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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

DH not happy that I change clothes in the evening

953 replies

DataColour · 05/05/2021 21:34

Not brave enough to put this in AIBU.

I'm sick of DH telling me off for changing into "lounge wear" typically a hoodie and trackie bottoms in the evening. He says I look nice during the day when I am at work ( casual dress code) but in the evening as the kids are going to bed 8-9pm I change out of day clothes. Isn't this normal? He wants me to stay "dressed" till I go to bed (which is what he does). I want to tell him to f off.
He's just stormed out of the house because I'd dare to put a pair of joggers and a hoodie on. I've had enough of his 1950s attitude. It really upsets me.

OP posts:
tmh88 · 06/05/2021 08:52

Me and DP are both in our pjs by half 7 every night! As soon as DS is in bed we get into comfy clothes! I honestly think that’s the norm for most people.

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 06/05/2021 08:54

If I wear Jeans during the day, it goes like this-
Put jeans on at last possible moment before I leave the house.
On returning to the house swap jeans for pj bottoms immediately.
Swap back into jeans when leaving the house becomes necessary.
Change back into pj bottons when home.
Repeat.

Even my comfy jeans (which I wear all day when I have to ) are not something I wear for just being in my home. Cleaning/lounging/working, all easier in PJ bottoms.

swimlittlefishy · 06/05/2021 08:55

Being "comfy" isn't the most important thing in the world. It's also important to wear clothes that your other half likes. My DH has certain clothes that I hate, and I've told him, and he doesn't wear them in front of me any more. Same with me and a particular pair of jeans of mine he dislikes. It's fine! The idea of dressing up to look nice for everyone else, and not for your partner, is a bit sad to me

Your opinion is a lot sad to me. The fact that you can be with someone for years, have children with them, and still expect them to perform for you, to put your opinion of how they look above your own comfort.
Dressing up to look nice for your partner to go out for dinner is a nice thing, dressing up every minute of every day and night for them is fucking mental, and controlling. They aren't your puppet to dress as you like! The notion that you should put on what your husband likes after a day at work is fucking bizarre and should not be entertained.

ilovesushi · 06/05/2021 08:56

My DH puts on the most god awful pair of trackie bottoms in the evenings. They do him absolutely no favours. Don't mind him wearing comfy clothes but these are truly awful. I've not told him not to wear them - but I really want to!

Popcornbetty · 06/05/2021 08:56

'My DH changes in to jeans after work and a hoodie, he only wears joggers for actual jogging.'

I couldn't imagine anything more comfortable and stiff than jeans around the house esp crawling around after my young dc!

Popcornbetty · 06/05/2021 08:57

uncomfortable*

Morgan12 · 06/05/2021 08:57

What a dick.

Hes a weirdo for sitting around in his clothes till bedtime!

I change as soon as I'm through the door. Clothes are uncomfortable to sit around in at home.

Bamburghdoodle · 06/05/2021 08:59

I think there’s more to this and that he’s maybe using the clothes thing to articulate that he feels there’s no ‘effort’ being made somewhere else in the marriage/relationship. Maybe ask him?

ArrrMeHearties · 06/05/2021 09:07

Isn't that what people do when they come home from work? I do and don't we tell our kids to change out their school clothes when they come home from school?

CoolCatTaco · 06/05/2021 09:08

I don't think it's rational to put someone else's idea of what you should wear or how you should be over what you think yourself, especially when it's as shallow as what you are wearing in your own home, in your own downtime. If you think your partner's desire for you to be dressed to their tastes all the time is more important that being comfortable, then you have been conditioned to think that.
There is a massive difference between wanting to look nice for your partner and them trying to make you dress the way they want, like OP's dickhead husband.

Ahwelltoobad · 06/05/2021 09:09

I think it's the covid situation that's getting to him. No control over that, so he exercises control over what he can (or tries to). He might need to see someone about it? I don't think it's as trivial as it first sounds.

That said, I would fancy my husband less if he wore joggers... Not sure I'd ask him to change out of them, but maybe hint?

MrsGulDukat · 06/05/2021 09:10

Present him with a pair of leather pants and a ball gag.

If he wears those then you'll stay "dressed."

Giggorata · 06/05/2021 09:11

@toffeebutterpopcorn

I’d be tempted to wear wedding dress/ball gown in the evenings - which of course means no cooking or housework as you might crack your nail polish or break out into an unladylike swear.
I love the autocorrect at the end! I would certainly break out into an unladylike swear if some dick of a man tried to tell me when to shower or what to wear.

Whatever he imagines most women do or don't do, it is his idealised notion and he needs to realise that he is married to a real person.

And behaving like a standard issue sulking controlling man to get his own way is unacceptable. You're already modifying your behaviour to keep the peace.
What else might he start trying to control? Your freedom of movement? Your contacts with friends and family?
This needs to be firmly put to bed, or else there will be no end to it.

(If, and it's a big if, he listens and shuts up, I might declare an occasional dress for dinner night, where you both dress up to the nines, exaggeratedly so, black or white tie even, and swan about for the evening. But only after this has been resolved)

Isittimenow · 06/05/2021 09:12

My dad would definitely have been like this with my mum but it’s a rare night my husband comes home to find me in anything other than PJs!

GrumpyTerrier · 06/05/2021 09:15

My OH finds me hot no matter what I'm wearing. He even finds me hot in rollers, silcone anti-wrinkle patches on my eyes (he thinks they are funny) and fluffy socks. He doesn't care if I'm in joggers and a hoodie because he knows what is underneath it. Also he fancies all of me, the person, not just as a dressed up trophy of some sort.

I would not accept this OP. It's your home, not a showcase, you deserve to be comfy and if you are happy with comfy clothes then you should wear them.

Flyg · 06/05/2021 09:17

Im in PJ's or loungewear as soon as i know i am home for the night.

Home - to me - is a place to feel truly safe and relaxed and able to be yourself.

CrunchyCarrot · 06/05/2021 09:19

He wants me to stay "dressed" till I go to bed (which is what he does)

This is the nub of the matter. He seems quite controlling and clearly wants you to be what he considers 'attractive' at all times, regardless of your comfort.

Certainly don't give in to his tantrum about it, you are entitled to feel comfortable and relaxed in your own home!

Shinyletsbebadguys · 06/05/2021 09:22

I find it inherently disturbing that a PP equates your clothing with lack of respect in a relationship missing that the level of intimacy in being comfortable to wear comfortable clothing that you wouldn't wear outdoors is a sign of trust.

I keep my day work clothes on (I WFH so its not like I need to wear heels for example but I do dress work smart casual because it keeps my head in work mode ) purely because by the time I have finished dashed to cook and sort out dc (my choice as I would feel like I don't see them) its only a couple of hours before bath and bed for me so I am too lazy to change twice in a couple of hours.

That said DP actually quite likes it on a weekend when I am more casual or put on jogging bottkms because its a me pretty much only he and the DC see. We spent a long time where he saw the "Work shiny " and he understands its quite an intimate trusting thing for him to see the wizard behind the curtain so to speak. Its a genuine sign of respect and love because I allow very few people to get close to me.

If genuinely anyone thinks the world persona should be kept up at home then it begs the question whether they actually want to be near the real unadorned you? I would feel it incredibly disrespectful if DP asked me to keep that persona going because he feels the unadorned un filtered me is disrespectful. That would be a sign the relationship is not real for him.

The day I consider a proper pair of trousers as a sign of respect in my relationship is the day I realise my perspective is completely screwed.

saltychoc · 06/05/2021 09:28

Your 'd'h would hate me - my work wear is sometimes indistinguishable from my loungewear as I work in a very informal work environment.

He sounds horrible to live with.
My home is my sanctuary away from all the shit, I need to feel at ease and at peace there. I couldn't/wouldn't live with someone like him. Never ever.

fdgdfgdfgdfg · 06/05/2021 09:31

I kind of see where you're husband is coming from on this. My OH comes home and is straight into either her PJs or a pair of leggings / scruffy old top. They're not the most attractive on her and it sometimes seems like thats all I see her in, especially over the past year or so.

However, I don't say anything to her, because she's in her own home and is entitled to wear whatever the hell she likes. Besides, I have been known to sit around in my pants on occasion, and turnabout is fair play.

I have mentioned it to her once. We used to go out down the pub or for a nice meal (remember going out? Those were the days!) and she'd look absolutely gorgeous. We'd come home and she'd disappear to the loo and then reappear in her PJs.

I explained that I'd spent a good part of the night looking forward to getting her out of the very nice clothes, and it wasn't quite the same with the same old PJs as every other day. We agreed that she'd not change into her PJs on those occasions (unless sex was off the table for whatever reason), and for my part I wouldn't wait too long to peel her out of her clothes, as she didn't want to be sat on the sofa all dressed up for hours.

OP, to be honest, your husband sounds like a twat, and I'd probably be ditching him. However, if you want to give him one last chance, then explain to him very very clearly that you'll wear whatever you want in your own home, and that if he complains about it again, you're done.

lottiegarbanzo · 06/05/2021 09:31

I think there are two things going on here. One is his controlling tendencies, which sound as though they've been exacerbated by the constraints of lockdown, so lack of control over so many other areas of his life. The most obvious answer to that is for him to recognise that he has a problem, restrain himself and also exercise outside more. It should help dampen his anxiousness.

The other thing is that you and he have different standards (values, ways of life). You could call him old-fashioned and you could look for differences in upbringing. Or both just accept that you have different values and preferences. Perhaps a surprise after all these years. Perhaps you've grown apart.

His standards are normal for my parents' generation, who see being presentable (so available at a moment's notice) during the day and evening, say 9am-9pm, as a sign of decency and a well-ordered life. This is connected to their expectation of a far more face-to-face community and social life than many people live now. The expectation that people would knock on your door in the day or evening and you'd answer. (Canvassing politicians, the milkman or window cleaner seeking payment, salespeople, carol singers, charity collectors, children casually 'calling on' other children etc). Slobbing about in nightwear or something that looks similar, having curtains closed during the day, not answering the door when you were home, would all be considered to indicate illness or a disordered lifestyle.

The habit of changing into loungewear after work is very recent i.e. last 20 years. It goes hand-in-hand with the peculiar-to-Mumsnet habit of refusing to answer your door to unexpected callers.

I wonder if it's all linked to lengthening working hours, as well as the decline of the housewife, so that people live all their public life during the working day, then crawl exhausted into their home-cave, desperate to shut the world out.

fdgdfgdfgdfg · 06/05/2021 09:32

God damnit why no edit function? That "You're" instead of "your" is going to eat at me all day now

beachlife18 · 06/05/2021 09:35

My hubby doesn't have a choice 530 when I finish, lounge wear it is

OneGlamMama · 06/05/2021 09:36

If my husband told me off for wearing loungewear of an evening... I'd honestly divorce him on the spot!
I want to be happy and relaxed in my own home, how controlling!

SomebodyThatIUsedToKnow3 · 06/05/2021 09:36

@DataColour

Together for 21 years. It's the only relationship he's had, but he claims that no other women change out of day clothes before bedtime.
I don't even bother with trackies, it's straight into PJs around 6pm. I guess he's be even more appalled by me.
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