Jorts For Men?? Are They Ever Acceptable?

[Cantw8]

Where do you people live that denim isn't acceptable?

You seem real upset by this...do you own a jorts store?
I'm cool with whatever looks good on a man as long as the shorts aren't Daisy Dukes and their junk doesn't fall out

 

[lovemygoofy]

I like jorts, but Im old , and even with that im a bit sub conscious cause I know of all the hate for them

don't worry about the haters, rock your shorts

 

[Minnesota!]

No man under like 40, maybe even 45, wears jorts. I think my dad still wears them; since he's about 70 I give him a pass. I don't care for jorts on women either, although they are more widely accepted than on men.

I won't comment on short swim trunks because a lot of that is cultural, the things men wear in Europe and Asia are not worn here (including capris).

I can guarantee that many, many men wear denim shorts in Minnesota!

Especially the teen crowd...they sag them still, though. Ew to that.

I have no problem with men wearing them...provided they aren't short shorts, but that goes for any material.

Love me some John Cena!

 

[Kellykins1218]

You seem real upset by this...do you own a jorts store?
I'm cool with whatever looks good on a man as long as the shorts aren't Daisy Dukes and their junk doesn't fall out

Nope, I just think this is one of the oddest threads I've ever seen on here (and that's saying a lot) and am dumbfounded that denim is apparently an issue where these people live.

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

I'm more bothered by the word 'jorts' than I am by anyone wearing denim shorts.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

I make fun of my +50 DH every time he wears jorts. He has no fashion sense and will never change.
At least he has other cargo-type shorts he can wear if he's with me in public

 

[Colleen27]

I'll take jorts over the short athletic shorts that seem to be making a comeback lately... those weren't a good look the first time around! Some of the shorts I saw on teen boys at today's back to school event are tighter and shorter than I'd let my daughters wear, and believe me, shorts that fall 6" above the knee aren't flattering even on fit young men!

I do think of denim shorts as a "middle aged" look, but so what? There are plenty of things middle aged women wear that young women wouldn't be caught dead in, and I see no reason men's fashions should be any different.

 

[cjbcam]

My DH would not where jorts. He wears board shorts at the cabin, cargo and some really nice CK ones. I think he would be hot in any shorts

 

[Jdbsfw]

Jorts have been "out" for years but adults shouldn't worry about such things.....

 

[Sadie22]

Where did you find all the photos of the short swim trunks from the 70s? You're missing the Speedo-type ones the younger guys wore, though.

 

[GaryDis]

As a guy who came of age during the cutoff era, let me give you the low-down on these.

In the 60s, only boys would wear denim shorts, and they were always cutoffs. I think the kids on "Flipper" made them somewhat respectable, but even there, they were mostly for swimming and such, never for when they needed to be presentable.

In the 70s, it started becoming acceptable for young men to wear shorts in more situations. If you look at photos of Woodstock (1969), you'll see a lot of shirtless guys in long pants - it just wasn't that common for guys of college age and older to wear shorts. But in 1970 or maybe 71, my high school changed its dress code to allow guys to wear shorts and sandals, but only in the month of June.

The problem in the early 70s is that the shorts that were available were mostly either tennis whites or Bermuda shorts, the latter being either too preppie or too Bob Hope/Jackie Gleason/Lou Costello. So cutoffs started becoming popular. And any guy who could cut a 2x4 to length could cut a decent pair of cutoffs (PP notwithstanding). They were also macho, the only shorts that construction workers could wear on the job, and at least giving the suggestion of having once been jeans with holes honestly worn into the knees, from either rough work or rough play. Eventually it became possible to buy them pre-cut, with neatly frayed hems, but I don't think I ever bought them that way (and if I had, I wouldn't admit it).

Around the same time, shorts for me got shorter, and continued into the 80s. I'm not exactly sure why. Perhaps it's in reaction to the way knee-length shorts were portrayed by comedians in the 60s, or counterbalance to the preppie look, or maybe it's just because it's easier to do a decent job of cutoffs at mid-thigh than at the knee. But get short they did, and if you don't think they can look macho, you haven't seen "Magnum, P.I."

Somewhere along the way, some bright marketeer at a clothing company decided that they weren't selling enough cutoffs, and the reason was that they looked too rough, but if you could get them hemmed ... wow, what an idea! And that marked the beginning of the end for jean shorts on men. They did become popular for a while, and that's why you may still see guys in their 40s and 50s thinking they're ok. But getting them store-bought and hemmed destroyed the illusion. I've never worn hemmed jean shorts, and never will. (If i could fit into my old cutoffs, I'd wear them, at least for gardening, but I can't, and I'm not foolish enough to make a pair out of jeans that currently fit me.)

But I still do wear shorts that are a few inches above the knee. I'm convinced that some aspects of our style sense are burned into us when we develop it in our teens and twenties, and it's very difficult to change, harder for some than others. Shorts on men that cover the knee may look good to people who were college age in the 90s and 2000s, but to me, they'll always look like Bob Hope or Jerry Lewis pulling off a sight gag. Conversely, folks from that era may think that Chevy Chase's shorts at the end of National Lampoon's Vacation (the original, from 83) were part of the gag, but they weren't - that's what men wore at the time.

There are no absolutes for this sort of fashion question. There's only "these are the styles that are/were popular at such and such time" and "this is the way I react to such an such styles, because of the era in which I developed my clothing sense."

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My DH wears denim shorts. No cut offs or anything like that. Not sure what the big deal is, lol.

 

[IndyRnRfan]

Jorts, that's a pretty dumb name. I've never heard them called that before and I see them all the time just like khaki and cargo shorts. I'm not getting the bright color short fashion right now but that's just me. Saw quite a few men wearing jorts (LOL) while at Disney over the summer.

Now had you asked a question about men wearing capri pants, that's one big NO!!!!

 

[disneyfantotheend]

If no one wore any of the items that disboarders found to be unacceptable, everyone would walk around nude. It amazes me how much adults worry about what others wear.

 

[BostonJP]

I would say no, they're totally out, but I'm hardly qualified to respond. I just learned earlier this week that my beloved cargo shorts are also no longer acceptable (unless you're Adam Sandler).

 

[Miskey]

I thought this was a tongue-in-cheek thread? No need to get your knickers in a twist over a pair of jorts!!

 

[deedeetoo]

I've never heard the word jort before, but I think shorts made of jean material are fine for anyone.

What is with this man card thing? What is that? Who cares?

 

[TAX GUY]

Clearly "jorts" is a regional thing. I've only heard of "J"-ean sh-"orts" around here (New England). The only time I see men wearing them around here now, they are either older (50+) or stuck in the late 80's early 90's. I had some years back but my wife suggested I let go and move forward with the times. For me personally, I don't wear them as I find basketball/athletic type shorts and even cargo's much more comfortable. I won't laugh at those wearing jorts UNLESS they are also tucking their shirt in. If we are rocking the jorts AND tucking....well, then you are subject to a good hearty laugh...and maybe a point too.

 

[TeresaNJ]

Jean shorts are bad, but men buns, skinny pants on men, and tight girly sweaters on men are okay. Ugh.

 

[mjkacmom]

No men in jorts. My friend caught her DH making a homemade pair, and she threw them in the garbage.