4 hours ago
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How do some people manage to wear shorts all through the winter? Jane Shaw, France
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Readers reply
I’m guessing it is just in us. Trousers, let alone ski pants, were not really a thing for so much of human existence that we have developed some sort of resistance. I’ve worked out that my body is OK in shorts to about -10C. This could also come from my Scandinavian heritage.
As with many things, I could also just blame my mom. She had this snooty Hyacinth Bucket vision of me as some sort of prince in waiting and would send me in a blazer, tie and shorts to my normal primary school, even in the snow. Because, hey kids, people still used to go to school in the snow!
What is weird is that the winter sports football and rugby are played in shorts. The summer sport, cricket? Trousers. catchytitled
A neighbour of ours used to wear shorts all year round. My wife remarked that he must be very hardy. I disagreed, because I had visited his flat and it was like a sauna; the only time we saw him go outside was to walk to and from his massive car, which presumably had a good heating system. It’s not as if he was working outside in all weathers or even doing outdoor sports. JohnI
It seems to be compulsory for postal workers. A popular combination seems to be a heavy anorak, with hood, and shorts. Could it be that wet trousers would be an encumbrance when frequently getting in and out of a van? Wouldn’t waterproof trousers cure that? A mystery. seedysolipsist
Skin dries quickly; wet fabric doesn’t – and makes you feel colder. I have postie friends. The waterproofs aren’t the best. MisterVimez
In the winter of 1962/63, in primary school in Yorkshire, with compulsory play outside, the milk in the school bottles froze inside the classroom; the cream would push the tops off. There was one stove at the front of the classroom (next to the teacher). Seating was alphabetical, beginning at the front; my surname begins with a W, so I was sat at the back, where the milk was kept. We used to drink it through a straw when it had defrosted. Near ice-cold milk through a straw would hit the roof of your mouth and give you a headache that could send waves of pain right around your skull. The teachers would insist you drank your milk quickly (agony) before you were forced outside to “play” (taking it outside was forbidden in case you broke the bottle).
If it rained or snowed, we had a sort of brick barn to shelter in, but one side was open to the elements. The playground and the barn had a cobbled surface. I know it reads like the Four Yorkshiremen sketch, but it’s totally true. Teachers stayed inside in a warm staff room.
I don’t wear shorts in winter, but today where I live (400 metres from the beach in Brittany) it is 6C outside and wet and windy. I’ve just been outside to get firewood wearing trousers and a short-sleeved T-shirt. A bit nippy, but OK if you are moving about (I’m 68). Maybe that Yorkshire school experience helped, or maybe it was child cruelty; personally, I think it was the latter. Geordies would probably be wearing shorts and no T-shirts here, or bikinis. You can spot the British tourists at Christmas – they are the ones who wear shorts … jetemmerde
Being a person of a certain age, I was more than 13 years old before my mother would permit me to wear long trousers. Only a few of my classmates wore long trousers before me. Snow was the least of my worries! I hated heavy rain, because my school trenchcoat came down to the back of my knees and it rubbed against my legs and caused chafe marks, which were miserably painful. Grey flannels were wonderful in comparison, once I was allowed to wear them. Mind you, I had to wear shorts after school until I was 15, because denims were not permitted by my mother. BigAlHere
Most people in northerly latitudes suffer from vitamin D deficiency in the darker months. Feeling the need to wear shorts, or indeed short sleeves, is possibly an instinctive response to maximise the skin’s exposure to natural light. upnorthkid
I sometimes wear shorts in the winter, usually with boots. Honestly, the main thing is keeping head, core and feet warm. oldguynewuser
It’s pretty simple: if the top half is warm enough, the bottom half is usually pretty happy just in shorts, especially if you are being active. Insight gained from years tramping in the mountains of New Zealand. JonahsWail
In my town, it has seemed to be the way for many years that young men exhibit their masculinity by going out in just a T-shirt and shorts in freezing weather: hands stuffed in pockets, pretending not to be cold. It is a bizarre spectacle. I wonder if it goes on in other towns. foolishboy
English winters are very mild. Still, seeing a man in shorts stomping over the dirty roadside snow towards the bus stop this morning made me cringe. I am from a much colder country originally and I know cold can kill. You must respect the weather. mikkamobile
