Dear Susan,

I am a long-time fan of  PDM. I am also now a great admirer of Christeen's simply superb posters. May I, through the courtesy of
your General Correspondence section, address this message to Christeen:

Dear Christeen,

Thank you very much for your most inspiring posters, which gives many of us crude males a chance to escape briefly from drab masculinity into a lovely refined feminine world of rustling silks and satins, gorgeous dresses, and pretty girls.

How I envy Aunt Julia's nephew! What sheer bliss to be taken firmly in hand by her, and dressed  to her exacting and fastidious standards. And how can one possibly avoid being consumed by  jelous envy of those fortunate ones that she enrols at Mademoiselle's Young Ladies' Finishing School for Boys, learning to be pretty, and especially envious of non-compliant Chris, who is to remain in their training custody for a further year.

More and more please, dear Christeen.
Gratefully yours,
John

Christeen will be delighted; she loves to hear from her fans. Her ultra-feminine wonders are something to behold, and she handles the gorgeous feminine fabrics brilliantly in her delightful illustrations, which have a very dedicated following amongst PDQ's readership.

Dear Susan,

There was a recent Ebay auction item of a pair of Mary Jane style T bar shoes, in red and brown leather. They were described, by a mother, as being worn by a little boy (toddler age). Because the strap come slightly towards the ankle this was said to make them less girly-looking. Despite this, the seller admitted they were actually little girls' shoes, and that she was looking for a larger pair - also for her son! She also said they were her favourite shoes for her son.

This clearly suggests signs of petticoat discipline and a strict mother. The son has no say in what he wears. She does not mention his age, but he could be about four years old.She has obviously decided to put her little boy in little girls' shoes for a number of years. Having looked on Ebay and doing a search for girls' shoes, the ones I am writing about are very similar to shoes from Clarks, which are clearly described as little girls' shoes.
Alan

The style of shoe that you describe is very pretty, especially if made of mirror-bright patent leather. They were worn by little boys, usually with short white socks, up until about 1930. The Buster Brown shoe company sold shoes of this style for both sexes.

Since the War they have in general only been worn by girls, and so are very effective for petticoat discipline. Party-perfect Mary Jane shoes, with lacy ruffled socks, would make any boy very contrite and well-behaved.

Dear Susan,

I do enjoy reading all the letters on your site and I am looking forward to next issue. One thing puzzles me and that is how can you force a man into a maids uniform. I refer to Lesley's story about Penelope, I have read all her letters and can't seam to believe that a male would do as she says. I don't think it would work with me. I would like to hear what Lesley has to say and to the chance to see this for myself. I look forward to next chapter.
Richard

Well, I bet Lesley would like to get her hands on you, Richard! Males may be physically stronger than females, but that doesn't count for much, although males do make good rugby union players. Petticoat discipline is partly the intellectual and persuasive power of women and girls, and partly a product of the attraction between the sexes - once a woman has got her worshipping partner into frilly underwear and skirts and aprons then he is only too eager to be the submissive partner and to do her bidding. And, as I have many times pointed out, that is to the benefit of both parties. I bet you would find it overwhelming too.

Dear Susan,

I wonder if any of your readers' waists require a large size? With a waist in excess of 50 inches to cater for,  and a 1960’s outlook on girls clothing [at my school, the knickers were navy-blue and definitely regulation], may I offer some advice as to underwear?

While 'cross dresser' suppliers do a stirling job, I feel that garments are more ‘real’ if they have been made with a female in mind.
Unfortunately, as far as knickers and panties today are concerned a woman’s cut tends to be too narrow in the gusset, and wide in the leg for the petticoated male, and the larger the male, the more pronounced this gets.

The excellent article by Jane, ‘A Treatise on Knickers’ vol. 2, no. 8, shows the way.  The Celanese panties [not the directoire knickers] sold by ‘Woods of Morecombe’ go up to size 26. The cuff leg on these wonderful silky garments is joined end to end, and merely needs a small buttonhole to be cut [and stitched] on the inside of each. Elastic can then be threaded for a snug fit. I would also advise making a similar hole in the waistband. The waist elastic is a little loose, and can be replaced with something slightly stronger or a second reinforcing strand of elastic similar to the leg can be added.

The panties start out with short legs, and don’t really feel that silky. After a couple of wearings and washings, especially with fabric conditioner, they become slippery soft and the shape actually seems to change to a large, wide gusset brief, not unlike the shape of the school knicker of the mid 60’s.

The size 24 panties will cope with a waist up to 50 inches; size 26 will accommodate at least up to 54 inches. They seem to be able to be hot water dyed without falling apart, pastel shades working the best.

As for regulation knickers, plain white interlock cotton panties are available from ‘Woods’, but don’t seem big enough for a waist greater than 50 inches. ‘Damart’ used to sell panties in interlock cotton size 32/34 and above, big enough for 54 inch + waists, but have now alas stopped this line. I haven’t tracked down another source yet. The cuff leg of these panties is not sewed end to end, and the join needs to be unpicked before they are dyed to the colour of choice. The cuffs can then be re-sewn, end to end, and a buttonhole opening inserted for replaceable elastic as before.

A couple of quiet winter evenings sitting sewing by the fire, suitably dressed and strictly supervised, will do the job nicely!
Yours sincerely,
Bobby.

Thank you very much for that advice, Bobby. I think that quite a few readers do find trouble obtaining soft and silky undies in their waist size, so please keep us informed of further discoveries.

Miss Susan,

I really enjoy your periodical on petticoat discipline.  I also visited the site 'Real Women Don't Do Housework'.  This site, combined with yours and A.K. Remenko's suggestions for hypnosis in 'Adult Hypnotic Wishes', are the submissive husband's ideal fantasy.

I hope my wife does not read this, or those, sites.
Breeanna

Well I hope that she does - it sounds like a firm regime of domestic petticoating would suit you down to the ground. Please draw her attention to 'Petticoat Discipline Quarterly' - only good can come of it.

Susan,

I wanted to write to you because I am very excited! My girlfriend/female mentor is having a tea party this weekend - she has invited a
number of her friends over for a traditional English tea party. I have bought a beautiful powder-blue dress with matching shoulder sweater, new shoes, a purse, and even a pretty hat. the dress is knee length with a little flare to the skirt...I love it.

My mentor has been bragging to her friends what a lady I have turned into, so much that they all want to see for themselves. I am excited and very nervous. She says that they are going to treat me as just one of the girls and to relax about it all. This is most exciting for me. I had to share it with someone. i though who better than you.

Anyways it is this weekend and weather is suppose to be beautiful. We are hoping to serve tea outside in the garden if it is warm enough. I am glad I got the sweater. Well I have to run many things still yet to prepare. Hope all is well.
Good day,
Miss Korri Elizabeth Lane

It sounds like a lace trimmed silk slip would be the right thing under your dress. And black nylon stockings would be rather daring, and would contrast well with the powder-blue frock. I hope you didn't spill any cucumber sandwich, or jam and cream, on your dress. Please write me a note for the Christmas Annual telling us how it all went.

Dear Susan,

Firstly, may I compliment you on a brilliant site. I never imagined there were men and women who shared the same interest
and passion as myself. The letters on "The Joys of Domestic Servitude" and "A Treatise on Knickers" were nothing short of inspirational.

For quite a number of years I have longed to be in a relationship similar to the ones described in the above. Being able to relate to the author of "The Joys" inspired me to purchase my very first pair of Directoire bloomers. What an absolute joy they are! I would like to extend my "domestics" wardrobe further, but need some advice on suitable garments. I had in mind perhaps stockings, but am unsure of the type, also would you recommend a suspender belt, and if so what type, or a girdle?

Your help advice and guidance would be very much appreciated
Yours most sincerely,
Penny

I would definitely recommend a full length girdle with suspenders attached. Your bloomers will modestly cover the gap between the tops of the stockings and the girdle.

Dear Susan,

We lived in Oregon in the 50s, and one year my sister and myself were sent off to the Oregon coast to stay for the summer. My aunt  had one girl, so that put three woman in the house, and me the only boy. After the first week every one thought I should dress as a girl too.

I was ten, and when my aunt had me dressed me in a dress she gave me a hair styling, and permed my hair. That way I looked just like the girls. I was scared to go out of the house, and was told if I did not play outside I would be dressed as a baby. I went along with it. By the end of the summer I had a girls' swimwear tan and did not even think about going anywhere without the girls, who were my protectors.

My wife now has had me be her French maid, and I cook and clean the house for her. I never look back on that summer in a bad way - on the contrary, I think that was my most fun summer, and I managed to be such a good girl with no one ever knowing I was a boy. I even had a bus pass with my girl's name on it, thanks to my dear aunt.
Rhonda

It sounds like you had a perfect introduction to the special bliss of petticoating, and that it has lasted your whole life. I bet your wife is grateful to your aunt for being instrumental in making you such a good husband.

Dear Susan,

I am sure that many of your readers would be delighted to discover the site vintagevixen, which has an enormous stock of every type of
ladies' wear at reasonable and affordable prices, and a very helpful site manager 'Beth' . You may remember I asked about taffeta slips - these can also be found, in abundance with other beautiful period originals, at vintageslips.

Sorry for not putting in a proper link for each, but they will soon be traced if the names are put into Google's search engine.
Respectfully,
Elizabeth

They are excellent sites! You might even find some frilly gussies there (see Letter 11). Have a look at these pretty bloomer pants, with a pastel rose design, at vintagevixen:

I think I will have to add these sites to the 'Links' page.

Dear Susan,

I do hope that this mail finds you well. I am a little concerned as I was expecting to see the Autumn issue of PDQ a few weeks ago, and it has not appeared. I do hope that this does not indicate that you are experiencing a recurrence of some of the problems that put you out of action last year.

The late summer and autumn weather in the UK has been such that I have had to wait for the opportunity to try out your suggestion of making Penelope carry the ladies' umbrella that I had bought for the purpose.  However last week, at last, a suitably showery Saturday came along, so off we went, much to Penelope's discomfort. This was increased when I insisted he put up the brolly when a few spots appeared, which would not normally have necessitated its use. His face almost matched the purple and pink pastel shades of the perkily ruffled ladies' umbrella, and he certainly drew some very inquisitive glances from passers-by, particularly as his was the only umbrella in use in such a light drizzle! Thanks for an excellent suggestion!

Another event occurred a few weeks ago which surprised and delighted me.  Whilst browsing in one of the local charity shops (I'm always on the lookout for bargain purchases that might be useful for Penelope) I became aware that another lady shopper and the two assistants were looking through some hats, apparently for someone in the changing cubicle. I could not understand why they appeared so amused, whilst doing this, until I overheard a comment to the effect that "Yes, that should go nicely with HIS dress!"

As you can imagine, my ears pricked up! Confirmation came when an enquiry through the cubicle curtain as to whether the dress fitted was responded to in definite male tones. I hung around, trying to be unobstrusive, until, eventually, looking very embarrassed, a man appeared from the cubicle wearing a long, floral summer dress. The lady, apparently his wife, and the two assistants fussed around him, making teasing comments about how good he looked, and deciding which hat completed the outfit best.

He looked extremely uncomfortable, and was clearly in a great hurry to get back into the cubicle. From the conversation it appeared that he was being dressed for some fancy dress occasion, but from his whole demeanour it was obvious he was pretty reluctant about the situation, and I couldn't help but wonder whether the lady was in fact "one of us". Unfortunately she spent the few minutes whilst he changed in conversation with the shop assistants, and I never got the opportunity to engage her in conversation. She might well have been another PDQ reader! Intriguing, don't you think?

As I said earlier, Susan, I do hope all is well at "petticoated.com HQ". I await the next edition with my normal anticipation.
My very best wishes,
Lesley

Very intriguing! She may well have been 'one of us', as you say. Things are well at the Works in Grimsby, although some of the staff seem to have the Christmas bash at the Millfields Hotel more on their minds than the preparation of the current issue.