The very wise Tom Ford once said, “A man should never wear shorts in the city. Shorts should only be worn on the tennis court or on the beach.” Well, Mr. Ford, meet your worst enemy. I have always loved wearing shorts in the summertime—and yes, even in the city. Every year around this time, I look forward to ditching my dress pants and allowing my leg hairs to feel the cool, gentle breeze of the wind. (Sorry for that visual.) The problem is, men baring their legs in a professional setting has become a total taboo. Wearing shorts to the office? Forget it: Human Resources would personally escort me out of the building. But now, I am free.
I have spent many summers in New York City covering up my dirty little secret, setting aside my beloved shorts in favor of long, corporate-friendly dress pants. I do not miss the sensation of burning up while going to and from work on a hot, humid day, while most of my chic coworkers get to saunter in wearing breezy, lightweight summer dresses. I, too, deserve to keep cool, I’d think to myself, coming in a sweaty mess. However, now that we’re entering a social-distancing summer, my 9-to-5 wardrobe has drastically loosened up, and shorts are slowly creeping their way back into my daily fits. And I welcome them with glee.
Working from home for the foreseeable future means I finally get to wear my shorts without judgment—and it so happens to be the prime season to do so. Elevated men’s shorts were all over the recent spring 2020 runways. Think more trendy, less touristy. Designers hopped on board with my shorts M.O., designing luxe styles that made the polarizing piece feel grown-up, not childish. At Jacquemus, long board shorts were given punchy florals; at Casablanca, retro gym shorts were reworked in pink silk; at Fendi and Berluti, even suits were given the shortened treatment, just enticing men to expose their knees in the boardroom. (I don’t think I’m quite there—yet.) Where shorts have gotten a bad rap for being infantile, the new crop of styles are decidedly grown up, and even, dare I say, dressy.