Firstly, apologies if this has been raised before but I’m trapped in a wierd Butlin’s-like experience and am having to use my hated smartphone to access the internet until I get things sorted out!
This place we’ve arrived at has a swimming pool but a ban on swim-shorts. I’ve seen this before but no idea why. Surely I don’ t have to buy my partner budgie smugglers so he can swim?
Any help/explanations anyone?
'fraid so, it’s budgie smugglers or nothing (if you know what I mean!)
Yes, I’m afraid you do.
Thank you @DrMarkH and @vero . I am shocked but not surprised if that makes any sense! They are horrible things… can either of you enlighten me as to what is behind this rule? (If it’s repeatable of course!)
For many reasons, I’ve never looked…
Sites on the internet have slightly different explanations but it seems to be part hygiene and part practicality. Looking at this site, it could depend on the length of the shorts. Boxers de bain might be OK.
Hygiene safety and enforcing of polite behaviour. You aren’t going to be going out and about in the budgie smugglers the way you might in swimming shorts, dragging dust dirt and sweat into the pool and nor are they convenient for covert pocket billiards. And the excess fabric could be dragged into the cleaning system of the pool etc, if someone was silly enough.
Thank you kind people. Given that my partner has never worn swimming shorts other than for swimming as that was their specific purpose and that they are much more modest than the other things, I was very puzzled! Ah well, it looks like he won’t be swimming on this break at any rate!
I’d be tempted to substitute ‘unfortunate’ for ‘silly’, even if it’s their own fault…
Don’t have to be budgie smugglers, can be modest shorts. But must be reasonably tight to the skin and not in a material (like underwear boxer shorts) that will go baggy when wet.
Having done several cures and hung around in different thermal baths I can give chapter and verse on men’s shorts and women’s headgear.
It was more common for women with long hair to suffer from the main drains dragging it in, bigest problem was it would twist into knots into the gratings, very dangerous.
My French uncle regularly stripped down to his budgie smugglers on our Chinese junk days out. Gave boxer sporting new guests quite a shock.
Mankini like Borat??
This brought back memories. I planned to take my granddaughter to the pool at Albi and discovered I needed to buy a costume. Heavens, did I look awful! I then took her on the chute and they tore on a rivet or something and I had to abandon the pool. The response to my complaint to a member of staff was met with the familiar Gallic shrug.
IME swimming trunks are acceptable almost everywhere and a little more discreet than Speedos.
Not that I am sending an invitation you understand @AngelaR , but the rule in my swimming pond is neither. 
Just a dab of chanel
What? And poison Hissing Sid and his offspring? 
We don’t believe in puritan Anglo-Saxon (or other) body shame and we are very practical. Who wants to sit around in wet things which take a while to dry.
Well it fits well with over staying guests thread as well.