“It’s a lovely dress.” Janine complimented, before informing the viewers that his hair and make-up are both immaculate, and adding that he also wears a pair of patent black court shoes with a modest three inch heel and thin nude tights.
“They’re actually stockings.” Denise added. “Proper ones, not hold-ups.”
“Now… I can’t imagine you doing the housework in such a nice frock.” Janine the presenter stated.
“No.” Robert bashfully replied. “This is how I’d dress for dinner.” he said, before describing his housekeeping attire which consists of a plain frock and apron.
“What colour?”
“Well the apron’s white and I have a few housekeeping frocks; black, grey, duck-egg and burgundy.” Robert replied.
“Do you have a favourite?”
“Not really… they’re practical clothes.” Robert replied, before saying that he’s not keen on the duck-egg frock because it feels like something a dental nurse might wear.
“And heels… do you find those practical for housework?”
“I didn’t to begin with but like all things, one soon becomes accustomed to them.”
“You mentioned setting your hair.”
“Err, yes…” Robert replied. “I think that’s the biggest learning curve I’ve had since becoming a househusband…”
“It was quite a hurdle wasn’t it?” his wife interjected. “My grandmother, who was a traditional housewife, always told me that one must tend to themselves before they can tend to the home.” she explained. “But things have changed so much since my grandmother’s day… women are the workers and men tend to stay at home these days. But there’s still the stigma that housework is woman’s work and we all know the mantra….”
“Woman’s work means woman’s wear.” Janine and Denise said in unison, before proudly chuckling.
After seeing his wife off to work, Robert spends a good hour putting his hair in rollers and applying his make-up before getting on with his chores and doing the grocery shopping. “At first I felt very self conscious leaving the house wearing rollers and a hairnet, but people can think what they like… I want to look nice when Denise gets home from work and Denise likes me looking my best.” Robert explained.

“Do you envy other househusbands who don’t have to go through the daily rigmarole of doing their hair and make-up?” Janine asked, adding “…it must be a bit of a chore.”
“Life is full of chores.” Robert chuckled. “But yes, at first I really did resent it. My hair wasn’t long enough to do much with so it was just learning to apply my make-up properly, and getting used to wearing a frock and heels.”
“It helped you focus though.” his wife interjected. “Before I put you in a frock you were constantly chasing your tail, trying to keep on top of everything but once he was dressed the part and we revised his cleaning rota, things really fell into place.”
“Hmm.” Robert agreed. “Obviously I was dead against wearing a frock. Domestic dresses aren’t very flattering but they do focus the mind… the sooner I’ve completed my chores the sooner I could take it off.” he said.