# Shorts vs. long pants **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 24, 2000, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shorts-vs-long-pants/42576 "2000-11-24T21:22:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2000, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shorts-vs-long-pants/42576/1 "2000-11-24T21:22:19Z")
This thread was inspired by a few threads I read in GQ [This one](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=47844) and [this one](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=47876) if you care to read them. I live in a Northern (cold) climate and I love wearing shorts. I would wear shorts 365 days a year if the temps didn’t get below zero at times. Of course, this would mean I’d have to shave my legs everyday, but I do that anyways. I try to get by wearing the **least** amount of clothes possible while still staying warm. I am surprised that people who live in Florida, California, Hawaii or similar warm climates would even consider wearing jeans or pants in warm weather! I would say I own three times as many pairs of shorts than pants of any sort. Am I just weird? I dislike the feeling of anything against my legs, I also dislike wearing turtlenecks because I feel I’m being strangled. Plus, less clothes= less time doing laundry. So please respond to what you prefer to wear (shorts or pants), and also mention the climate you live in. PS–I’m talking free time here, so don’t count your dress code for work. 😉 Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![lucie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed8c4c/32.png) [@lucie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lucie)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2000, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shorts-vs-long-pants/42576/2 "2000-11-24T22:28:06Z")
I’m your polar opposite (no pun intended). Even during two years in Phoenix AZ I won’t wear shorts. I find I am way cooler in light cotton skirts & long sleeve shirts. The less sun actually hitting my skin, the more cool & comfortable I am. I’d dress like a Tuareg all year if I could. ---
**Author:** ![Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Goose)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2000, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shorts-vs-long-pants/42576/3 "2000-11-24T22:32:11Z")
I think I like pants better, even in the summer. I don’t like things touching my legs either, but I don’t count pants as things. My friend is different though and wears shorts in a Detroit winter. Psycho I think he is. ---
**Author:** ![tisiphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tisiphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tisiphone)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2000, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shorts-vs-long-pants/42576/4 "2000-11-24T22:45:18Z")
Long pants. I might wear shorts/skirts three or four times during the year, and it had better be warm out! Of course, I had the salutary experience of being stuck in a 4x4 Land Rover, high-centered in a snowdrift, halfway up the side of a mountain, while wearing high heeled pumps and a skirt, so I would be biased. (And no, it wasn’t my idea and I wasn’t driving.) To me, a Northern environment means that it is at least -10C for at least four months out of the year. And I can make snotty pronouncements like that 'cause I live in the Yukon Territory, where the temperature ranges from about +25C or so to -50C, so there! 😛 ``` I also run my heater under my desk all year 'round. It has been suggested that according to my internal thermostat, I am living in the wrong place. :rolleyes: ``` Tisiphone ---
**Author:** ![Fairy\_Princess\_Kitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Fairy\_Princess\_Kitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fairy_Princess_Kitty)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2000, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shorts-vs-long-pants/42576/5 "2000-11-24T22:57:31Z")
Pants! I love pants, I adore pants, I wear them just about year round. I only wear shors when the guys I know convince me to or my mom forgets to wash stuff. I couldn’t stand having to shave that often, too much trouble. And to think that I live in Southern California. Kitty ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2000, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shorts-vs-long-pants/42576/6 "2000-11-24T23:12:04Z")
My god. I know the feeling! Except with shirts. In the winter, i wear t shirts…i’ll wear a sweatshirt, but its just that I hate feeling long sleeves on my arms. And I would rather feel too cold than too hot- plus, there’s always the possiblity: what if it gets too hot and i’m left in long sleeves? (People think I’m a weirdo for this, probably, but now I don’t feel so bad.) I also know how you feel w/ shorts…well skirts. I try to wear skirts as long as I can get away with it. I’m so sad. I’m not going to be able to wear 'em till spring again. I have such nice ones too. And I adore showing off my legs. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![\_hijack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/c0e974/32.png) [@\_hijack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_hijack)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2000, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shorts-vs-long-pants/42576/7 "2000-11-25T00:46:32Z")
I love to go without socks, year round. Just Topsiders or other slip on shoes. Then when I come inside I go barefoot. I hate the elastic on my ankles. Makes my foot go to sleep. ---
**Author:** ![AngelD112](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@AngelD112](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelD112)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2000, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shorts-vs-long-pants/42576/8 "2000-11-25T18:33:49Z")
I agree with you. I don’t like turtlenecks because I feel like I’m being strangled. I live in SW Florida and I think that in the last year I’ve worn shorts all of 3 times. Even when I go out and exercise, I wear leggings or stretch pants instead of shorts. I do this for 2 reasons. One is because I hardly ever shave and the 2nd is because I just don’t like the way shorts feel. ~Lisa ---
**Author:** ![hypergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/49beb7/32.png) [@hypergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hypergirl)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2000, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shorts-vs-long-pants/42576/9 "2000-11-25T19:38:18Z")
I’m from Florida here, and I love wearing shorts. The only problem is that I have to shave more, but it’s not such a big deal. I have nice legs, why not show them off? ---
**Author:** ![orion007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@orion007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orion007)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2000, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shorts-vs-long-pants/42576/10 "2000-11-26T02:14:35Z")
Where I live it’s usually about 90 degrees out but I wear long pants all the time… I own maybe two pairs of shorts and they’re both long. I never wear skirts or dresses unless I absolutely have to. Skirts are the devil. ---
**Author:** ![AETBOND417](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@AETBOND417](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AETBOND417)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2000, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shorts-vs-long-pants/42576/11 "2000-11-26T02:20:03Z")
A Floridian checking in here. I wear shorts virtually every day. I only hop into some jean pants on the days when the temperature drops under 40. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2000, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shorts-vs-long-pants/42576/12 "2000-11-26T02:55:49Z")
I live in Minnesota, and pants are a necessity, at least if you want to go outside. However, from an aesthetic standpoint, my legs are less than fully attractive, and I feel very self-conscious in shorts. So, even in the summer, I tend to wear pants/skirts. I do wear shorts from time to time, but not often. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Ruby\_Sunbeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Ruby\_Sunbeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby_Sunbeam)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2000, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shorts-vs-long-pants/42576/13 "2000-11-26T03:17:34Z")
I HATE wearing shorts unless I’m wandering around the house. I guess that’s because I’m lazy and don’t like to shave. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2000, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shorts-vs-long-pants/42576/14 "2000-11-26T03:41:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fairy Princess Kitty \* > \*\*Pants! I love pants, I adore pants, I wear them just about year round. I only wear shors when the guys I know convince me to or my mom forgets to wash stuff. I couldn’t stand having to shave that often, too much trouble. And to think that I live in Southern California. > > Kitty \*\* Sounds like me. I wear pants mostly and I live in florida. Nowadays I’m starting to do the skirt thing more often, which means finding more successful hair removal processes. ---
**Author:** ![kiffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/d78d45/32.png) [@kiffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiffa)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2000, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shorts-vs-long-pants/42576/15 "2000-11-26T04:06:04Z")
Floridian here. I wear shorts when I’m at home - no matter what the season is. I do wear long pants when it’s too cold to go swimming because I hate saving my legs. Seems like that is similar to most posters above. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2000, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shorts-vs-long-pants/42576/16 "2000-11-26T23:48:48Z")
I am from New Zealand. The cold part. Think: Scotland. I haven’t worn shorts since I was a lad in school (15 years ago). On top of that, I have eczema sometimes, which ain’t pretty. So my legs are pale and not for public consumption. However, I’m now in Australia. And by god it’s hot here! Today is averagely warm, but intensely summery. So I have recently purchased a pair of cargo pant shorts. It’s weird to wear shorts after all this time, but I want to tan my legs a bit so I’m not so glaring in public. And jeans are too heavy for Summer. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2000, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shorts-vs-long-pants/42576/17 "2000-11-27T00:35:41Z")
Short? Pants? Mere embuggerances all. ---
**Author:** ![Disembodied\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Disembodied\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disembodied_Head)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2000, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shorts-vs-long-pants/42576/18 "2000-11-27T00:42:50Z")
SHORTS!!! always!! gotta love L.A., no cold weather :). when i show up at school wearing pants then people wonder if i’m sick or something. Only thing that sucks is that in the middle of winter my mom forces me to wear pants… now if only i can find some pairs of those pants that zip off to become shorts… oh yeah Boscibo, i feel the same way about turtle necks they feel like they are choking me. ---
**Author:** ![Fairy\_Princess\_Kitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Fairy\_Princess\_Kitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fairy_Princess_Kitty)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2000, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shorts-vs-long-pants/42576/19 "2000-11-27T04:29:08Z")
DH, you’re evil! How do you do that? Sure there’s no really cold weather but it still manages to get semi cold-ish. When I wear shorts I freeze, usually the second I get off the bus and have to cling to my freshie for body warmth. Of course that may also be because with the sweatshirts and shorts I wear you usually end up asking if I’m wearing shorts at all, but still! Kitty