# Short shorts for men **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 23, 2023, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-shorts-for-men/983074 "2023-04-23T14:42:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-shorts-for-men/983074/1 "2023-04-23T14:42:29Z")
I used to have a pair of OP corduroy shorts like these: [![](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/36/8b/cd/368bcd29320d08778431bd3e09716f80.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/36/8b/cd/368bcd29320d08778431bd3e09716f80.jpg) In the '80s, basketball shorts were short. [![](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/MMVq6n1x8TtNrFF4Mn69EoyeLyc=/0x490:2403x2092/1400x1050/filters:focal(0x490:2403x2092):format(jpeg)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47061690/GettyImages-1137448.0.jpg) ](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/MMVq6n1x8TtNrFF4Mn69EoyeLyc=/0x490:2403x2092/1400x1050/filters:focal(0x490:2403x2092):format(jpeg)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47061690/GettyImages-1137448.0.jpg) Nowadays, men’s shorts are much longer, almost knee-length. I never see anyone wear shorts that are as short as the one of my youth. [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=mens+shorts&crid=34PFH3UYSTYH3&sprefix=mens+shorts%2Caps%2C204&ref=nb\_sb\_noss\_1](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=mens+shorts&crid=34PFH3UYSTYH3&sprefix=mens+shorts%2Caps%2C204&ref=nb_sb_noss_1) Do you prefer shorter shorts, or longer shorts? If you saw a guy wearing the OP shorts above (ignore the hair), would you think he’s a weirdo? ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-shorts-for-men/983074/2 "2023-04-23T14:54:18Z")
Strongly favor of short shorts! Long ones look ridiculous to me. Sometimes they look like a dress, other times they make the wearer look like he has disproportionately stumpy little legs. I was born in the seventies and short shorts have always looked correct to me. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-shorts-for-men/983074/3 "2023-04-23T14:57:34Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > If you saw a guy wearing the OP shorts above (ignore the hair), would you think he’s a weirdo? Maybe a time-traveler. Or someone who was, for some reason, flouting gender norms. But, for whatever reason (and I have no idea what that reason is, unless it has something to do with the danger of men’s dangly bits escaping out the leghole), short shorts on men went from being perfectly normal and acceptable to Just Not Done, even while they remain perfectly normal for girls/women. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-shorts-for-men/983074/4 "2023-04-23T14:59:21Z")
No I think those shorts look fine. Are they comfortable is my only thought. What I think looks ridiculous on guys are the super long board shorts for swimming that go down to the knees. There’s all that material slapping about the legs while the waist gets pulled down off the hips. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-shorts-for-men/983074/5 "2023-04-23T15:06:40Z")
I too am of that era and happily wore those shorts throughout high school and college. Apparently men’s shorts have sort of bottomed out now and the latest styles are now inching (heh!) gingerly upwards into shorter hem lengths. It remains to be seen if this trend has legs. Here’s a thread from last summer that goes into more detail and more people’s reactions to shorter shorts. That wasn’t the title-topic, but the thread drifted pretty quickly. > [@Are shorts appropriate for grownups of a certain age? How about cargo shorts?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-shorts-appropriate-for-grownups-of-a-certain-age-how-about-cargo-shorts/970334): > > Mrs. solost and I have been watching Love on Netflix (the Judd Apatow series, not the porny movie of the same name also on Netflix). It’s about some 30ish characters in the LA area and their relationships. On one episode we recently watched, a few couples went bowling together. The female of one of the couples was complaining about her husband or boyfriend wearing shorts in public, saying he should have put on some “big boy pants”. I then realized that the others were all wearing long pants. Thi… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-shorts-for-men/983074/6 "2023-04-23T15:06:42Z")
> [@chela](#): > > Are they comfortable is my only thought. Yes. The only uncomfortable thing was getting onto the black, vinyl seat of my Enduro that had been sitting in the sun in the Mojave Desert. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > unless it has something to do with the danger of men’s dangly bits escaping out the leghole Only happened to me once, while sitting in my car. Nowadays I wear boxer briefs, so it wouldn’t happen. > [@Are shorts appropriate for grownups of a certain age? How about cargo shorts?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-shorts-appropriate-for-grownups-of-a-certain-age-how-about-cargo-shorts/970334/1): > > The female of one of the couples was complaining about her husband or boyfriend wearing shorts in public I’ve never seen the show, but… It’s L.A. Nothing wrong with wearing shorts in public. Of course, one must maintain a certain sense of decorum and wear clothing appropriate to where you are and what you’re doing. But just being casual and out-and-about? Shorts are cool. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-shorts-for-men/983074/7 "2023-04-23T15:30:27Z")
I’m the opposite of fashion-trendy, meaning I mostly buy clothes on a strictly utilitarian basis so I’m one of those types who may sometimes look fashionable by accident just because I’m wearing something old that’s now back in style. 😉 And the several pairs of old shorts I have are old enough to be the reasonable kind – not the super-short type in the illustration, but not the ridiculous knee-length type either. If you’re going to wear shorts that go down to your knees, why stop there? Just wear pants. The idea of proper shorts is that they’re cool and light. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-shorts-for-men/983074/8 "2023-04-23T15:30:41Z")
I’ve been seeing guys, especially ones in their teens and 20s definitely wearing shorts at mid-thigh the past few years. The long baggy shorts of the 90s, 00s and early 10s are not really “in” for young men. No idea if that trend trickles up to older dudes. Although, i have to admit, the last two pairs of shorts i (48 year old guy) got were a slice above my knee. So, while not really short shorts, definitely shorter than i’ve worn in my adult life. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-shorts-for-men/983074/9 "2023-04-23T15:42:47Z")
Baggy shorts look stupid. On the other hand, people should wear whatever makes them feel comfortable. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-shorts-for-men/983074/10 "2023-04-23T16:27:25Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Strongly favor of short shorts! Long ones look ridiculous to me. Sometimes they look like a dress, other times they make the wearer look like he has disproportionately stumpy little legs. I was born in the seventies and short shorts have always looked correct to me. I’m a older than you, and I agree. When the basketball players switched to the long, baggy shorts, it looked to me like they were wearing culottes. Old lady culottes. I kept wishing and hoping it was a fad that would go away. I still do. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-shorts-for-men/983074/11 "2023-04-23T16:35:41Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > not the super-short type in the illustration See, that’s the thing. I don’t find them super-short. My current shorts are short by today’s standards, ending above the knee, so the OPs might seem short by comparison. They don’t seem as short as the SEAL shorts Magnum P.I. wore. (They’re probably the same length – I don’t know – but the SEAL shorts are tighter.) ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-shorts-for-men/983074/12 "2023-04-23T16:45:44Z")
You can buy shorts in a variety of hem lengths now. If you like short shorts, look for hiking shorts, most have a 6" hem. I like mine about mid-thigh so I buy 8 or 9 inch hems. These are long enough so I don’t have skin touching the seat when I’m driving. 11" hems hit me at the knee, that is too long for me. I absolutely detest short that go below the knee. My daughter bought me a pair, I cut off about 8" to make them the proper length. I still have my gym shorts from high school, they have maybe a 2" hem. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-shorts-for-men/983074/13 "2023-04-23T18:08:56Z")
I have a photo of myself at age about 16 wearing shorts that were a little shorter than those blue ones in the OP. I was tall and slim (with legs that consequently looked rather long), and seeing it now, I blush for my past self. It’s not that anything indecent was showing, nor that they were tight, but they were not very loose either. It looked like I was advertising my goods. I wore those a lot in the summers, and I remember once being on my own at the annual carnival, and one of the barkers as I walked by said “Hey, legs” to me, trying to get my attention for his stall I presume. It was jarring to me at the time and I didn’t really understand it then. I think I do now. Today I couldn’t get one leg into those shorts, and I wouldn’t subject the public to a view of my thighs. The shorts I wear are neither baggy nor cargo, and they hit just above the knee. They are the same general type as the ones I would wear if I were still slim and/or fit. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-shorts-for-men/983074/14 "2023-04-23T19:22:50Z")
The long-and-baggy shorts thing is very American. In my part of Europe, you mostly see styles like this: [![](https://www.apetogentleman.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/shorts-less.jpg) ](https://www.apetogentleman.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/shorts-less.jpg) Not short-shorts, not an American tent, just … medium. Anyway, I’ve gone native, so that’s what I wear. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-shorts-for-men/983074/15 "2023-04-23T19:26:37Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Do you prefer shorter shorts, or longer shorts? If you saw a guy wearing the OP shorts above (ignore the hair), would you think he’s a weirdo? I prefer short shorts. I have nice legs. And the long ones always make me feel like an extra in a beach movie set in 1910. And that I should be wearing a shirt with red and white stripes. I have short shorts and wear them occasionally in the summer. I get more harassment for that than I do for wearing a skirt. Nobody hassles women for wearing short shorts. Nobody goes “ewwww, no one wants to see _that_!” So it’s definitely a gendered thing, this distaste for shorts with the legs cut to upper thigh lenghs. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-shorts-for-men/983074/16 "2023-04-23T19:27:32Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > But, for whatever reason (and I have no idea what that reason is, unless it has something to do with the danger of men’s dangly bits escaping out the leghole), short shorts on men went from being perfectly normal and acceptable to Just Not Done, even while they remain perfectly normal for girls/women. Blame Michael Jordan. 😉 > [@](#): > > The transition from short shorts to long shorts wouldn’t start until the late 90s. And it took someone with the star caliber of Michael Jordan to convince NBA stakeholders that it was time for a change. > > The story goes that Michael Jordan approached [Champion](https://www.kickz.com/de/l/marken/champion/), the manufacturer of the NBA’s uniform at the time, to increase the length of his shorts to make him feel more comfortable. > > Now, while everyone agrees that Michael Jordan was responsible for getting the league’s shorts shorter, there are two different stories why Michael asked for the change: > > 1. The first is that when he came into the league he wanted to wear his 1982 national-title-winning shorts under his Bulls shorts – they were lucky. But you couldn’t hide anything under those tiny NBA shorts, so Mike went and asked Champion to accommodate his needs by lengthening shorts. > > 2. According to the second story Michael Jordan requested longer shorts so that he would have something to hold onto whenever he stopped to catch his breath during the game. Clutching onto the end of his shorts was one of his habits and in the NBA’s tiny shorts that habit just wasn’t very practical. > **[Basketball Shorts: Short Shorts vs. Long Shorts](https://www.kickz.com/en/c/c/blog/basketball-shorts-short-vs-long.html)** > > After years of long shorts, short shorts are experiencing a comeback in the NBA right now. Find out why in this blog post! ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-shorts-for-men/983074/17 "2023-04-23T19:28:51Z")
No, I wouldn’t think he’s a weirdo. Just to qualify my comments a bit, I’m a cisgender male who likes women. I wouldn’t think he’s weird. Granted, It’s not a look I personaly like very much, but then, I generally don’t like to look at men’s legs (the exception is a kilt, but then it should be worn with proper hose and at a proper length - about the center of the kneecap). I don’t own any shorts myself. I’m old enough to remember the 80s when short shorts were normal and nobody thought anything about it. (One of my clearest memories of this look is being at the CNE in late summer and seeing a midway employee wearing one of these short shorts, these being paired with a then-fashionable Tom Selleck-esque mustache. Heck, I’m pretty sure my father had some of those too back in the day.) If a man is to wear shorts, my _personal_ preference is that they come down at least to the knee (OTOH, short shorts are the one article of clothing I would wish any woman I were with would have in her closet. Yep. I’m a leg person.) But hey, you do you. It’s not “weird” or anything. It’s just a matter of taste. I like it when people have their own style. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-shorts-for-men/983074/18 "2023-04-23T19:39:27Z")
According to the linked article, wearing short shorts was common in the U.S. in 1949. Here’s a picture in a Snopes article about this. John Wayne is shown wearing short shorts: > **[Is Viral Pic of John Wayne in Short Shorts and Cowboy Hat Real?](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/john-wayne-short-shorts-photo/)** > > Fashions change. ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-shorts-for-men/983074/19 "2023-04-23T19:46:24Z")
This was on my Facebook feed the other day. You gotta have the thighs for short shorts. No skipping leg day. [![](https://i.imgur.com/kIPj5qt.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/kIPj5qt.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-shorts-for-men/983074/20 "2023-04-23T20:07:40Z")
I went to Costco for bacon, cheese, pesto salmon, toilet paper, and paper towels. I came out with two pairs of shorts. They’re kind of stretchy and come down to the tops of my knees, but the two-pack was only $14 and I couldn’t resist. Wearing them now. (The temperature is up in the 50s.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-shorts-for-men/983074.md?page=2)