Writes Samuel Hine, in "The Summer of Male Shorts Anxiety" (NY Magazine).
As for that "'confident, slightly retro masculinity' of skimpy running shorts" — yes, if by retro, you mean the 1970s. But I don't think anyone was wearing those things in a professional setting, which is what that article is about. And I don't think those 70s short shorts were ever considered particularly expressive of masculinity.
There's also this quote in the article: "Loins are only to be aired in gyms, pools, bathrooms, and bedrooms, unless the rest of the outfit is so chic that it elevates the loin rather than drawing attention to it. If you are not in the top 5 percent in terms of styling, then you probably can’t pull off different lengths on different occasions — you should stick to trousers." Is "loins" really the right word here? If so, I'm amused by the singular "loin," but I'm pretty sure it's not, unless you actually intend "aired" to suggest ventilation rather than visibility.
I consult the OED, and I'm swamped with quotes about girding ones loins and springing from loins. Unless you're referring to meat — and there the "loin" is not part of the leg — it's all about girding and springing. Examples:
Milton, "Paradise Lost": "Some Tree whose broad smooth Leaves together sowd, And girded on our loyns, may cover round Those middle parts."
Dryden, translating Virgil, "What boots it, that from Phœbus's Loyns I spring."
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The 1970's "confident, slightly retro masculinity' of skimpy running shorts" worked out really well for Bruce Jenner.
It’s the heat.
Ann's wheelhouse: Men in shorts.
Ahh, the 1970s, when the very short and tight running shorts made of ultrathin nylon or polyester would turn transparent in the rain. Of course, that was also the era of streaking, so no real problem with gettng your Jim Fixx fix in a downpour, shirtless.
The loins bit can only be read as retro biblical language, gay fiction, or a parody of the double entendre Las Vegas "I ate the loin" radio commercials. The 1970s men in short shorts were often gay (Freddie Mercury) or unclassifiably odd (Richard Simmons).
Barring runners and swimmers in light sport-specific shorts, most men wear above-the-knee cargo shorts/safari shorts as functional. No overheating, not sexy, have enough pockets for a wallet, keys, phone, etc. In non-gay land, women dress for show and attention while men dress in bland uniforms (e.g., tuxedos at weddings).
“'They’re paying more attention to themselves overall, how they’re perceived, how they curate a silhouette, and thighs have quietly become part of that conversation,' Borsarello says.”
Maybe I’m not a real man, but I’ve never once curated my silhouette.
Short shorts belong on attractive young women, and on no one else.
Gotta keep the Purple People Eater away from us somehow!
Here in SoCal, I bet I'm wearing shorts about 80% of the time. I've been work from home since 1999, and can wear "athleisure" most of the time. I play a lot of tennis too, but I don't wear the short shorts we used to wear back in the '70s. I think I'm usually at around a 7" inseam. Dolphin shorts were super popular when I was in college, early-80s. I was too chicken to rock them, although I was still wearing short short tennis shorts still, 2-3" inseam, LOL.
If I had to go into an office, I'd wear khaki-style shorts, maybe 7-9" inseam. Essentially Bermuda shorts, right?
NBA players wore short-shorts. This is from the 1973 finals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuVe4Il1C1k
On a related note, I recently went through some boxes from my mom's old house and came across some magazines from the 1970s (the general sort, not the adult sort).
I spent more time than I expected flipping through them, not so much for the articles, but for the ads. I've heard it said that ads say much more about a society than articles, and I think that's true. One thing truly stood out: whether the magazines were targeted at men or boys, nearly all of the men in ads would be considered overwhelmingly manly by today's standards. No nail polish-wearing soy boys, and no steroid-laced mutants, either. Just fit dudes who looked like they could catch fish, attract a lady, and handle themselves in a bar fight. The handful of academic types in ads were bookish and a little less brawny, but still would qualify as "alpha" in 2026. It was truly jarring.
I even noticed even a few of my old Boys' Life magazines from when the Boy Scouts were still the Boy Scouts. Obviously, there weren't any cigarette ads, but the theme overwhelmingly was getting out of bed and doing things in the real world that probably would get a parent in trouble for neglect these days.
I can't participate because I can't bring myself to discuss "curating" my image or "having that conversation." I can't say "X is my passion." I can't discuss "my recent discovery that the classics [are/ are not] worth reading." I regard "young adult fiction" with the horror that others regard McDonadl's. I'm deep in the curmudgeon phase of my existence - and glad to be there.
More evidence, if we ever needed it, that too many of us have too much time on our hands and too little seriousness in our heads.
Arnie: “Wouldn't you like some of this Old Filipino Creemy, comin' in shorts and quarts?”
George: “Yeah!”
Arnie: “And tubs of slaw.”
George: “Gimme two.”
This is the epitome of being in the Althouse "wheelhouse".
This is how I remember the 70's
Bob Weir, he lika the short shorts.
We need to ban "curate/curated". Christ, it's everywhere anymore. In archaeology we used it for decades to denote either transporting things from place to place ("Most pre-Neolithic tools were highly curated rather than used and discarded") or prepping it for storage ("The museum staff curated the collection at the Met"), or the usual 'curator'.
Just stop it.
Some older dude is always running on the treadmill at the gym and he's got short nylon shorts. Which isn't too bad until he starts stretching. . . . .
If you've ever done any serious hiking and scrambling, nothing could beat the British Army surplus Gurkha shorts. They were short-legged but baggy, mil-spec cotton twill, and the waistband had two cloth belts, one above the other, sewn into it, about 2" apart. You buckled them independently to the most comfortable place. I wore out 2 pair and have never been able to find them again. Complete free range of movement, incredibly comfortable.
Women have it easy in this respect - they can dress as warm or as cool as they see fit and still be appropriate in a professional setting.
"they can dress as warm or as cool as they see fit and still be appropriate in a professional setting..."
while bitching about how the thermostat is set.
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