Shorts have long ceased to be reserved for the beach or the comfort of home. Today, the urban man wears them as part of everyday casual style. Yet the world seems to have forgotten where it all began, and where the line of decency lies in warm weather. For the devotee of elegance who feels that shorts answer practical summer needs, this article considers whether they are a useful compromise or not.
1. How exactly did shorts come about?
Shorts emerged for purely practical reasons. People noticed that the knee was where the fabric of trousers wore out fastest. So they cut the legs off above the knee, hemmed the edge and extended the life of their trousers. The motive was, above all, economic.
2. What are Bermuda shorts, and how did they become the tourist’s uniform?
Shorts that stop at the knee are called Bermuda shorts. Originally conceived for the holidays of privileged Britons in Bermuda, they were very popular in the 1930s and 1940s. In communist Romania, Bermuda shorts led a rather low-key existence. In the early 1990s, however, they came back into fashion, with hundreds of thousands sold.
3. Are Bermuda shorts acceptable for a stylish man?
Made from light cotton fabrics in exotic prints and colours, Bermuda shorts were meant for the beach or any other outdoor activity. In practice, they became a kind of uniform for tourists everywhere. After 1995, fashion designers went much further, with men’s suits in fine cloth and trousers cut above the knee. Certain public figures, such as the legendary Angus Young of AC/DC, helped spread this unconventional fashion.
4. Three-quarter trousers: when do they work, and when not?
Three-quarter trousers are another variety of shorts. The style was launched in the 1950s and is known in Romania as “fisherman’s trousers”. Rediscovered by the fashion designers of the 1990s, they were even proposed by some for cocktail attire, paired with a suit jacket. The success was not the same: even today, three-quarter or ankle-length cargo trousers are acceptable only for a rest at the water’s edge.
5. What are the 9 summer rules for shorts?
• AC/DC are no example to follow: shorts do not go with a sport jacket.
• Denim pieces with edges frayed like the fringes of a rug are best avoided.
• The ideal length stops at the knee.
• Plain colours such as beige, khaki or navy, without palm trees or little cows, are the right choice.
• Shorts with neatly stitched turn-ups are preferable wherever possible.
• Pleated shorts deserve consideration, for extra room at the waist.
• Shorts in tailoring cloth must have a pressed crease.
• Footwear is limited to moccasins, loafers, sneakers or boat shoes.
• Shorts belong only in relaxed settings: the beach, a picnic, a hike.
In short, even if shorts sit on the line between decency and kitsch, they are a necessary compromise in warm weather. They answer practical needs and, as long as they are chosen with taste and worn in the right context, they will not go unnoticed.
