Monday 6 August 2012

Bathrobes in Torekov and Bed wear in Bodrum.



A couple of years ago, Tesco stores in Britain issued a decree stating that improperly dressed customers wouldn't be allowed into their stores. They'd better not open a branch in Torekov, where a dressing gown is the default outfit for a trip to the supermarket or a wander around town. I was initially shocked and had a giggle on seeing my first toweling clad gentleman in the check-out queue at the Ica supermarket. By the third day I was used to bathrobes on bicycles and bare ankles in the bakers.


 
I wondered if the whole of Sweden was like this.  It took me three weeks to open a guide book to the area and learn that Torekov is an exclusive resort, where houses are extremely difficult to get your hands on and the residents of this posh little town like to distinguish themselves from the visitors by wearing bathrobes.


 

When I first moved to Bodrum, the back streets were full of old chaps wearing pyjama bottoms on their way to the baker or the tea house.  I thought they were just lazy and couldn't be bothered to get dressed, but maybe they were affirming themselves as residents of this fine town, not to be confused with the over-dressed tourists. From a couple of thousand kms away, I'm trying to recall seeing anyone in the streets in pyjamas recently and I don't think they are still around, but if they are, I will look on them in a completely new light when I return.










13 comments:

  1. Those Swedes have a strange sense of humour!

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    1. A sense of humour is needed when faced with an elderly gentleman on a bicycle in a bathrobe but no knickers

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  2. Maybe I should try this in Mumcular to help with your culture shock !

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  3. So it's a status thing!
    Having a house in a desirable area isn't enough for them...they have to show they live there!

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  4. Never heard of anything like that before.....bathrobes if you are a resident there and not a visitor.....must look amusing with everyone walking around in bathrobes. I probably would sew some bling on mine. :-)

    .....you should see Walmart after midnight here, don't even want to write what some people wear......where they crawl out from is beyond me. Sometimes we use to go people watching.....if we couldn't sleep, but then those were my younger days.

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  5. . . still plenty around here - at any time of the day!

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    1. Yes we have them here too. I stay in my pjs if I'm not going anywhere so I fit in nicely in this village

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  6. Amazing! How bizarre. Think I'd think of a different way to distinguish myself from those pesky tourists. Apparently, it's perfectly acceptable for young girls to walk around Liverpool in pyjamas, too. All the rage. ;)

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  7. This must be just a summer thing, right? After several weeks on Burgazada and seeing the kinds of things (or lack thereof) that people are wearing, we've begun to think that it's a bit of summer silliness that comes out in people when they're on vacation.

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  8. That has to be one of the oddest things I've ever heard. Good for you for catching in on film! :-)

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  9. What an interesting story. I do still see the odd one or two old boys in pyjama bottoms in the village, and of course pyjama bottoms poking out beneath womens' shalwar or flowered skirts. And I stay in my pyjamas for most of the day too...just to show I "belong" :-))

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  10. Hello again. I found this posting totally delightful. I so like and enjoy eccentricity. Peace.

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