With these two fundamentally different outlooks it is no wonder at times that men and women don't seem to understand each other. In The Girls In Their Summer Dresses, Michael appreciates women. In part, he admits to lusting after them, but not to the extreme that his wife would assume. Frances on the other hand doesn't seem to understand that Michael loves her and that is different than the semi-feelings of lust he may harbor for the women he watches. In this situation, Frances cannot see the difference between love and lust but Michael seems to have a firm grasp on the two definitions in his own reality.
Using the story to reference, Frances, almost foreshadowing her feelings, expresses early on that for the day she wants her husband to talk only to her and listen only to her. Later we see that her version of love seems to be exclusive of all other women, even just looking. She shows her attentiveness to her husband by suggesting they go to the museum, something Michael mentioned earlier in the week. She makes an effort to outline a date with her husband that they will both appreciate and in this way they can exclusively share their love for the day. Michael seems content to spend the day with his wife even though he has a wandering eye. .
At first Frances does find this funny until she begins to question his love for her. Michael sees his actions as though it were as harmless as viewing ornaments in a Christmas shop, he may want them but that doesn't mean he is buying them. He tells her that he appreciates things about each of them and finds them all beautiful. Frances takes this personally thinking she is not as beautiful as the others. She believes that this isn't just looking and that one day he may do more than just look. She reminds him that he looked at her like that the first time they met. Since their relationship is that of love, Frances assumes that the look that started it all is of love.