Um…
Uh…
Urg…
Could you not just purchase a suit with longer bottoms? Not that what you describe sounds like it looks rediculous or anything…
Anybody remember Tim Conway’s “Dorf” character? This is what all you men out there wearing manpris look like. Show the ladies some thigh! I kept thinking the coulottes worn on basketball courts would be a passing fad, but it looks like I might never see any sweaty, well-muscled thighs again. 
Man, I tell you, when I get those Netflix DVDs I really realize how long it’s been since a man’s thighs have been considered an object of beauty. Tom Selleck didn’t need no damned carpenter manpris!
Last summer, we found some shorts for my husband at Macy’s. They had 7", 9", and 12" shorts. Some had elastic on the waists, which he hates, but the others were just plain button up khakis.
I have never seen bathing suits with bottoms that were any more than one or two inches long, or I would probably buy one like that instead of cobbling together my own. It’s hard for designers in the women’s fashion industry to understand, but not all women like to display as much of their bodies as they possibly can all the time.
Reminds me of dive wear
http://www.nologosportswear.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=F101swirl&Category_Code=FSH&Product_Count=0
Or how about this?
My mother wears the short style because her legs are (extremely) thin.
Hey, they DO make them! I have never seen one in the stores. Time to do some online shopping. (That skirt/shorts tankini is cute.) Thanks, Caridwen.
I think the original idea of bathing suits, at least after World War II, was to expose as much skin as possible, for both sexes. We’ve all seen beach pictures from the 1950s, when even the surfers were posing in speedos next to their longboards. I mean, it’s sun–its sand–it’s the ocean, and it should be a sensual, enjoyable experience. Skimpier bathing attire enhances that experience, if we can get past the notions of whether our gender or body shape prohibits it. IMO a hot day on the beach ought to be about the warm sun and ocean breezes on your nearly naked body, wearing just enough to be decent, instead of worrying about what your thighs look like. Believe me, I’m not picking on featherlou, but chose this post as an example of the way most people seem to think. I include men and women collectively. In my honest opinion, if you’re at the beach and you feel you can’t wear something which, anywhere else, would be way too little clothing, then there’s something wrong.
I’m not saying we should all be wearing G-strings, but swimwear that looks like streetwear is ridiculous.
I know I am going to get pelted for this but my own belief is that if you are over the age of 20 years, you don’t need to be wearing shorts at all…period. Men should invest in pants that are suitable for summer. Women in capris, pants and skirts. I have always found adults in shorts, even old people shorts (http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=231114&CategoryID=9018&LinkType=EverGreen) a little odd.
Oooh. I forgot about them. Unfortunately, checking their website, they seem to be running pretty near low on their stock.
That’d give me an excuse to start wearing all the funky socks I own. 
Here ya go Elen, knock yourself out.
http://www.stanosheck.com/Modesty.html
It’s possible that you do look a little odd in shorts. Fortunately, I don’t.
Yeah, uh, no. I’m a field biologist. It’s hot here. I wear shorts.
Your issue with adults in shorts is your issue.
I like the jogging shorts style, myself. Or even a swimdress. I have no wish to wear a swimsuit with the legholes cut up to my waist.
No burkhas?
Since you’re a guest you probably haven’t seen this minirant of mine before, so here, I’ll pelt you softly with it. Softly because one should always be nice to guests.
Either my legs are 8 inches too short for my torso or my torso 8 inches too long for my legs, your choice. I have wide hips (44" perimeter) and tiny feet (size 5).
I don’t look good in most shorts (mid-thigh works best), but capris? Anybody who wants to put me inside capris needs to have a football team at hand to help keep me down while the deed is done. And an ambulance handy for when I rip off their heads.
Oh my god, I thought I was the only person in the world with this cranky atavistic belief.
Sorry – short-pants, ball-cap, and a skateboard? Really only appropriate for those with the inability to grow hair down there.
[/cranky]
Say it to these guys. 
We’ve all got our things; my husband thinks men’s sandals should be outlawed, and wants to go over and straighten out every person with a baseball cap on backwards. I think women should wear pants that actually cover their asses, that they don’t have to hike up every two seconds, that don’t make them moon the world when they sit down. And clothes that fit around your body, not stretched tight on it that look so very uncomfortable.
Aside from work, I wear cutoffs throughout the summer. Take a pair of jeans that’s gotten a bit worn, take a scissors to them however far up/down the leg you like. Run 'em through the wash, and afterwards trim off the worst of the dangling threads.
I have a few pairs of actual, store-bought shorts, but I only wear them if I’m going to a party or a casual restaurant or something. So they last practically forever, and I don’t have to worry about passing fashions.
I’m amused more than anything by the idea that I should wear long pants when I’m away from the house, even in the middle of summer, just because I’m over 20. (And over 30, and 40, and 50, too. :))
A skirt-like garment: you betcha! In men, it’s referred to as a MUG: a Male Unbifurcated Garment. Modesty systems are for those who haven’t quite gotten used to human anatomy, yet…which seem to be most people. So, yeah, it’s a good idea (for the sake of public relations, if nothing else).
Aw, I do loves me some Lileks!
Sure, I get the connection, but as a long-time Utilikilt wearer, I can tell you that they ARE totally “heavy metal”/badass. Sure, the pleats look rather…feminine…at first glance, but that’s cultural conditioning and nothing else. You want to equate UKs with Dorcus, slap on a leather one and see how it plays amongst the populace. There’s nothing wussy about a Utilikilt. In fact, quite the opposite.
As the saying goes: kilts are for men, pants are for boys. It takes balls for a guy to wear what looks like a skirt in public, but that’s exactly what people find intriguing about kilts and the men who wear them.
Plus, they are the most comfortable clothes I’ve ever found in my entire life. I personally am completely indifferent to public opinion of my appearance anymore.
Utilikilts rock my universe, and everybody else can crawl up under them and pay homage to my decision, if they wish. If not, then meh. I’ve got better things to worry about than the prejudices of strangers.