Man Concerned That His Girlfriend Dresses Like A Fairy-Tale Princess — And Asked Her To ‘Tone It Down’
Was it really her problem, or was it his?
Ironika / Shutterstock Most people have something that they would change about their partner if given the chance. However, when these things start to take over your thoughts, they can ruin a relationship.
One man experienced this for himself ten years ago.
A man was worried because his girlfriend dressed like a princess straight out of a fairy tale.
Recently, a man updated his nearly ten-year-old Reddit post. In it, he described a situation with his girlfriend that was making him feel awkward.
“I have been with my girlfriend for about five months,” he wrote years ago. “We’ve been casual friends since college but only began dating after she graduated. We get along really well.”
There was just one problem — at least, it was a problem for him. “She dresses like a sort of fairy-tale princess on a near daily basis, excluding at work,” he said. “Long, frilly skirts, lacey blouses, things like that. It works for her because she is very pretty and can pull it off. At first, I found it to be very endearing, but then I became aware of how much time she spends on her outfits.”
It turned out that the woman spent a lot of time on her outfits, or at least devoted to fashion. “She runs a blog that has a sizeable amount of followers, and she is constantly posting outfit pictures, links to clothing items, and whatnot. She spends a few hours a day on her blog, at least,” he explained. Then, she spends time sewing items for new outfits or for her Etsy store.”
The man was upset because his girlfriend garnered quite a few strange looks while they were out and even had little girls who liked her outfits approach her at times. It was all too high-profile for him.
Photo: John Ray Ebora / Pexels
The strange thing was that the man claimed his reasoning for wanting his girlfriend to dress differently was that he “[loved] her just the way she is.” He felt she didn’t need such fancy things to showcase her beauty.
One commenter had some interesting thoughts about what the man said. “If you love her the way she is, why do you want her to change? Just curious.”
The man’s explanation sounded a bit flimsy. “She doesn’t need all the frilly stuff; she’d still look like a princess,” he said. “And it’s one thing for an artsy college student to dress alternatively, but she’s a 23-year-old woman now. I feel like her clothing masks how smart she is and makes her appear shallow.”
Although this man struggled to understand his girlfriend’s main hobby, it would have been better for him to embrace it and learn more. According to marriage and family therapist Sara Stanizai, “Showing up for your partner, doing the things we don’t want to do just because we care about this person, is a sign of flexibility and the ability to compromise.”
Just 11 days later, the man had an update to share.
It wasn’t long before the man had news to share with Redditors who had taken an interest in his plight.
“I realized from my last post that I needed to be more supportive but also communicate on how she could dress down on certain occasions so we could both be comfortable. Well, I never got a chance to talk to her about it,” he said.
His girlfriend broke up with him, citing their differences and his controlling behavior, which he denied.
Photo: Midory Pho / Pexels
Fortunately, everyone in this story still had a happy ending.
After finding access to his Reddit account in an old email, this man couldn’t resist giving everyone an update nearly ten years later.
The man now has a wife and daughter. “I learned my lesson about supporting my significant other’s hobbies,” he said.
His ex-girlfriend, who he is still friends with on social media, also found love, and she and her partner dress uniquely together.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news, and human interest topics.