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| Embedded photo courtesy of Rugby RL |
As global warming only gets worse and temperatures rise worldwide, the weather is ever more permissive for wearing shorts. And the timing could not be any better, as it seems designers have finally gotten their sanity back and have returned to the original pre-2000 short pattern.
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| Runway looks should always be taken more as an exaggerated indicative to the trends of the subsequent seasons rather than "here's what you should wear" looks |
The 80s saw the apex of short inseam shorts and no man was ever ridiculed for showing too much skin. Why exactly men began feeling emasculated by short shorts will always be a mystery, probably connected to why starting with the year 2000 and peaking around 2005-2006 inseams have gotten longer and longer, giving birth to monsters such as the over-the-knee cargo short. Luckily the exact opposite has been happening since then on the runways and I am glad to see that shorter inseams are cropping up in stores.
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| Please donate or burn any such shorts that are in your possession. They do not only scream of slacker and lack of self-confidence but are also down-right ugly and useless, just like they're longer brothers, the baggy jeans. Seriously though...do you have that much stuff you need to lug around in those over-sized pockets? |
My personal favourite inseam length, and I know many other fashion bloggers would agree, is
7 inches, give or take half an inch, measured from the crotch down. Avoiding any and all 7-inch jokes and puns, this inseam length, also called a rise, provides sufficient coverage of one's thighs, yet is not too long for comfort and sartorial benediction. I am happy to report that European men, who are most always more brazen than their American counterparts, have adopted the shorter inseams quite well:
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| Lots of Kudos to these Swedish guys, including the middle one, bravest of them all. Also notice the absence of leg hair which is a definite must if you plan on wearing shorter shorts (check out the tips in the Slim on the Inseam post) |
There are a few simple rules when it comes to working around the 7 inch inseam:
- Men with a more muscular build, whose thighs are thicker than the average man's should not opt for anything shorter than a 7 inch inseam unless he wants to give off the gym vibe
- Men who are a little on the shorter side should definitely avoid anything longer than 7 inches like the plague as shorts with long inseams make one look even shorter than he is.
- NEVER and I do plead that you listen, go with any short that passes the middle of your kneecap. Not only does it look bad but it also restricts movement and pretty much negates the purpose of the short pant. If one is however going for the Capri look then that's a different story and the former should be ignored.
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| Rugby.com posted a brief guide for lengths of board shorts and swim wear which also is quite applicable to any other shorts, swimming or not. |
Here is a short clip from the New York magazine, featuring NYC-based stylist Charles Manning and his view on short shorts.
