Rick Edwards on style: casual-wear swim shorts – The Guardian
Last weekend I had arranged to spend the day hanging out with my girlfriend: the weather was gorgeous and we planned to have a stroll around Hampstead Heath, lie around in the sun playing Boggle, and have a few drinks and so on. A Classic Sunday™. Given the weather, I elected to wear a white vest, a splendid pair of lemon-yellow Ralph Lauren swim shorts and some grey flip-flops. Very summery. So imagine my surprise when, meeting my girlfriend, she was bloody furious. Specifically, furious with my attire. B-b-b-but, I spluttered, I look lovely! A triumph! And besides, I write a monthly style column, so I must be well dressed. That didn’t wash, weirdly. She said I couldn’t possibly expect to go for food later wearing swim shorts. I’d have to go home and get changed.
That absolutely hadn’t occurred to me. But it did make me give some thought to the nature of swim shorts. Because while they are very comfy, they do also always carry the suggestion of what lurks beneath. Nothing. Which could potentially be, I concede, off-putting for other pub or restaurant goers. The answer then is quite simple – I need to find some swim shorts that don’t look like swim shorts. Ones that appear, to the casual observer (my girlfriend) at least, to be regular shorts.
If you’ll permit me a small digression, I baulked recently at the claim "Real Men Don’t Wear Shorts" on the cover of a popular (well, popular-ish) men’s magazine. I think they’ve made the mistake of confusing provocative with stupid. Not only do I object to the borderline offensive concept of "real men" nearly as strongly as I do to the absurdly puritanical "guilty pleasures", but what possible archaic nonsense could be used to justify not wearing shorts in this summer’s heat? Unmitigated bollocks.
So back to the question of which swim shorts can pass for shorts under which underpants might be found. Any big, bold floral print is out. That is a dead giveaway. Classic swim-short material – with that slight gloss sheen – should be given a wide berth. Ideally the drawstring will either be absent entirely, or tuck-in-able. A plain short or one with a subtle pattern is the best bet. If you are the sort of person who thinks £150 for swimming shorts is reasonable, then go for a pair from Orlebar Brown. They’re better tailored than a "normal short" and are available in some beautiful geometric prints.
A quick point about the cost of some of my picks – they are a bit dear, but bear in mind that they will all be doubling up. They’re not just for the lido. But that’s our secret.
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