Bermuda Biographies - This Month In History

this month in history

March 26, 1934

Tourists given short shorts notice

Tourists were told that wearing short shorts or bathing suits in public could land them in hot water. Police issued written warnings to hotels and guesthouses that tourists who wore short shorts or bathing suits on the “public highways” risked being prosecuted for being improperly or indecently dressed.

The police chief who issued the order said he did not want Bermuda to become “another Atlantic City”. The Royal Gazette’s report of the new policy said: “The large number of college students now in the Colony are the principal offenders. Many of them have been wearing the most meagre of clothing on their way to and from the beaches.

“Bathing suits have enjoyed a decided vogue as a cycling costume. Young women and girls are the chief offenders.

“Shorts of extreme brevity have also sprung into popular favour among girls for cycling attire and under the Chief of Police’s instructions these shorts must now be ample enough to meet with the approving eye of police constables or court action is likely to follow.”

Bermuda strict dress code remained in place for more than 40 years. In the 1950s police handed out “green ticket” warnings to scantily-clad tourists. The practice was the inspiration for Bermudian calypso singer Hubert Smith’s hit song ‘Green Ticket.’

Source: The Royal Gazette, March 27, 1934; History of Bermuda Police, www.police.bm