Bee Travel
Bermuda Shorts
CHRISTINE HICKS- USTA Travel
Shorts...I love 'em. I can't wait until the temperature hits 50 degrees so I can get them out. There's something freeing about shorts...they make me want to stretch my legs, walk, skip, run and generally gadabout more.

When I went to school, girls wore skirts. But on fall weekends, the uniform was wool shorts with knee-highs, oxford shirt, pullover sweater and loafers. I still wear wool shorts on occasion in winter, though now I pair them with tights, an accommodation made to frigid temperatures. Still, I long for that ultimate freedom cotton shorts allow, if weather does not.

In Bermuda, shorts are considered business as well as smart casual wear. Originally borrowed from an early 20th century British military uniform for hot climates, shorts are essential wear in Bermuda. There are even laws about them: no shorts shorter than six inches above the knee. For the boardroom or business, men sport a single-breasted navy blazer over a pair of Bermuda shorts, adding a tie, conservative knee-highs and black loafers. For evening attire, toss the blazer in favor of a neat knit shirt and slip on boating shoes. Pink shorts are entirely acceptable here on anyone, perhaps a direct reflection of the beaches that ring the island.

This is just one more reason why I like Bermuda so much. It's the prettiest little island to begin with, neat as a pin, highly hospitable to visitors, regulated in a competent, reliable British fashion (though decidedly more laid-back) - and they expect you to wear shorts everywhere, everyday. What's not to like?

Now, you might think Hawaii is the same. It's not. In Hawaii, you get Americans wearing what we always wear: heels to the beach, black everything, and kids in pants droopy by design. What you get in Hawaii - the business end of Hawaii, that is - is men in short-sleeved shirts, wearing pants. They do not wear Aloha shirts, and shorts are not acceptable business attire.

...Which takes us back to the land of shorts: Bermuda. Because I so love living in shorts, it made sense to look in to moving to Bermuda. Regrettably, there's not enough space. The island is only 21 square miles in size, and unless you marry a Bermudian, stay married and live there for ten years, you can't apply to become a Bermudian. Bermuda is also very careful about who gets hired. Bermudians hire Bermudians first, followed by spouses of Bermudians, parents of Bermudians, and so on and so forth. Non-Bermudians must fit through the eye-of-needle-sized work needs unfilled by fellow Bermudians. Sigh. My dream of working in shorts asphyxiated in a quagmire of legislation...

Bermuda has a siren's call. Golfers flock to Bermuda, for it has more courses per square mile than anywhere in the world. Beach lovers love the pink sand, its tint the result of tiny single-celled red forams that live under the coral reef. Whales pay annual calls at the South Shore in April.

But a week in shorts is all the call I need.

(Christine Hicks-Usta has enjoyed more than 30 years of globe-trotting as a member of the travel industry in various capacities. Direct questions to her at Bee Group Newspapers, P.O. Box 150, Buffalo, NY 14231-0150.)