Is This the Summer of the Short Suit? Thankfully, Probably Not.
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Summer can be tough if youâre a dude, Iâve been told. Itâs hot, itâs muggy and yet youâre still expected to show up at work in a suit, which makes for a sticky daily commute.
Retailers appear to think theyâve designed a solution: Behold, the short suit.

As you can see, the short suit is just as awkward as youâd expect: Traditional suit on top â complete with a button down shirt, sports coat and in some outfits, a tie â and shorts on the bottom.
To be fair, itâs not an entirely unprecedented look â back in the mid-2000s, Tom Brown (in)famously made a splash with his âshrunken suit,â although in that case, the pants were more capris, less true shorts.
Circa now, we can most likely thank Pharrell Williams for the sudden explosion of short suit offerings. At this yearâs Academy Awards he rocked a tuxedo version, and now short suits can be purchased at major retailers including J.Crew (for a cool $400), Topman ($390), Asos ($286), Reiss ($500),and Comme des Garcons ($895), although, as Businessweek notes, the last option is really more of a skirt-suit.
Related: Goodbye, Suits. Sport These Smart Looks but Shun Interview No-nos.

Unfortunately, most men donât possess a fraction of Pharrellâs ability to make the ridiculous work (regardless of your thoughts on the enormous brown hat he wore to the Grammys, it ended the night with its own Twitter account, which makes it a default success), and despite J.Crewâs assurance that its short suit has âan old-school country club vibe (more Gatsby, less Caddyshack) and is almost guaranteed to win the battle for best-dressed at nearly every summer occasionâ I canât see this trend catching on. Exposed calves + the inability to wear socks = not going to happen in the workplace.
As Businessweek points out, just because retailers are advertising the short suit doesnât mean theyâre actually making many of them. (The J.Crew version, for instance, is only available for sale online). âItâs an easy and affordable way to kind of be in step with whatâs going on,â Jon Patrick, creative director at J.Hilburn, a made-to-order menswear company, told the outlet. âItâs also a merchandising play, because guys will come in and buy ties and shirts and a bunch of other stuff.â
In other words, the short suit is pretty much a marketing stunt, which means everyone needs to calm down about the short suit. Unless you work in certain enclaves of Brooklyn, you should be safe.
Summer can be tough if youâre a dude, Iâve been told. Itâs hot, itâs muggy and yet youâre still expected to show up at work in a suit, which makes for a sticky daily commute.
Retailers appear to think theyâve designed a solution: Behold, the short suit.

As you can see, the short suit is just as awkward as youâd expect: Traditional suit on top â complete with a button down shirt, sports coat and in some outfits, a tie â and shorts on the bottom.