You can't deny we are living in 2020 when actual boys have a different range of things they can chose to wear and unlike my generation at the very least you are asked today where with us we got what our Mum's considered "right" on their son.
On the other hand we are boys of and very much informed by that era having this past into present life within but nonetheless running alongside it.
Thus some may adopt styles of today such as polo shirts or sweat shirts which were seen as American casual wear in the 1970's but a bigger bone of contention is around shorts because most boys today who wear them have the on the knee Bermuda length or the combat style.
Like a good number of us I've worn them being the easiest often the cheapest available current shorts you can get and that they are seen more can ease acceptance in more conservatively dressed settings such as the funeral send off with family and friends I was at recently.
The thing is such shorts don't feel actually short as while I dislike dogmatic opinions, for most of us shorts are something we visualize as something those length does stop a bit above the knee.
In some ways they are a half way house out of long trousers and yet as one person said they feel very similar and there's a bigger difference in shorts that are typically an inch over the knee at least.
Then a number of us are a few inches or more shorter than today's older boys and men which was normal in our era meaning the area covered in the legs will differ which is why long trousers have different inside leg options and I'm a short one.
Thus while keeping the odd pair for winter or wider family gatherings I'm moving my standard maximum length down to a six inch length which on me gives a classic 30's to early 60's an inch and a bit above the knee look.
It also happens to be the case those pairs are much better made too including being fully lined.
However I am wearing more as a everyday thing shorter pairs that are just a bit longer by a half inch than what I last wore as a junior school boy because they are in so many respects more authentic of a boy - an adult little boy - of my era and so are what I knew wearing shorts full time to be.
Wearing them even compared to the 6 inch ones feels a bit different and I echo the feeling that both are much more akin to what it was like than the current popular longer Bermuda or Cargo styles.
While I am happy to compromise in certain contexts to enable me to wear shorts near enough full time no matter what in 2020, I am much more at one with wearing the shorts I wore as that bio-boy then as a LB now and that is what I will be doing.
I am a boy who looks and feels best in shorter shorts: It is my real authentic standard.
I've never been one for wearing a full school uniform even when I was a lot younger, apart from the shorts that is. At my age I think wearing school uniform would certainly attract a lot of attention.
ReplyDeleteIn my actual boyhood days the legs of my short trousers would always be knee-length when purchased. You see mom knew I would quickly grow into them and very soon the leg-length of my shorts appeared to get shorter and shorter the more I grew into them.
A few years back in the days before the internet I subscribed to Devotee a typed written A4 magazine for short trousers fanatics like myself. I even purchased a pair of corduroy shorts that the editor sold as a side line. In fact he gave me the name of the firm who made them, which was Shorties UK of Hebden Bridge.
I got in touch with them and arranged to have a few pairs made in brown, bottle green, navy and grey. The specifications I gave were they should have an inside leg of 8", a tunnel waistband and be fully lined in cotton. I think the price was around £25 per pair.
The one thing I've learned about corduroy is the material as well as fading, shrinks when washed. Over time the inside leg went from 8" to 6" while the length of the cotton lining remained the same length. This meant at one or two ponta, the lining could be seen below the hem of the legs. Any subsequent shorts I had made I asked for a gap of at least 2" between the hem and the lining to alow for shrinking.
I have to report the business of Shorties UK who also manufactured school uniforms among other things was wound-up in November 2018.
Years ago I purchased a pair of charcoal grey shorts from a PDSA charity shop, which had a 6" inside leg. At the time I had both a cream colored Aran jumper and sweater, these went well with the shorts.
Regarding the corduroy shorts above, mom was a great one for color coordinating. Whenever I wore my brown cords I also wore a short sleeve khaki shirt, a green polo shirt went with my green cords, a blue shirt complimented my navy cords and finally a white shirt for the greys.