Mar 30 2009
Just Please Don’t: Men in Short Shorts
In most places, the weather is getting warmer, the sun is starting shine brighter and you can almost hear birds chirping (except here in New York). Spring has just about sprung. With the new season comes all the pleasures of warm weather like sunglasses and shorts.
Shorts are a tricky fashion statement though. Many women have a love-hate relationship with them: They love the way they keep their legs cool, but hate how they make said legs look. But for most women, there is a flattering pair of shorts out there for them.
For a real reason to hate shorts, look no further than men who sport them. We’re all for equal opportunity here at For Ladies By Ladies, but when it comes to pasty male thighs burning our retinas, we draw the line. And yet there’s always that guy somewhere who thinks this alarmingly high hemline is a good look. Designers only make it worse by continuing to design them and call it fashion.
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This short shorts epidemic afflicts regular guys and celebrities (pseudo celebrities) alike. Check out some of the worst offenders:
“Regular” Guys
So wrong on so many levels.
That does not look comfortable.
He’s showing off a lot of leg.
All the better to do tricks in?
It could be worse…
Worse.
Those guys are bad, but worse still are the celebrities getting leggy. They’re supposed to be role models or something:
Cristiano Ronaldo
To be fair, he has nicer legs than most women.
Devendra Banhart (Folk rock singer/songwriter and former boyfriend of Natalie Portman)
Why, Natalie Portman, why?
Ed Westwick
He’s Chuck Bass so he can get away with (almost) anything.
John Mayer
Chalk this up to general Mayer assholery.
New York Governor David Patterson
I will not make a comment about him being blind, and instead I’ll blame Runner’s World who dressed him for this feature.
Richard Simmons
No comment needed.
Okay, maybe these aren’t quite the trendsetters of the celebrity world, but that doesn’t give them a “Get Out of Fashion Hell Free” card either.
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Lt. Dangle (who wears them for “mobility”) is the only one who can get away with short shorts in the present day. I do have a soft spot for 1970s basketball players though.
OMDZ Ronaldo … did u have to go and do tht? Thts just kills it. I totally loved u aswell..nd u go nd pull a stunt like tht. wt the hell were u thinking wen u were gettin dressed. All my mates call u gay nd i defend u, but sorry, this has topped it all. A TOTAL LET DOWN. next tym, consult a fashion adviser before leaving ur home, and entering any sort of public place.
Still love u and ur football tho. im just gona have to make sure i neva see this agen cz it really is making it difficult to like u. Mwah. Byeee.
Cristiano Ronaldo can wear anything, he will look sexy all the time. He is european, they have diffrent mentality than the americans, europeans are more secure about themselfs.
Luke,
THANK YOU!!!
I don´t agree with your point of view.
I trully believe that clothes don´t even need to have a gender. It´s ridiculous to think that man “can´t wear” shor shorts or anything (and one of your list isn´t really short). The “fashion world” is always changing and for that reason many treasures as “CHANNEL” came out ( Do you rather use that Vitorian huge dresses? or restrict your wardrobe to dresses and veeery long skirts, and, even worse, don´t have the right to use snikers, or back to ancient times where people don´t even wear swimmsuits to go to the beach?).
Finally, people are free to wear, do, and think everything they wanted to do, wear, and think, at least in democratic countries…but based on your point of view, you may like North Korea, some Islamic places…in this places people don´t wear shorts shorts, and probably aren´t so free as we are.
HAHA stupid Americans…you have women telling you what you should wear or not wear…what is gay or not gay. In Europe if a man wants to wear short shorts…he can and no one will judge him for it. No one will call him gay…no one will say it is a nightmare and men shouldn’t be wearing it. Americans are just so closed minded about everything…it is time you get over it and join the rest of the world and quit trying to act you are the trendsetters here. Fashion comes to the US from Europe. Us Europeans don’t plan on giving up our short shorts for men’s “Capri Pants”
Moralism is the greatest American tragedy… It underlies everything else, from homophobia to teenage unwanted pregnancy to school and church shootings to their immense desire of going to war…
If life can´t be digged in its beautiful, sensual spontaniety than let´s kill it…
Freud, Jung, Reich, and Lowen are more current than ever…
what are they girls
To the stupid Americans comment- you are just as ignorant as the “stupid Americans”. Please do not judge us all based on the fact that some may be closed minded. And by sterotyping us, you are showcasing the fact the you are close minded as well.
As instead of belittling “stupid” Americans, how about you respectfully inform them of your culture.
cristiano ronaldo 4ever!!!! he is the most handsome human in the world….i love him and he”
s legs are awesome so he can wear shorts….he has the greatest legs……<3cr9<3
cristiano ronaldo is the most handsome man in the world!!!! he is the best footballer ever!! he has the greatest legs and he must wear shorts cause we wanna see his beautiful legs…!!!
<3 cr9<3…..
cristiano ronaldo is the sexiest man alive, short shorts arnt enough, i think he should wear less clothing. hes yummy i also think he pulls off the pink shirt to!
I personally think Ronaldo is workin’ them shorts better than most of the other men in the post.
Buuut that’s just me.
And anyway, who cares if the male population want to show their feminine side? Just let them, it’s not that big of a deal. If you don’t like, don’t look, yeah?
Ronaldo is so bomb he can wear anything!! His legs are gorgeous too <3
Seriously, Cristiano Ronaldo could wear a thong and I wouldnt be offended. Enough said.
Cristiano Ronaldo could wear a thong and I wouldnt be offended. Actually, I would probably leap around with joy. So get off his jock.
Cristiano is sooooo hot ;D he has GORGEOUS legs and he can wear anything he wants to (:
Yes, this is America and yes we judge men based on the length of their shorts. If your man shorts are more than two inches above the knee, your sexuality is questionable. More than 3-4 inches and the dogs are sniffin cause you’re suspect. This is how it is right now in this era of fashion in America and that’s that. FYI – Cristiana Ronaldo is orange. And probably gay according to my man-short scale.
The chick who wrote this article is obviously a young, vapid girl, and of course, American. But American men are so insecure that they need to take their fashion from either the hip hop community or vapid chicks. That is a pretty sad state of affairs. By the way, those were not all “short shorts” in fact , if they fall below the knee, they aren’t shorts at all, they’re high waters.
To each his or her own. It’s her opinion. I tend to side with the European. Articulation is always so much nicer to read than ranting.
I say to dudes. Go for as short as you can get them. Feel free and run!
First, I am not gay. In fact I am married to a beautiful woman and have 3 children.
Second. I love clothes and fashion. I wear purple, pink, yellow.. and I ware short shorts all summer. I my wife loves it.. she just told me that I looked nice in my Beneton purple/white striped shirt and purple 2″ hem shorts.
I live in the mid-west and it is hard to me a man with any fashion out here. They all ware blue jeans and gray shirts.. maybe red sometimes (local sports team color).. so I really stand out.. but I don’t care.
I is women like this writer that hold the whole of American men btack from fashion. I would not do this to you.. why do you have such a closed mind toward men’s fashion?
I have travelled all over the world and have seen all kinds of fashions for men and women. As one poster already commented, the Europeans are far more open.
I buy most of may clothes from Sweden, England, France and Italy..they understand that a man can look good too.
Open up your perspective. A trim man can look good in skinny jeans or shorts.
Wake up American women and stop restricting what we can wear..instead demand that your men stay trim and fit so they look good. We do it to you. basically, the fashion that women “approve of” in this country is stuff that covers beer bellys, hides fatty legs, flabby arms.. I don’yt have that stuff to hide and I don’t like wearing “bags” for clothes.
Men don’t manicure their legs like women do. Women shave their legs, put on nylons, and soften their legs with creams and lotions to make them look nice. That’s the main reason why women can wear shorter shorts than men. When short shorts were in for men back then, I remember they were VERY casual. Much more casual than the longer shorts of today.
If a woman can “dress like a man” without being called lesbian, then why do people automatically label men who “dress like women” gays? This is the same kind of prejudice women were victim to, and now the victim has changed to men…Funny how we never learn
Men are liberated like wonem are. we should be able to wear what suits us. If a Man has the legs and a decent ass…why not. Men are just as beautiful as women. If ya got it flaunt it.
r u kidding me?
short shorts are very chic and sexy!!!
desinger brands runway show and catalogue and fashion magazine always do this!
The same rules apply for men and women: If you can pull it off, go right ahead. There’s nothing inherently wrong with a man wearing short shorts and it’s not an indication of sexuality. But that’s kind of a moot point since there’s nothing wrong with being gay either. When did we get so hung up about this stuff?
A man with good legs can look great in short shorts. In fact, men’s legs tend to be more muscular than women’s so they can actually be more shapely in some cases. Like women, as we get older longer, more conservative looks are probably wiser. But really, who cares?
More interested in the question of why the writer is so hung up on this? The pictures here are also skewed. I could find just as many pictures of women who look bad in short shorts, and lots and lots of men who look smoking hot. To each his or her own.
I couldn’t find anything wrong in the first picture of “regular” guys, for me it looks really nice, as well as in the Ronaldo’s picture, the only thing wrong in the Ronaldo’s picture is his tan!!! :S WTF??? It’s not healthy at all, his skin is so burned
And probably in some pictures that doesn´t seem to be ok it’s because to wear a short you have to have nice leghs to show, in my case I spent 3 years waiting to have the appropiate leghs to wear a short (now I’m 21)
I realize the site is for ladies by ladies, so here’s hoping some of you get the hint too. Enough with the cottage cheese bulging out of ladies’ jorts every spring and summer! Dimples don’t belong on thighs.
What do u know about men’s fashion? i could wear shorts shorts at the beach, thankfully I DON’T LIVE in the U.S.
What’s the problem with man showing their bodies? C Ronaldo has amazing legs, why keep them covered?
Why do you think that some clothes are exclusively for women?
What do you know about gay men and the way we dress?
What’s wrong with looking gay? at least I don’t wanna look as a straight man, why would I?
Americans are hypocrites, always judging everybody else but you guys are the most pervert society i ever saw, take a look at Nacy Grace’s show on hln, the crimes that they feature are atrocious.
YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT MEN AND HOW WE THINK
Its quite obvious why Americans don’t wear shorts and its a pity. Unfortunately the same argument holds for well over 60% of American ladies. Europeans visiting the US can rarely resist laughing seeing those jumbos walking around.
PRUDES! Get over yourselves women! You think you can walk around in nothing but men have to be fully covered. I have news for all of you uptight closed minded women out there. The trend in men’s shorts are getting shorter again. Nothing you can do about it. I’m tired of only being able to buy baggy shorts that give me a tan line on my ankles. Nice to see that places like Hollister and American Eagle, among others, are coming out with shorter shorts for men. My opinion is that as long as a mans junk isn’t hanging out than go for it! Men who are secure with themselves should not let these prude american women dictate what we wear. Straight women will still go for men with or without short shorts because if they don’t they will only have men left who are too ugly or uncomfortable with themselves to wear anything form fitting! WOMEN WHO DON’T LIKE THE MALE PHYSIQUE ARE CALLED LESBIANS!!! Just Sayin!
Maybe if a guys wears short shorts, they should be shaved/waxed and at least a little bit tanned, I agree with that. With exception of course if you do sport or camping.
Also I very much agree with Ben and others – if women can do it why man can not? Isn’t it that a double standard!? If you have problem with that maybe you should handle it from a different angle, even if that involves visiting a qualified psychotherapist. Seriously!
peace
if women take to putting on short tight shorts,why cant men?honestly,wrong on so many levels?do u even have one hell of an idea what u are saying,or did u copy this phrase from somewhere?cos it makes no sense in ur context.i admit a few of the pics u showed at the end looks bad,but those few above looks rather ok.i’d have been turned off by them a decade ago,but looking at how ive been way more mortified by what young women and even young mothers have taken to wearing in this century,and the fact that such deplorable trend has spread all the way into our asian country;the fact the we have no choice but to accept women in trashy outfits,men taking on the path u have shown is a mere matter of time;in fact is a claiming back of their rights.u wana blame,blame ur own women kind for creating such a trend.women were NEVER meant to wear shorts,let alone those which look more like rags or underwear.ive seen women more ‘capable’ in the streets than what u have shown here of men.u women claim its ur rights to dress however u want,insisting the law protect u from molest eevn when u misbehave,yet u wana tread on men’s rights when they do the same thing?talk about disgracefully shameless.
the first pic,whom u so brazenly claim is wrong on many levels,actually looks hot,by ur women definitions on whats hot.equality dictates u accept that it is.else lets revert to the time when women have less rights.truth be said,i’d much rather see a man like that than a woman.
anana,i hope not just dogs but crows and cockroaches will be sniffing ur butt when u wear short shorts or miniskirts.to think u dare make such a sweeping comment to desicrate ur male counterparts.why dont u lead by example by wearing a long victorian dress and make darn sure none of ur legs(or shoulders) show too?women fool their men into allowing them in shorts by equality standards.now thats done they are attempting to feminise shorts by questioning the sexuality of the clothing.have u no freaking shame??american men must be dumb if they actually take in what uve said.
julie,men DONT manicure their legs.so u saying manicure=rights to expose legs?how do u know they dont?how do u know if theres any woman who hasnt done so but insists on flaunting their legs?shorts of the past much less formal?how do u know for a fact?are u sure u got ur facts right?shorts solely for women,now thats a laughingstock.they only got those rights from women movements.why do u think women can wear dresses but men cant?we each have our own style of clothes,yet women always come in and snatch our fashion.and now they wana bar us from our own clothes?somethings gota be done about this.speaking from a male perspective,since im not american,but i know due to globalisation there isnt a local issue which’d remain local forever
goes to show if we give in to women too much,they’d turn and bite us instead of being grateful.for everyone,women or men,u cant be too good to them n condone their every actions else they take advantage of u.anana,ur prob a crossbreed by my standards,neither looking male nor female
im glad,however,most feedback here seem to see sense to be fair when dealing with this issue
Most women stress about how they look. Most men wear something comfortable, and to hell with how they look. Since life is stressful enough, I intend to be comfortable whenever I can.
Make an entry about how women shouldn’t use trousers (any kind) because it makes them look butch. If you are a woman and are not using skirts you are probably gay or just totally look gay. Am I right?
btw, that was sarcasm and this entry is totally stupid.
How come shorts for men keep getting lower and lower and clothes for women keep getting tighter and tighter, make an entry about that.
I am a Brazilian woman and I approve of short shorts as menswear. The men can look totally attractive and sexy, and also feel very comfortable. That’s their right to wear whatever they want, and it’s our duty to respect people’s tastes and sense of individuality. Just respect, that’s all.
Ps.: The first guy and Cristiano Ronaldo look stunning!
I remember growing up in the 70s and those shorts were quite comfortable so I was wondering who it was that all of a sudden decided that we couldn’t wear them anymore. So now I know it was you.
How long until you make us guys wear the veil and stuff us in the burqa?
You are no better than the Muslim men who shame their women into modest clothing. You’d probably beat men wearing short shorts if you could get away with it and if they weren’t so much bigger than you.
Thank you for your attention to this most urgent situation and I hope you will someday appreciate your folly and double standard hypocrisy.
@lippy, you know, the fashion scene (and the world in general) has always been and still is ruled by men (no, not gay men – but the ones behind them, the rich, white straight old and ignorant males). So if men stopped wearing it, that’s because the “bigger men” wanted them to stop. Mostly because now the female body is considered nothing more than an object – an object for men, so they have to be beautiful and can expose it, the sexier the better. But the male body is considered an instrument – an instrument ruled by the male mind, so they don’t have to be beautiful or expose it. Not to mention the male body is also considered unappealing and unsexy (because most heterosexual males said so), so men shouldn’t, well, men CAN’T be sexy! So a man can get naked and that’s ok – but when he wears revealing clothes that’s a bad thing, he is being sensuous and breaking the rules… that’s too much for the patriarchy to handle.
And about saying she/he is just as bad as Muslim men… come on now. Way to minimize the pain of these poor castrated, humiliated, abused, raped and murdered women. Don’t let your anger blind you and also offend innocent people. I understand what you meant, but still.