28 April 2009

Wrong, Wrong, Wrong

Given that we're about to hit (and possibly surpass) 90 degrees this afternoon, I felt pretty bad about leaving the dog home alone today. We don't have the air conditioners in yet, so the best I could do for her was to leave a fan running, pointed directly on her. And after this evening, things will be much more comfortable, for her and for us.

Speaking of warm weather, I've been looking around for a summer suit. I'll have more to say about this in due time, but for now I want to sort of circle back to last week's post about pants, and warn everyone about something even more hideous and appalling. Over the weekend I wandered into an H&M. This is a store I don't normally bother going into, because even though their clothes are inexpensive, they are also cheaply made and aimed at a younger, thinner audience. But I was in a mall, saw the store, and thought I'd remembered seeing something in a magazine about an H&M suit.

I didn't find what I thought I'd seen, but I did see something so horrifying that I made an audible exclamation of shock. Fortunately, no one was near me at the time. The source of this distress? A striped seersucker sport coat and MATCHING SHORTS. (Fortunately for the rest of you, the H&M web site doesn't have any images of it.) Now, I've already made my feelings clear about this incredibly awful look, but I guess it won't die. But guys, if I see any of you wearing this outfit later on in the summer, I seriously cannot be held responsible for what I might do.

2 comments:

A Proper Bostonian said...

Saw the men's shorts and jacket look in a photo spread in the New York Times last year, remember? H&M has probably been pushing this trend for a year. And as long as the guy is slim, has decent legs, and wears sandals, flip flops, or loafers WITHOUT socks, I thought it looked sort of casually dashing. I don't think it belongs in the average office, or in court.... but at some preppy dinner party on Nantucket it could fly. It might look more palatable to you if the pieces didn't match. Sport coats with khaki shorts are nothing new.

Once again, SAR, keep in mind that women have been seeing loads of "business" suits with bermuda shorts offered at mainstream stores like J. Crew and Ann Taylor for a couple of years now. It's almost passé, and I'm wondering if the men's concept is a trickle-down effect.

Some Assembly Required said...

I have a fundamental block on the combination of jacket and shorts. I'm just never going to be able to wrap my mind around it. Maybe I'm simply too old, in that it reminds me of the short-pant suits for little boys you used to see up until maybe the 1950s or so. Maybe I just have no business going into stores like H&M.

If you're going somewhere that calls for a jacket, even in summer, then you should probably wear actual, shoe-length pants with it. Conversely, if the occasion is casual enough for shorts, then it's probably warm out, so why would you want to wear a jacket with them?