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Style & beauty

What is it with British men in hot weather?

(180 Posts)
Casdon Wed 18-Jun-25 18:47:14

I was driving through town this afternoon, and as the traffic was queueing, I noticed what everybody was wearing on this beautiful sunny day. Most women looked smart, and as if they had dressed for the weather, but oh dear, the men. Some with no tops and their belly over their trousers, some with too tight nylon sports tops, some with what looked like their football shorts on with a long sleeved shirt. Suit wearers had taken their jackets and ties off, and had their long sleeved shirts loose. I didn’t see even one who looked half decent, no chinos, short sleeved shirts, tailored shorts, polo shirts, or sandals without socks to be seen. I think I live in a male style desert.

Sleepyhead52 Thu 19-Jun-25 16:12:02

Mt61

Esmay

A guy at church is interested in me .
And his apperence really puts me off .
His hair is home cut and greasy .
He looks as though he's growing a beard and then changes his mind .
He also looks as though he gardens all day and sleeps in his gardening clothes .
If he's so unkempt on the outside what would he be like without clothes?!

Improved I should say 😂

The externals can be worked on (at least, with most men!) so it really depends on what you think of his character ... I do tend to judge books by their covers tho, I am so shallow!

Astitchintime Thu 19-Jun-25 16:20:40

Calendargirl

^Real Men Don’t Do Ironing^

Neither do a lot of Real Women either, it seems.

I beg to differ……..my lovely OH did the majority of our ironing this morning and I finished off the remainder. We are both real people and both very capable of ironing so please do not generalise.

Iam64 Thu 19-Jun-25 16:22:14

My husband ironed his own clothes and those of the children. I did my own smile

Norah Thu 19-Jun-25 16:37:28

Iron? What is this item?

AmberGran Thu 19-Jun-25 16:40:41

My DH always ironed his own clothes too grin

semperfidelis Thu 19-Jun-25 17:03:57

What about Spanish men living in Madrid and French men living in Paris? They too are generally more stylish than the Brits. I lived in Madrid in the 1970s and had a peniless Spanish boyfriend. His dad was a tailor and made him beautifully fitted suits, some with waistcoats. He had no other option than to wear them all year round. I'm wondering now whether I should have hung on to him because of his sartorial elegance!

TerriBull Thu 19-Jun-25 17:06:28

We split the ironing now, each doing our own, plus I do the bed linen. When he was working, I did iron his clothes, but he's mega fussy about collars, I do something bad to them, god knows what confused Anyway can't complain he washes up and loads the dishwasher, for which I also have no aptitude for either apparently. Everything has to be rinsed first, which makes me question what the dishwasher is for [confused Oh well we all have our idiosyncrasies s'pose. At least I'm the undisputed cook in our household, he does bow to my superior skills in that respectgrin mainly cos he hasn't any!

Sleepy Thu 19-Jun-25 17:17:11

You can usually assume if a man is smart and wearing modern clean and nicely pressed clothes he has a good wife in background who gives tactful advice and probably buys for him as she is out and about. Most men say ‘’why do I need any new clothes I have lots in wardrobe’’ not realising how dated the colours and collars and fabrics etc change so much they look a bit sad. You can also spot the singles a mile off. Still ladies we keep the shops going and the coffee shops and restaurants etc.

Claremont Thu 19-Jun-25 17:21:13

westendgirl

I think some of you are very judgemental of your own sex. Why comment about varicose veins . ?If you haven't got them , you are very lucky. If they upset you don't look at people's legs.
I do have them , find them embarrassing but I will not wear thick tights in this weather.

I am sorry to hear. And yes, I haven^t got a single one and count myself lucky. But men or women, it is possible to dress for this very hot weather and not hang bellies out- surely. And even varicose veins can be cleverly covered with a longer, flowing dress or longer shorts.

I am overweight and have a bit of a tummy, and wouldn't dream of imposing it on others, hot, very hot or not. Nothing to do with being snobby. Respect for myself, and others. Ooops memory f*rt. what was the name of Madame Bouquet's brother in law, with his singlet? Even he didn't actually allow his beer belly out.

KatyaStrings Thu 19-Jun-25 17:22:23

Well personally I think it’s brilliant that we are a country where anyone can wear whatever they want without being judged. Oh, wait…

25Avalon Thu 19-Jun-25 17:22:45

Wot no knotted white hankies on heads?

hollysteers Thu 19-Jun-25 17:32:38

Claremont

westendgirl

I think some of you are very judgemental of your own sex. Why comment about varicose veins . ?If you haven't got them , you are very lucky. If they upset you don't look at people's legs.
I do have them , find them embarrassing but I will not wear thick tights in this weather.

I am sorry to hear. And yes, I haven^t got a single one and count myself lucky. But men or women, it is possible to dress for this very hot weather and not hang bellies out- surely. And even varicose veins can be cleverly covered with a longer, flowing dress or longer shorts.

I am overweight and have a bit of a tummy, and wouldn't dream of imposing it on others, hot, very hot or not. Nothing to do with being snobby. Respect for myself, and others. Ooops memory f*rt. what was the name of Madame Bouquet's brother in law, with his singlet? Even he didn't actually allow his beer belly out.

Onslow👍

LaCrepescule Thu 19-Jun-25 17:36:37

Topless men in the street is utterly gross. I do find that compared to other European countries the Brits have relatively little class (present company excepted!)

LaCrepescule Thu 19-Jun-25 17:41:45

Ooh just read the post about varicose veins - shame on you Aveline for shaming your sisters 😬

petra Thu 19-Jun-25 17:43:29

TerryBull
Ironing collars. You iron the underneath first. Saddow that I am I actually like ironing shirts.

TerriBull Thu 19-Jun-25 17:57:00

Thanks Petra,for the tip, I've been banished to 'a collar free ironing zone' do I care? Not a lot! I don't have problems with my own, so there is some hope smile

Jockytaff Thu 19-Jun-25 18:44:13

Casdon - if a man posted an article such as this about women, there would be an uproar.

Jaxjacky Thu 19-Jun-25 18:45:54

There are some rather stereotypical comments on here I think.
Sleepy MrJ dresses himself, always looks tidy and according to my children ‘keeps himself smart’.
He also does all the ironing in this house - it’s great!

Casdon Thu 19-Jun-25 19:08:14

Jockytaff

Casdon - if a man posted an article such as this about women, there would be an uproar.

I don’t think there would, just look on Reddit, Quora, or the lad mags, there is plenty of discussion about what women look like there, no uproar. Bemoaning of British dress standards is everywhere. Even the Telegraph runs articles advising people of both sexes how to dress better.

glammagran Thu 19-Jun-25 19:25:17

I’m inclined to agree with OP but don’t have a problem if men untuck their white shirts in hot weather at all.

The post reminded of an occasion in the early ‘90s. We were in Bali on holiday and visited Kuta. Whilst there I experienced a sight which I can never erase from my mind. A middle aged, very overweight, nut brown man sauntered into a supermarket wearing nothing but a G-string. 🤢

grumppa Thu 19-Jun-25 19:35:29

"You can usually assume if a man is smart and wearing modern clean and nicely pressed clothes he has a good wife in background who gives tactful advice and probably buys for him as she is out and about. "

Where does that leave us widowers, Sleepy? Or smart bachelors?

Mamo Thu 19-Jun-25 19:48:51

Kandinsky

Can you imagine a man posting this about women hmm
This is snobbery and sexism in action.

Was thinking the same thing myself, Kandinsky!! Anyone of either sex who wants to wants to look smart and dress appropriately for the weather, can do so no problem and stylishly in chainstore clothing!

M0nica Thu 19-Jun-25 20:17:12

I am thoroughly judgemental, if you have an opinion on anything then you will make judgements. The discussion is whether the judgement is fair.

If no on eis ever judgemental then obody can have a view or opinion on one one and anything. Look where being non-judgemental about Asian gangs exploiting young girls got us.

Allira Thu 19-Jun-25 20:34:03

Musicgirl

@Norah, since when has 5’9 been considered very short for a man? I would have thought it was average height. My father, born in 1940, was 5’8 as a young man and this was the average height at that time. Of course, he shrunk as he grew older, as we all do and as my husband, who was a full 5’6 in his stockinged feet when he was younger and is now 5’4. This is what I consider fairly short. We have two sons and a daughter. The older son is around 5’5, and his younger brother 5’6/5/7. All three men take size 7 shoes, which is great in the sales.

5'9" is average height for British men (5' 7½" is the world average height for men).

DH was astonished to find he's lost 3" in height. We hadn't really noticed because I'm shorter too.

Allira Thu 19-Jun-25 20:37:37

AmberGran

My DH always ironed his own clothes too grin

DH irons everything!