It’s summer time and we’ve had a pretty good stretch of hot weather here in Seattle, so why not talk about shorts and inseam lengths.
So, what’s the appropriate inseam length for you? That’s a good question. Nobody knows the answer except you. However, I will show you a few examples and give you some of my Do’s & Dont’s when it comes to summer shorts.
I feel there’s a difference between shorts and Capri pants. If the inseam of your shorts falls below the knee, in my opinion, you’re wearing Capri pants not shorts. Don’t wear Capri pants. Leave the overly-long-five-sizes-too-big shorts for the young. The distinguished gent of our accomplished age wears shorts at, or above the knee.
This is where it gets subjective since we all have an opinion and personal comfort level. I will say that today’s shorts are getting shorter with 9″ inseams becoming the standard. No pleats. You want trim fitting flat-front shorts. Trim-fit doesn’t mean tight, it just means not baggy.
This is a 9″ inseam. You can see how high above the knee they fall. I’m just getting used to 9″ inseams and personally, I’m not completely on board just yet. Men’s shorts are getting shorter every year, so beware.
This is a 10″ inseam that still falls above the knee, but I’m okay with this length. Notice that they’re trim fit. This just means that some extra fabric has been taken out of the thigh for a more streamlined fit.
The last ones are an 11″ inseam from last summer. They fall just at the knee and quite frankly, they’re actually starting to look a little long, but still acceptable.
I will vow to improve the photography in future posts. It’s a new blog and I’m just working on the content right now.
PS. All the shorts are from Banana Republic. The top pair are “Deck Shorts”, and the bottom two are “City Shorts”.
