A strange conversation

A surreal moment yesterday morning
Him “wow you look very smart”
Me” Sorry?”
Him; “Your clothes look smart, I liked the combination of colours you are wearing”
Me “Oh well that’s strange because I am wearing old stuff that’s comfortable because I am shifting heavy boxes today”
Him “Well I think you look really good”
Me (thinking) Christ I spend my life trying to dress with a quirky artistic nonchalance which he bitches about and mostly derides. I dress like the frumpy middle aged bint that I am and he likes it, bloody typical.
Me “Thank you”

For as long as I live and breath I will never understand what men want I know my sense of dress is not one that conforms. For work my sister wears suits or smart skirt and twin set. My brief flirtation with pastoral middle management led me down the road to wearing suits which made getting dressed easier but I was never comfortable with the image, sadly it was during this phase that I met Emin so I think he felt slightly conned when I reverted to my old style.
My mother thinks he got off lightly when we met to go round the Couture exhibition she reminisced about my love of having the “real thing” Examples include in no particular order
1. Women’s land army trousers (way more extreme than jodhpurs’)
2. Antique Victorian underwear (worn as outer wear)
3. 1950s house coats belted and worn as a dress
4. Collarless men’s dress shirts (worn with a current boy friend waistcoat)
5. Proper seamed ballet tights with ballet shoes
6. Breton fisherman’s hat
7. My father’s tweed coat (I was a size 12 at the time)
Plus all manner of customised clothes, so yes I think if all I do is wear dresses with trousers or 2 skirts at the same time. He does get off lightly.