoors, in case it rains when I send him on an errand" she said thoughtfully. At this he looked even more petrified and actually started to protest but was quickly silenced when she told him brusquely to "keep quiet or you'll be going home on the bus from here dressed as you are are!". He was soon subjecting meekly and tearfully to being put into a cute clear PVC cape in a very fetching pale mauve shade that I had to admit looked just right with his pink overall. He was just putty in the hands of his totally dominant wife, who was clearly really going to enjoy turning the screw on her errant young husband at every opportunity! "That's just perfect" she giggled "you'll go home like that and then you'll be ready to start work immediately, I've got quite a list of jobs for you". So we came to add up all her purchases. As I said before it was a marvellous sale for me, totalling over £300, a vast sum in those days. As we talked I asked her what she planned to do with him when the punishment period expired. She smiled "Expires? That will take some time I think." He winced as she looked at him "I think he's going to have to carry on being a maid at weekends, after all there will still be the payments to be made on this car, which makes an excellent showcase for an errant husband don't you think?" I couldn't have agreed more heartily. Even so many years later I often think of that astonishing day, my lasting memory of her leading him by the hand as he tottered across the road with her back to the sports car in his pretty cape, pink overall and headscarf, followed by astonished and amused looks from passers by. That single day set up my business for some time as I was able to buy new stock and undertake some advertising. I never saw them again, though to my pleasant surprise I received a Christmas Card from Mrs Cole that year containing a photograph of Richard busily cleaning in his pink uniform, his petticoat clearly visible as he stretched to do the dusting! The accompanying greeting said that "Life has never been better" and I quite believed it! Lesley Thank you so much Lesley for bring this delightful story to our readers. Helga |