@EdithStourton
Re convos in the loos, my most memorable one was when I rushed in and upchucked with proper sound effects, and emerged ashen-faced.
The woman already washing her hands looked at me sideways, but didn't say anything. I looked at her sideways. 'Morning sickness,' I said. 'Oh love,' she said, 'that's horrible, I had it terribly!'
But I can't remember a single discussion about clothes, hair, makeup or shoes with anyone other than someone I know already.
Lots of generic chat, though, about the lack of soap, or the uselessness of the hand driers, or the length of the bloody queue!
100% agree.
Don't know if anyone's said this, but I find that women make comments about other women's appearance, ask for their stylist's details, etc, anywhere BUT in the toilets.
I'm in my sixties, & my experience of women's loos has always been that we're all scrupulous about NOT taking too much of an interest in the other women there. We might glance, but we don't say anything. To do otherwise would be creepy or just impolite: 'not nice', as my mother would've said.
The most I've ever done is tell a woman that she might want to adjust her skirt (the hem was caught in her knickers). Saving someone's dignity = OK, anything else isn't.
It's like men's toilets always being shown on TV as a place where men piss next to each other while discussing some topic of interest or carrying on a chat they were already having outside. I always assumed this was a guy thing until I asked DH about it & his reaction was, "God, no!". It's not what happens at all, apparently.