My cousin has told me about your website and thought you might be interested in my story, so here goes.

Like my cousin I was made to wear an apron as a boy, and was expected to do a certain amount of housework. My mother, who was a former housekeeper, expected a very high standard of domestic work, and I very soon learned to do things thoroughly and not to rush, as she always said she knew exactly how long a particular job should take, and not doing it properly would only mean
getting the cane or lines, and having to do it again . I think this set me up in life, as anything I do now I always do properly. On Sundays after lunch it was my job to clear away, wash up and clean the kitchen until it was spotless, and when this was done I had to stand hands behind back facing the sink until Mother came in to inspect it. She could be very critical, and expected my apron to be clean and neatly tied but was usually very pleased, because I took my work very seriously and over the years found it very satisfying.

In the early days I used to hate it when we had visitors as Mother would often say, and sometimes in front of them, 'Go and slip on a pinny, Patrick'. I soon learnt that 'Put on a pinny' meant put on your pinny, or I would probably end up standing in the corner facing the wall for an hour or so, which always seemed to provide much amusement to our guests. I don’t know if any of your readers have ever been punished in this juvenile way, but an hour seems an incredibly long time and very humiliating when you are on display to anyone who might call, but it certainly taught me obedience.

When I left school I went to work in an insurance company office, where I stayed for five years, but I couldn’t wait to get home each night to wear my pinafore and do my housework - both of which I hated as a child, but by now become enthusiastically conditioned
to. I have had several girlfriends but they usually don’t stay around long once they see me in an apron, and I am not prepared to hide it because it always makes me feel comfortable and relaxed, and frankly undressed without it, and as Mother always says, ' Wear your apron with pride'.

I was soon to be made redundant after the company closed our local branch, and as my late father had left us fairly comfortably off  I asked Mother if I could stay at home now to look after the house, and after much persuasion she agreed, but was not prepared to have me laying around, and I would have to treat it as a proper job with set hours. So that is what happened, and I wear an apron now all the time, I start at 8.30 and finish at 5.00 in theory, but I’m effectively a pinafored housemaid and on call all the time, but it’s a big house and I take great pride in keeping it spotless. I really enjoy silly things like when a neighbour drops in for a cup of tea, and we all sit round in our pinnies chatting, and I am accepted for what I am. I love to answer the door and be seen in an apron and I still stand in front of the sink after cleaning the kitchen and wait for inspection, and Mother always laughs and says 'You really don’t have to do that now, and you’re a bit too old for the cane', but old habits die hard, and anyway she is still not adverse to giving me a few hundred lines to write if something upsets her.

If we ever go out visiting I always have my apron with me, and it's always me who does the washing up afterwards, and if I didn’t I am sure Mother would not be backward in asking our hosts to lend me an apron and in offering them my services. I do tend to be on top of things nowdays, so Mother sent me to clean two mornings each week for two elderly sisters round the corner who were very impressed with my work, and they have made me several very smart over the shoulder pinafores with long ties, which I can tie into a lovely big bow with long trailing strings which I love to wear.. On several occasions their niece had been visiting while I have been working and she always made nice comments on how pretty my pinafores are, and how nice the house is looking, so after being egged on by her aunts I invited her to tea, but she told me that apron-wearing men were not really her thing, although if I were perhaps to wear a dress she might be able to come to terms with it.

I did discuss it with Mother but we both felt it was a step too far. As it is I do wear fairly feminine tops, side-zip slacks and shoes, but at least I can go out in the street to the baker's van, or pop round to my other job round the corner wearing my apron. It sometimes turns a few heads or causes a giggle or two, but most people round here know me and don’t give it a second thought. If I go further I like to show just the smallest bit of the hem of my apron under my coat, or sometimes leave the front of my coat undone, which often provokes a little smile and I do know that one of our neigbours has told Mother that her husband has announced that he would like to start wearing an apron so perhaps it's catching. I do hope that I might meet a lady one day who can accept me for what I am, and one thing's for sure: she won't ever need to do any housework!

Patrick D.

I too hope that you can find a suitable mate - I can't understand why more women are not interested in men who have had pinafore training in the home. If the niece is accepting of full petticoating then I think that it is something that you should definitely consider. She sounds very sweet.

I am sure it is 'catching', and that there are many males who are envious of you, as this neighbour's hubby has shown.
Susan