“Your style is very metrosexual today. I mean the leggings”, said my friend Monica from Spain with a smile to one of our male Swedish friends. The leggings were actually long johns but it’s probably not that strange that a girl from southern Europe has never seen a guy in long underwear before.
It started snowing in Skåne this week and it seems that snow is the unspoken sign that it’s time for long johns. I can totally understand that warm underwear is useful in the northern parts of Sweden where it’s really cold and icy but is it necessary here in Skåne in the south of the country?
It is not much colder here than in Germany where I come from. I might be wrong but I think no German guy who is older than 12 and not skiing in the Alps would ever wear long johns. Or are just my German friends too vain and feel too cool for this warm underwear?
I am wondering if this small detail with the long johns is connected to the Swedish male role. This is just my personal experience but in my opinion it is more accepted here than in other cultures that men show “weakness” instead of pretending the “tough guy” who is never freezing for instance.
Don’t misunderstand me! I don’t mean that gender roles are completely different here but maybe it is more accepted (or even expected?) that a guy admits that he is not superman and resistant against everything.
Or maybe it is just because of the weather. But as I said, it’s actually not that cold here in Skåne. I can still wear skirts without freezing whereas my male friends put on their long johns. Even when we were in Berlin last winter they were all wearing long underwear.
I don’t care so much for underwear but I think long johns are kind of funny. Imagine you meet a cool Swedish guy at a club and realise later that night that he is wearing long johns. Not that sexy! I think I would also say: “Well, your style is very metrosexual!”
My Danish girlfriend used to combine sexy lingerie and wool sox, because the floor was cold, so it is not just the guys who have interesting ideas about clothing.
Nothing says “Love me you fool”, like big wool army sox..
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Germans are never cool. Usually when they think they are cool they are simply embarrassing. They just never realise it.
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Thomas, whever did you get such a thought.
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I wear long johns when it is really cold and I will be outside a lot. Say when it is about 20F or -7C then I might wear long johns. I would never wear them to a club, you would sweat to death and smell if you danced. I guess its all about your personal opinion, but I would not want to wear them while in a club.
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You keep commenting on swedish stuff you think is weird, might better go back to your own spot, where nothing is weird and normal and dont live at a place where everything is weird.
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This is my third winter in Stockholm and yesterday was the 1st time I wore long johns here. I think this winter it much more colder than the two I had experienced. In my opinion, if you are out there, then you can wear long john, but if you go to a club…… not a good idea… hehehe
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