Coworkers beware. Your male colleagues may be showing a bit more skin this summer. According to the New York Times, it’s just a matter of time before your male colleagues start showing up to work in a suit jacket, shirt and tie, and . . . shorts. Yes, that’s correct. Shorts.
Interestingly enough, the paper said the same thing this time last year about the line of suits that had been produced for women and that featured knee-length shorts. I recall there being an actual debate about whether the author of the article lived on the same planet as the rest of us. There was also a mild interest in the idea based on the heat factor. Indeed, there was a little flurry of excitement over what seemed to be a new line in the sand when it came to business attire.
In our office of roughly 200 people, one woman was nervy enough to give it a try. And she looked great. She’s also a size 0 and stands 5′ 10″. She looks great in a parka with mittens and snow boots. It’s virtually impossible for her to not look great.
So, pardon me NYT, I mean no disrespect, but I have my doubts about the level of interest most men will have in the shorts-suit concept. If for no other reason but cost. Gen Y are the potential consumers for this latest fashion development. And I’d be willing to bet that if they have to drop a chunk of change on a suit for a new job, it’ll be for a suit they’ll actually be able to wear. It’s difficult to imagine the young man who would forgo the navy blue standard in lieu of a khaki-colored pair of shorts and matching jacket. Let’s face it–he’d rather spend his money on something else, anything else, other than a suit in the first place.
Of course, if a male colleague showed up to work wearing the shorts-suit styled like the gentleman’s in the picture, above, he may be laughed out of the office, black dress shoes, white ankle socks, and all, before he had a chance to explain that the NYT had given his outfit the official thumbs up.