June 22, 2017

"Man sent home from work for wearing shorts in over 30°C heat comes back in a dress."

His protest resulted in the company amending the dress code to allow men to wear "3/4 length shorts" but only in beige, navy, or black.

30°C = 86°F

3/4 length shorts? The internet did not give me a clear answer on that. It might mean knee length, but it might mean below the knee. My search on Amazon yielded up many items — for men — that were called "capris." And now I've relearned the word "manpris."

66 comments:

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

The other day I saw a guy standing on a city street corner wearing cargo shorts that went below his knees and socks that came up into his shorts and he looked like one of those old-fashioned newsboys in the movies and, no, I don't think he was making any sort of fashion statement.

Darrell said...

Nothing is below "the need."

exhelodrvr1 said...

"but it might mean below the need" - Is that a euphemism, Meade?

Nonapod said...

I never understood those really extra long loose fit shorts, the ones go all the way down to the ankle. Back in olden times they had "plus fours" or "knickerbockers", which I think are silly too.

Ann Althouse said...

LOL. Typo corrected.

walter said...

Great Scot! Just kilt it!
I did find images for 3/4 length PANTS

Ann Althouse said...

"Back in olden times they had "plus fours" or "knickerbockers", which I think are silly too."

I think people liked to get a good look at men's shapely calves.

Today, men wear shorts just for their own comfort, not to give us anything worth seeing. Most men, I mean. I've seen the occasional man who may have known he had nice legs and wanted to show them off. That seems to be the case with "Ken in shorts."

Original Mike said...

Some of us find 86 degrees uncomfortably hot.

walter said...

WTF is going on with THESE?

Bob Ellison said...

I wear shorts pretty much 24/7/365, partly because I have an insulin pump.

But "manpris"? Can someone tell the women of the world that even capri pants on women look horrible? I don't care, you could be Jennifer Lawrence or something like that, but they always, always look awful. If a man wears them, he's just saying, "I don't know what I'm doing."

Original Mike said...

Some of us need a lot of room, walter.

Balfegor said...

Re: Nonapod:

I never understood those really extra long loose fit shorts, the ones go all the way down to the ankle. Back in olden times they had "plus fours" or "knickerbockers", which I think are silly too.

Loose-fit trousers, open at the bottom, that don't reach the ankle can be nice because there's air circulation around the leg, but your leg is still protected from the elements (e.g. hot surfaces that have been baking in the sun). At home, I sometimes go around in jinbei (as lounge wear), which is below the knee and comparatively baggy.

The knickerbockers and plus-fours are gathered, though, so I think it's mostly mobility, with a little less of the air circulation on the upper leg.

Marc in Eugene said...

30 degrees C. seems to be a fairly common stand in for 'unbearably hot and the government should do something about it' in the UK.

Dave from Minnesota said...

A while back, I took a buyout option at a job to do my MBA as a full time student. Other than church and 1 interview, I didn't wear long pants from mid-May to late-September. It was glorious.

Crimso said...

Guy's got nothing on Fishman.

Dave from Minnesota said...

I think Ken in Shorts will be marching in some parades this weekend, if you know what I mean.

Dave from Minnesota said...

Eric, isn't that a Mexican thing? To wear socks that go up to your shorts?

Original Mike said...

"Can someone tell the women of the world that even capri pants on women look horrible?"

Yeah. I keep telling my wife we can afford whole pants, but she insists on wearing them.

Fen said...

This is a moment of truth for Ann Althouse.

Does she really believe in the thing she lectures the rest of us about ;)

Are shorts of such Evil that even a skirt is a viable alternative?

There is but one way she can prove to us that she is a woman of principle...

Chez Althouse thread with pic of Meade in a skirt.

richlb said...

My company doesn't allow shorts. But the women are allowed to wear the tightest of tights/leggings with nothing left to the imagination. To be fair, I work for an athletic apparel company, but still.

tcrosse said...

No True Scotsman would show up in a skirt.

walter said...

Original Mike said...Some of us need a lot of room, walter.
--
For a catheter bag

Left Bank of the Charles said...

It's only going to be a matter of time before the office police are taking out their rulers to measure men's hemlines.

Etienne said...

When I toured the Ford assembly plant in Ohio, everyone on the assembly line was wearing loose fitting baggy shorts and shirts you'd often see in Safari or Outback movies.

I was shocked! My Metal Shop teacher had one major rule: no loose fitting clothes.

He said that one trip through the lathe with your face would be not worth the education.

The one saving grace, was they were wearing an apron, so as to not get grease on their clothes.

Darrell said...

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/jun/22/teenage-boys-wear-skirts-to-school-protest-no-shorts-uniform-policy

Susan said...

Here in central Florida any summer day that only hits a high of 86 is known as a "cold snap".I'll wear capris until about October. It's amazing how much cooler they are than long pants.If you've never worn them you wouldn't guess. Unfortunately shorts are out at my age.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

The company's solution of 3/4 length shorts which appear to be basically what we used to call "high water" pants is not a solution at all. The ones I see on the net come down to halfway between your knees and ankles. Those are still pants, are hot and in dark colors that attract the heat.

If they allowed Bermuda shorts which hit just above the knee, in a soft khaki colored fabric....that would be a solution to being hot at work.

Although I think that they are really just being giants wusses because 30 degrees C = 86F. Which is a balmy relief from the 40C or 104 that we are expecting this weekend. Man up you weenies!

Screw it. The guys should just wear skirts until they come up with a real solution.

rehajm said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ann Althouse said...

"Are shorts of such Evil that even a skirt is a viable alternative?"

1. I've always accepted shorts when the temperature is hot enough.

2. I've accepted kilts.

rehajm said...

Wikipedia says 3/4 length pants are clamdiggers.

It also says clamdiggers are for women.

Birches said...

This guy is kind of awesome.

Original Mike said...

Touché, walter.

Yancey Ward said...

There were stories linked on Drudge earlier this week about the record setting heat wave in the UK- stories about the roads melting and the train rails warping in the blazing heat, and when I checked out the various high temperatures, none of them were over 92 degrees Fahrenheit.

tim in vermont said...

A manly pair of lower thighs and strong calves on display is gonna distract the ladies from their work. Men are used to the distraction of thinking about sex every seven seconds.

urbane legend said...

Yancey Ward said...
There were stories linked on Drudge earlier this week about the record setting heat wave in the UK- stories about the roads melting and the train rails warping in the blazing heat, ...

Lucas Electrics has found new opportunities.

Heartless Aztec said...

I still wear my lime green corduroy board shorts from 1979. The barely cover the mullet much less hide his two friends. My daughter cringes everytime she sees them. I love the olden days.

tcrosse said...

Lucas Electrics has found new opportunities.

The English drink warm beer because they have Lucas refrigerators.

Dude1394 said...

That is greatness!!! Force them to live with their own rules.

Yancey Ward said...

Urbane Legend,

Not being British, I had to look that up. Hilarious! One of the first links on Google is almost priceless:

"I've had a Lucas pacemaker for years and have never experienced any prob...

Ralph L said...

Wikipedia says 3/4 length pants are clamdiggers.
Only applies in New England. Wiki is damnyankeecentric.

When I went to 3rd grade near Long Beach CA after living in SC, I was told not to wear shorts the next day. Mortifying.
The first time I wore shorts in public as an adult, a car slowed down and everyone stared, not in a good way. Now I'm old enough I don't care who sees what.

Ralph L said...

The really freaky shorts are from the WWII British Army tropical uniform.
Might as well be a skirt

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Be careful what you ask for; you may garner it.

Achilles said...

walter said...
WTF is going on with THESE?

Looks like a place to put your poop.

Achilles said...

I have suits and to be honest the dress pants on those are the most comfortable thing I have worn. If it wasn't for hte lack of pockets.

Expat(ish) said...

Was I the only one who thought: why did he have a dress that fit?

-XC

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Expat

Who says it fit?

Alex said...

We should go back to Roman tunics.

mockturtle said...

He'd better not be 'manspreading' in that dress!

Mountain Maven said...

I'd have fired him for insubordination.

readering said...

I guess the problem with a kilt is that it's whoolen and designed for harsh celtic climes.

walter said...

rehajm said...clamdiggers are for women.
--
Clamdiggers LIKE women.

lgv said...

They should just specify an inseam length.

BTW, capris/extra long cargo shorts are excellent for travel. Almost as cool as shorts, yet your legs don't get cold on flights and give you enough coverage to remain "modest" in various East and SE Asian countries.

FullMoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Roughcoat said...

Worst pants for men ever invented: "Bombay Bloomers" shorts worn by British soldiers in the Malayan Campaign of 1941-42. They were three-quarters length, very baggy, sort of like culottes, and they made the poor sods wearing them look absolutely ridiculous, not in the leastwise soldierly. The famous capitulation photograph, released by the Japanese globally upon the British surrender of Singapore in February 1942, showed GOC A.E. Percival and his staff wearing baggy shorts and carrying a white flag as they went to meet the victorious Yamashita to ask for a cease-fire. Probably Japanese soldiers watching this spectacle were laughing at the hapless Brits, laughing at their silly appearance. Laughing, especially, at the gawky Percival in his baggy shorts with his receding chin and toothbrush moustache. He wasn't wearing Bombay Boomers, but many other British soldiers were, and the effect was the same. The British public was outraged. Many only half-facetiously blamed the Bombay Bloomers for the Malayan debacle, asserting that it robbed soldiers of their warrior spirit.

tcrosse said...

I guess the problem with a kilt is that it's whoolen and designed for harsh celtic climes.

If worn properly it's a bit draughty. Not for riding a bicycle, for instance.

Roughcoat said...

Here's one of several pics of the British staff's "walk of shame," replete with baggy shorts and white flag, when they surrendered to the Japanese:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Singapore#/media/File:Surrender_Singapore.jpg

glenn said...

Anybody who has always worked in an air conditioned environment needs to stifle themselves.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Roughcoat, what capris, those are shorts, above the knee.

Is that what PG Wodehouse meant by "footer bags?"

MikeD said...

Actually in mid-50's Santa Cruz, CA (before UC ruined it) they were called "clam diggers" by the mfr. (my best friends family business, Balboa Swimwear).

Roughcoat said...

Bad Lieutenant:

The Brit officers in the surrender pic are wearing standard issue baggy tropical shorts. But the British public were dismayed by the pic nonetheless because the officers looked ridiculous in their ensemble of shorts and steel helmets garnished with a white flag. Other photos released by the Japanese showing downcast Commonwealth POWs in actual Bombay Bloomers proved even more infuriating. In the public's collective consciousness all short, Bombay Bloomers and jungle shorts, came to be negatively associated with Britain's catastrophic and humiliating defeat in Malaya.

Here are some pics of Bombay Bloomers. The men in the anti-tank gun crew are wearing their Bloomers "down". They could be buttoned up at or slightly above the knees, depending where on the waist you wore them. They were customarily worn high on the waist.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-15/battle-of-muar/8269178

In this pic the Bloomers have been rolled up and buttoned at or above the knees but they could be let down if so desired for protection to the legs.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-15/fall-of-singapore-australian-soldiers-in-their-own-words/8266370

http://malayacommand.blogspot.com/2012/08/hugh-pilkington-volunteer-in-malay.html

https://onlinemilitaria.net/products/1273-UK-Khaki-Drill-Shorts-with-Turn-Ups-Bombay-Bloomers/

Roughcoat said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Roughcoat said...

Incidentally, that photo of the Australian gun crew in their Bombay Bloomers is really quite extraordinary. The gunners have just knocked out a Japanese tank which stands smoking about 25 yards away. The tank had pushed through a roadblock of logs when the Diggers let loose. The same gun crew knocked out about six tanks in quick succession before withdrawing from the position. Well done, lads.

tcrosse said...

Bus drivers in Nantes, France, showed up for work in skirts to protest no-shorts policy.
Skirts the issue

Big Mike said...

Back in the day the company I was working for instituted a dress code, and two guys who claimed membership in Scottish clans showed up for work the next day in their (alleged) clan kilts. The code only said that skirts had to come to within a certain distance of the knee -- it didn't say that women had to be wearing those skirts!

walter said...

Ok..3 stories in 3 countries regarding men wearing protest skirts...

Douglas B. Levene said...

Adult men should wear shorts only (i) when engaged in athletics, (ii) when on the beach, or (iii) when in remote rural or wilderness areas. The penalties for violating this rule should be severe. There's really no room for debate on this.