The suits-with-shorts 'trend' is just fine. Now get over your dandy panic already

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/10/suits-with-shorts-trend-men-dandy-panic

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On Monday, Business Insider, the aggregator previously unknown for its fashion expertise, posted an article about a hot new trend that is, apparently, "finally going mainstream": the short suit, as in a suit without the trousers. (Also: finally? As if this has been a burgeoning underground phenomena waiting for its moment?) The internet, previously not super-duper excited when it came to men's fashion, went crazy.

Seriously, this one article caused a Twitter frenzy not seen since Solange was in that elevator. "KILL IT WITH FIRE," wrote Imani Gandy of the Angry Black Lady Chronicles. Quoth @TGPhipster: "10 minutes into the BBQ the coat comes off and you have a $400 pair of shorts." From the user @GabbyDabbyDoo: "The very first dude that approaches me in a corporate short suit is getting swerved so fast he'll forget his name." And:

Acceptable times to wear a "short suit," a comprehensive list:

You are welcoming Alice into Wonderland and you are a rabbit.

Maybe people had an allergic reaction to the suspicious promotional quality of the article, written in that buoyantly uncritical tone you can find throughout "fashion journalism" these days, since we are living in the Age of Native Advertising. Or maybe it was the quote from requisite "expert" Jon Patrick, the creative director at menswear company J.Hilburn, that the short suit is "definitely having a moment, particularly with younger guys". (Really? What younger guys? I live in the most irritating trend vortex of all – Brooklyn – and I have yet to see one dude in this outfit.) Writing for Washington Post's opinion blog, columnist Jonathan Capeheart worried that a lot of men simply might not be able to pull off the look – "[u]nless your boss is Anna Wintour". The so-called trend may have been influenced, the article notes, by "fashion icon" Pharrell Williams when he showed up at the Oscars this year in, essentially, a short tuxedo.

But we know what this is really about. The response to the shorts heard 'round the world plays in to a common anxiety in our culture: that America is a nation in decline, that our men are too effete. It's 2014, and we are still completely afraid of the dandy.

These days, when trends blur into a speedy smear, it's hard to predict when something will get vaunted or trashed, but there are a few things you can be sure will get a rise out of people: anything positive or negative about Taylor Swift; some Game of Thrones spoiler or fake spoiler; and whenever a so-called heterosexual man looks too "gay".

This firestorm, obviously, works that dandy panic category. Meanwhile, this modern-day aesthetic has been developing for quite a few years now – ever since André 3000 walked around in knickers and spats. But it's risky – every straight man is one wacky Jared Leto outfit away from the public questioning his sexuality.

Entrepreneurs take note, and let this shorts conflama be a lesson. Despite all our advances in gender politics and human rights – despite Neil Patrick Harris winning a Tony for his portrayal of Hedwig ("this is crazy-pants!") – too many people remain, unfortunately and incredibly, freaked-out by "sissies".

None of which is to say I wouldn't want to see this trend, or even wear it. Some of the outfits accompanying the Business Insider piece – from clothiers like Topman, J.Crew and even Barneys – look perfectly fine, a good choice for your college friend's June wedding. Others look strangely childlike and ostentatious at the same time, as if Christopher Robin became a hedge-fund analyst.

But still, who cares? Just this season alone, women have had the pleasure of enjoying a whole slew of hilarious and questionable trends – from monobrows to tinsel on skirts, and iridescent everything. Why can't men get a chance to make fools of themselves? Maybe it's because a true men's fashion "trend" would be too playful and make everyone question male power.

Regardless, suit shorts themselves are pretty practical: anyone who has ever accrued his wardrobe from second-hand shops knows that suit pants make the best cut-off shorts. Seriously.