Summer is coming and if you live anywhere south of Canada that means it's time to consider some shorts for comfort and style during your summer activities. I'm a bit ahead of schedule on thinking about this, because I live in Texas and we've already had some 80+ degree days and I'm heading off for a family 'Spring Break' beach trip shortly. And so, my thoughts turn to shorts.
I've always been a big shorts wearer. Even as a kid I'd keep wearing shorts for soccer well into the snowy season. I'm not ashamed to admit I have nice, muscular legs and they like to fly free and unconstricted. I've never been a fan of sweatpants or any kind of long pants for sports, and although I reluctantly resort to jeans and chinos and corduroys when the weather gets cold, shorts have been my preferred legwear for at least 30 years. This has its good and its bad points. When I was younger for some reason people tended not to take you seriously when you wore shorts to work. That necessitated some compromises for a few years until I figured out I could move to Austin where you could come to work in a plastic bag and no one would care - even better I could work for myself and wear shorts all day long. Another negative - at least my wife and daughter think so - are the mass of bizarre scars on my legs from crashing through brambles and miscellaneous brush in shorts when a sensible person would have gone into the woods in long pants. I see the scars as marks of manly accomplishment, but certain critics find them 'creepy'. On the plus side you just can't beat shorts for comfort, especially when it's hot. They allow freedom of leg movement and let air circulate in certain key areas that are often left dark and dank. They're also easy to put on and take off, they dry quickly, and they're relatively inexpensive when the brush and brambles go too high and shred them instead of your bare legs.
Article comments
1 - Tristan
I have heard soooo many women say men look absolutely ridiculous in shorts~~~
and that almost all men look much better in long pants than shorts .....
Is this "true" ....?
I know, personally, I love seeing a really hot girl in a pair of tight shorts ........... or short tights ....???
2 - Jon Sobel
Shorts recommendations! I love it. I actually needed to read this. Thanks, Dave!
3 - Dave Nalle
Tristan, all I can tell you is that gay men apparently like my legs in shorts - I've always assumed that carries over to women as well, but they're not willing to comment on it.
Dave
4 - Dave Nalle
Oh, the HORROR! Kohls has just brought in their summer merchandise for this year, and the design of Columbia's Cameron Creek short has been changed. Gone are the snaps and rivets to be replaced with velcro and double stitching. The cellphone pocket has been moved to a bizarre position behind the right cargo pocket, and the super-durable waistband rivet is now a crappy button.
Why can manufacturers never leave well enough alone? I imagine the new version is slightly cheaper to manufacture, but then it's not any better than anything else on the market, so who's going to buy it when you can get the same thing for $5 less?
Argh! Thump!
Dave
5 - mike
my favorite shorts of all time were black, pleated, velcro waistbanded jimmy'z. i cried when i finally had to throw them away. i found some similar a few years later. they were called "beatnik" and were constructed similarly - but the waistband was not thick. close enough though - i bought one in every color that they had. i still own some. although they are getting ready for the trash heap. i liked the jimmy'z better because the waistband was made of a thick rope like flat cotton material. black and it matched the shorts. i have looked for some like them on the internet and the only ones i have found are for incontinent seniors - i'm not ready for them yet!!!
6 - Keith
I love wearing shorts all the time too. I wish I could wear shorts to my job, but I cannot, long pants are required. Sometimes in chilly weather I will even wear my shorts w/a jacket since my arms get cold first. I live in Indiana so our weather changes quite a bit---but whenever stores have clearance sales on shorts, I buy them & stock up---my favorite are cargo shorts in khaki colors
7 - Keith
It is me again, I cannot believe no one commented since September 2006; but I still love we ring shorts and having bare legs. Wearing shorts is the greatest thing ever. I Love short pants and always will.
8 - Terry
always