Men’s Fashion Tip – How To Wear Shorts

Summer and hot weather brings about men with their legs out. However I think shorts are probably one of the hardest items to put a decent outfit together with and this is even more obvious when you see other people “trying” to rock them. With jeans there are so many shapes, cuts and washes and you know where you stand with them. You can wear anything on the top half (formal or casual) and still easily pull it off. Shorts however are slightly different. Many men do not know how to wear shorts correctly, and do not know what items will look good with them. I have had a lot of readers email me and ask questions about them like: can wear a shirt or check shirt with shorts? The simple answer is… of course you can!

You can use shorts in an outfit just like you would with trousers or jeans. However, the type of shorts you wear should be very much dependant on your body shape. If you have long/skinny legs, then you need a longer cut in order to give those drainpipes some proportion. Do not wear shorts that are too baggy, because it will just further enhance the fact that they can not fill them and they will look lost. A pair of hi-tops or sandals would be a good idea as well in order to decrease the length of leg shown.

If you have chunky or short legs, the opposite applies; you can go for a more relaxed fit and shorter length (or simply roll the shorts up a couple of times) in order to enhance your leg shape and length. If you are lucky enough to have muscular footballers legs then really you can get away with anything and the women will still love you. Pale legs look much better in neutral tones like navy, beige or chocolate as it does not contrast so hard and make those lily whites stand out. As your legs become more tanned, crank up the colours because anything will look amazing – think bright summer blues, pinks, yellow, and of course the standard monochrome white, blacks and greys.

Style of shorts are also important. Cargo shorts will always have that relaxed casual vibe to them and so should be treated accordingly. Don’t going wearing a smart short sleeve shirt with them, or wearing boat shoes – it doesn’t look right. Likewise with graphic print shorts or heavy coloured board shorts; keep the top and accessories quite plain/neutral colours otherwise it will be too much. You don’t need everything to scream “look at me I’m fashionable” – it comes off quite the opposite and contrived.

My favourite type of shorts at the moment are smarter fitted ones you can get these days in a plain/low key style… because they are so versatile. I posted a great pair of Farah Shorts yesterday as well which I just received and LOVE. They have a subtle stripe pattern but not enough to stand out or notice. The reason I love plain fitted shorts is because they work so well with any outfit. You can go crazy with a check lumberjack shirt, and not look over the top, or simply add some class with a polo or short sleeve shirt and even tie. Canvas trainers look just as good as boat shoes with them, meaning there are endless ways to put together an outfit. Tomorrow I will show you at least 3 ways to wear shorts, using one simple pair of chino shorts and just changing the top half and accessories.

So guys, remember these tips when you are next looking to buy some shorts or going to “throw” an outfit together. If you put a little more thought into it and dress for your body shape you can look 1000 times better!

For the meantime though here are some great shorts that I described above (smart, fitted, plain).

Some Smart Shorts Picks