A shorts question

Flickr: Lululemon athletics

So I'm just considering buying a new pair or two of shorts for the summer - the waistband on the others has obviously shrunk in my drawer over the winter - and I see this Tweet from @iainmartin1, who says: "Gets worse every summer. The spread of the awful 3/4 length casual trouser for men continues."

I kind of know what he means. We rarely look terrific in shorts unless we're actually playing sport, in which case the redness of my face makes a welcome distraction from the leg area. Put on a few pounds and the tapering off into your ankle makes you look like a Weeble.

But I'm still going to get some, partly because I work from home so don't care, they don't bother the dog, and partly because of my sense of equality and natural justice. It's the summer, it's getting hot and I'm going to be sensible. This means it's that time of year when women are apparently around to trot around the place half naked and we men are expected to swelter, particularly in formal situations - in spite of the blog entry I did a while ago on suits for hot weather, there really isn't a way of looking smart without sweltering when the temperature goes up.

So I'm having cargo shorts and the hell with the fashionistas. Yes, they'd look better if they were on a younger man or someone slimmer (a lot of things would) and no, I won't wear them to meetings, I'll still be in suits for those. But at least - hopefully - I won't pass out in the heat or something ludicrous.

It could be worse. Those of us who grew up in the seventies will remember the old-style shorts as worn by footballers and tennis players - basically underpants with slight flaps. Given my current physique I can only think...yicch.