Cover up! No shopping in PJs or barefoot, Tesco tells shoppers as it becomes first supermarket to unveil a dress code



Unwelcome: Elaine Carmody was asked to leave a Tesco store in Cardiff because she was wearing pyjamas

It’s probably not the first choice of attire one would choose for a weekly shopping trip down at the local store.



But those who like to get the groceries in their pyjamas should be aware they will be barred at a Tesco superstore, which is the first in Britain to introduce a dress code.



Wandering the aisles in your dressing gown or going barefoot is just not acceptable, according to store policy which is outlined on posters put up at the entrance.

The notices state: ‘To avoid causing embarrassment to others we ask that our customers are appropriately dressed when visiting our store (footwear must be worn at all times and no nightwear is permitted).’



While the dress code would appear to be common sense to the majority of shoppers, Tesco staff at St Mellons, Cardiff, said they were forced to put up the posters.

This is because increasing numbers of young women have taken to shopping in their nightwear after dropping their children off at school in the morning.



A store spokesman said: ‘We do not have a strict dress code but we don't want people shopping in their nightwear in case it offends other customers.



‘We're not a nightclub with a strict dress code, and jeans and trainers are of course more than welcome.



‘We do, however, request that customers do not shop in their PJs or nightgowns.

'This is to avoid causing offence or embarrassment.’

The spokesman said they were ‘unaware’ of any other Tesco store in the UK putting up similar signs to ban nightwear.

Mother-of-two Elaine Carmody, 24, was one of the first yesterday to be marched out of Tesco by a security guard for wearing her pyjamas in store.

She said: 'I just don't understand it. I go in other shops in my pyjamas and they don't say anything.

'You used to always be allowed in Tescos. But not now, it is ridiculous and stupid. I've got lovely pairs of pyjamas, with bears and penguins on them. I've worn my best ones today, just so I look tidy.'

Standards: The store in St Mellons has introduced the dress code to avoid offence among other customers

Ms Carmody was told to abandon her trolley in the aisle and leave the store. She was escorted off the premises by a security guard.

Poll Is it ever acceptable to go shopping in pyjamas? Yes No Is it ever acceptable to go shopping in pyjamas? Yes 4761 votes

No 21719 votes Now share your opinion





'I walked in with my trolley and the security guard came over and told me to leave,' said she said.



'He said it offends people. But I've never seen anyone offended.'



Ms Carmody admitted she is often still in pyjamas in the morning after sorting out her children for nursery.



Warning: The poster at the entrance to the Tesco store in Cardiff

She said: 'It is just when I'm in a rush or busy with the kids. I haven't got time to get myself all dolled up.



'I would usually put a coat or something over the top and it's not like I'm flashing the flesh or anything.

'I was going be buying about £100 worth of stuff in here today and they've made me leave my trolley in the aisle.



'So they've lost out. It's ridiculous, really pathetic. They should be happy because you're going in spending all that money.



'You see loads of people going in wearing jogging bottoms, what's the difference?'

Some shoppers at the store welcomed the ban yesterday saying it was not unusual to see women pushing their trolleys in pyjamas, dressing gowns and slippers.



Mother-of-two Nicola Rees, 34, said: ‘I'm surprised they've banned it now because it happens so often that no one takes any notice.



‘To start with you may have seen someone pop in to get a pint of milk or a loaf of bread wearing their PJs.



‘But now you see women wandering around pushing their shopping trolleys in night garments and slippers.’

But other people living around the estate were furious and branded Tesco ‘snobbish’.



One mother said: ‘This is just pathetic and shows how snobbish some people can be.



‘Do they have any idea how difficult it is to get three kids off to school when you are a single parent?



‘You haven't even got time for a cup of tea never mind getting all dolled up.



‘I can't see what is wrong with pulling a coat over your pyjamas to drop the kids off at school then stopping in the shop for a loaf of bread.



‘I won't be bothering with Tesco anymore, I'm off to Aldi.’

Wearing pyjamas outside the house became a hot topic recently on the Mumsnet website with parents drawing up lists of what is and what is not acceptable for mothers to wear at the school gates.

Some 'yummy mummies' advocate glossy hair, a full face of make-up, tailored clothes and high heels.

Then there are the 'slummies' who insist tracksuits or gardening clothes are fine - or at a push - pyjamas and slippers.

One mother wrote that she was warned to wear high heels and lipstick when she collected her daughter up from nursery or the other mothers would not invite her to social occasions.

But another suggested buying a decent coat to cover up sartorial horrors or even pyjamas underneath.

She would have been at odds with headmaster Joe McGuinness who felt so many PJ-clad women were arriving at his school gates every morning he sent a special bulletin home with the children.

He told mothers that wearing their pyjamas and slippers when leaving their children to school was 'slovenly and rude'.

He wrote: 'Over recent months the number of adults leaving children to school or collecting children from school dressed in pyjamas is disrespectful to the school and a bad example to set to children.'



He added: 'There used to be about 15 to 20 pyjama-wearing parents but there is anything up to 50 now - and they are all women.'

The head teacher said no-one would go to see their bank manager or doctor without getting dressed, and asked why parents thought it was okay to go to school like that.

Mr McGuinness hasn't banned pyjama-wearing mothers from St Matthew's Primary in Belfast, because EU laws prevent him. But he said he hasn't received any complaints from parents since the bulletin was issued two years ago.

