?Bikinis in the supermarket

Enough to put anybody off their shopping!! Plus, unless bodies are toned, tanned and enviable - not a pretty sight. Hope nobody has the idea of mankinis a la Borat either Ugh emoticon

Years ago, in Hawaii, we were very entertained by the notices in shops and restaurants 'No shoes, no shirt, no service!'.

The people most likely to strip off seem to be the ones who should stay covered up! Men with big beer bellies hanging over their waist bands, with lobster coloured bodies and white hairy legs. Women wearing crop tops with flabby muffin tops - don't these people look in a mirror before they leave home!

The people most likely to strip off seem to be the ones who should stay covered up! Men with big beer bellies hanging over their waist bands, with lobster coloured bodies and white hairy legs. Women wearing crop tops with flabby muffin tops - don't these people look in a mirror before they leave home!

How did that happen? Didn't mean to post twice!

Definitely not unreasonable! They could have easily popped a dress or long tunic over the bikinis and worn flip flops. Surely they wouldn't go shopping in just their underwear, so why should a bikini be considered to be ok?

I have seen people shopping in their pyjamas in my local Tesco - in the colder weather, I must add. At least they were covered up.

They do go shopping in their nightclothes, though! And how can you now tell the difference between a petticoat or camisole and daywear?

It is normal practice in the Spanish town we lived in for the girls on the customer service desk to request that customers wear a t-shirt and cover up,they would offer a shirt to everyone who came in in bikini-top or shirtless the only people who ever had any complaints where the English.

Totally out of order to expect to go into stores and restaurants barefoot and in a bikini.

Somehow even worse when UK tourists (sorry but it is usually UK tourists) do so in very traditional areas abroad- be it in Spain or in Morrocco, where people are very religious in a traditional way and cover up. Sadly it gives the British a very bad reputation - especially when going on tours to the hinterland and mountain villages.

I've no objection to bare feet. They won't be dirtier than shoes. But I wouldn't be keen on minimal clothing in a supermarket.

¿¿Maybe this is why so many supermarkets make their air-conditioning so fierce and cold??

In Antalya airport in Turkey I saw a 40-something man wearing nothing but scruffy, baggy drawstring shorts, that were hanging off a hairy beer belly, and flip-flops.

It goes without saying what nationality he was. I don't want to put our chaps down but I have NEVER seen any other nationality dress like this, particularly in a passport queue.

This issue has made me remember something my mum said many years ago when leggings first became fashionable (during the eighties, was it?). I think I said that I thought they didn't look attractive on some people because bulges that might be skimmed over by looser trousers or skirts had one's eye drawn to them! In short, they could be inelegant.

She agreed but she said it was sort of pleasing that women were beginning to show, perhaps, that they weren't going to be embarassed by their bodies. I wonder if that's what's going on with supermarket shopping in one's beach wear? Maybe people who do it just aren't embarassed by nakedness.

I think bare feet are acceptable, especially in hot weather.

As one whose toe was broken in March (and has only just healed) by someone ramming their trolley into me, I wouldn't advise anyone to shop in bare feet! My sturdy shoes must have given me a bit of protection but even so it's taken months for the shattered bone to heal.

For me it's not about whether people are embarrassed or not about their bodies more a sense of appropriateness. Dare I use the word ... decorum.

There's nothing wrong with pyjamas, slippers and hair rollers but should you wear them on a regular basis to do the school run, weekly shop, pick up a packet of fags?

Beachwear if the shop is near the beach or pool seems OK to me but there is somehow a dividing line you shouldn't cross and most reasonable people know where that is, I think.

Many of us would happily tootle around the back garden in minimal clothes, even with the possibility of a neighbour catching a glimpse, but how many would do the same in the front garden?

Am I a prude

No, that is how I feel also .

Mind you we were in the south of france many years ago , at Cape D"Agdee and happened to stumble into a supermarket that served a nudist colony .

That was a sight for eyes , I can tell you . We laughed to ouselves so much . Nipped out double quick. Bit of a i can tell you .

Nonu
They should still have had the courtesy to cover up surely?

With what, Ella? A bag of frozen peas or a baguette or two?

I don't think there are any 'shoulds' about it for non-formal settings. Personally, I prefer decorum too, even in casual settings, but I'm not everybody. In a formal setting (work, school) I think decorum of attire can and should be expected, though I've been shocked when visiting schools to teach Hearstart procedures just how much boob female teachers are willing to show nowadays. In casual settings I don't think casualness, or even sloppiness matters.

I suppose people on beach holidays are just relaxing, letting it all hang out, so to speak. I'd rather they didn't, but who am I to judge? Nakedness is not intrinsically offensive. Is ugliness? Is it ugliness we're really objecting to?

ELLA, NO they just blanked us.

VEG. Frozen peas might have been a bit chilly with no clothes on!!!!!!

I've never been comfortable showing a lot of leg, or cleavage (even when I was a much younger thinner person). I'm more comfortable wearing skirts and t-shirts or blouses that skim, rather than cling. And if that makes me a prude, I'm fine with that.

NOODLES .

I think it all depends on the context. When travelling in Southern India, which is inherently conservative, I have always considered local sensibilities and worn loose fitting, long sleeved outfits that also covered my legs. This means you are treated with the respect you are showing.
However, in the more popular tourist areas it is not uncommon to see Europeans dressed as for the beach. They do not seem to realise they are not at home!

Nonu the nudists might have been affronted by your clothed-ness

As I said, it's all about decorum and what's appropriate!