It finally caught up

shortsovershorts.jpg

Shorts over leggings?  Nothing new for girls albeit it has been somewhat abused with the footless tights and denim shorts combos.  It is a useful tool when tights under shorts feel too much and you do want to purposely stump your body with some Japanese-streetstyle layering techniques such as wearing ruched leggings under baggy shorts… ok, just a few then who don’t mind stumping their body.  

In the slew of menswear SS09 shows in Paris, this layering trick has been adopted by a few designers… Givenchy, Number (N)ine (a looser shorts over trousers way of layering…) and Kiminori Morishita.  The boyf said no in an instant.  What say you, 5% of Style Bubble readers who are men (or has that percentage increased…)?  Or just any two cents on shorts over leggings… come on, it’s a Saturday… don’t be shy… I’m off to battle the sales like a warrior and I want relief reading when I get back…

Shortsovershorts

57 comments

  1. I’m not even going to bother to ask the boyf, the answer will be a very CdG NO. However I am oddly drawn to the Number (N)ine ones. Perhaps a bit trashy, but I like the why the outfit surprises you. Perhaps a bit leprechaun(ish), but that because of the green in the outfit. It does have potential :p

  3. I would do it, and I think most of my friends too! Shock horror…I think that you would need to be very careful with the short/legging selection. I would like it if the legging was only showing about 6 inches under the shorts, depending on the proportions of the shorts. I would see the leggings as a slight accent to the outfit, rather than a main feature – some things should be left to you girls!

  5. I’ve tried the look before but it’s difficult to pull off! However I love the Givenchy idea. And with the pink seethrough shirts it seems very enchanting to me!

  6. def hot on the models, but….at the same time I would never date a guy who wore leggings in the first place, much less with shorts over them :-/

  7. I’m not sure what to make… it’s something i’ve seen in clubs quite a lot over the past year. Can’t decide if it’s a halfway gesture towards wearing leggings and not looking like a cyclist. My legs aren’t really made for this look so I’ll leave it be, lol! xx

  9. it’s the guys in tights thing, oh the horrors of dressing up outfits i’ve seen this year with them, too offputting! i can’t make up my mind, i think a lithe, more feminine looking boy who carries a designer man bag and shops in all saints could pull it off, but your average topman guy may be a walking contradiction. i wonder if the day will come when we’ll see tights in the guys department!

  10. It’s not a winner for me. Sure it’s innovative, but no thanks. But thumbs up for those who can pull it off I’d love to see this look on the streets to see how it carries over 🙂

  11. as a suggestion towards more layering in menswear it’s really quite cool but i don’t think you can really apply it straight to mens quite so much, maybe a tailored short over a bermuda looking short. It all about the length and proportion really isn’t it?

  13. Givenchy just took the best of his women collection and put all this on menswear ..( red lace, rivet on Keffiah blablabla ) it dosn’t worrk !! Whos want to wear that ! Men’s fashion is not only for gay ..
    As Luca Ossendrijver said “it’s a different language for menswear. You can’t just take things from womenswear and apply it to men because it won’t work.” .
    He is the new menswear god ..
    Wake up Riccardo !

  14. I kinda like it when it’s done subtly (as in the middle illustration) but the one on the right is a definite no-no, unless you want to look like Charles Hawtrey.
    Think juxtaposing textures, colours, fabrics etc can work well here so agree with the poster who says no more than 6″.
    I’d go for even less, if only as a tribute to my Dad’s sartorial protest at being dragged to church along with the rest of us early every Sunday morning. As the service went on you’d notice the cuff of his pyjama bottoms sneak into view underneath the cuff of his trousers!
    He was always fashion forward my old man….

  15. Although it is rather emasculating it’s not to be shunned. Can’t say I’d try it myself since I don’t have Luke Worrall-esque chicken legs but for those that do, I can’t see why it can’t be done with the right leggings – although slim pants would be preferable.
    /DCB.

  16. my boyfriend has been wearing (mostly denim) shorts over leggings for a while and we are both into it.
    it’s interesting how recycling tired girl trends by putting them on men makes them feel fresh again.

  17. Just to add though… all the lace for men walking down the runways does kind of give me the willies.
    don’t get me wrong, innovative men out there can look great in whatever they please, but i can’t imagine that looking anything but wrong on guys that are more mainstream or low-key.

  20. Totally love the look, i’ve been wanting to go public with it for quite some time now. Maybe a little OTT for Brussels..

  21. No, I’m sorry but this is just wrong. When even the models can’t carry off a look it is never going to work on human beings. It is no wonder that the models in images 1 and 3 are looking a bit sheepish while the middle bloke is trying to hide under his hat while working a style first tried out in “Waiting for Godot”.

  22. i rather like the guy in the middle with the shorts over pants…. althought i don’t think real men will wear them this way… i do believe they’ll be layering shorts sometime soon.

  25. my boyfriend said a big no basically. and honestly if he was into it, i wouldn’t let him wear it in public

  26. Being honest I really don’t think this is a good look for men. My boyfriend would laugh out loud if I showed him these pictures – he’s more of a jeans-and-a-band-shirt kinda guy..
    -Cheryl

  27. I’d say a big NO… I don’t like it when boys look like they’ve taken too much time choosing their outfits. The third look you’ve posted would be the most conventional. The first two- unacceptable, in my opinion! >_<

  30. I’m not feeling it. Layering on men, well below the waist, sweater over shirt stuff is fine, seems odd. And usually odd is good, but this just isn’t. I guess I just like a more crisp look for men’s bottoms.

  32. I wear hosiery and shorts in public as much as I can. I only wear pants for work and family. I’m in the Canadian Forces Army Reserves. For all my civilian jobs, there have always been requirements for pants. It’s all fine, though. My family doesn’t mind me wearing at home. I just have to change when most visitors come by, and when I visit relatives.
    I’ve been to church wearing black day sheer hosiery and black shorts. I’ve visited my friend once per week wearing shorts and hosiery. I’ve only worn pants 1 time by choice: once when the snow was 10 inches deep and kept getting into my boots. I’ve worn doing various volunteer jobs.
    My opinion on those photos is that I don’t like them. I feel that they are too busy, and that the hosiery isn’t prominent enough. I prefer the school-boy look, or the styles of the time period of Ebeneezer Scrooge.

  33. Baggy trouser over trouser (2) is great, it actually looks like natural layering, very intriguing. youd have to play with the lengths a bit to get it to look right of course. but skinny footless leggings under trousers? WHAT? It looks awful on girls, what makes it ANY better on guys…? (key: nothing.)

  34. It’s very easy for girls to look weird in this look already, so I think it’s twice as strange on men.

  35. i think i would wear them, but then the leggings not so tight and not shiny..maybe a thicker material ?
    one of the other looks from the givenchhy show had one of those..i guess it was one of the nude colours… then it looks more like cool layering instead of just wearing panties 🙂

  37. Oh no, I like men to look like men!
    And my husband would recoil in horror, he already hates leggings in women.
    But I’m sure some boys here in London will make it work to perfection and much better than those models.

  38. I totally don’t like this look but I’ve seen a few guys round uni wearing it…but they’re big Maori and Samoan guys who play rugby and its more like sports tights and rugby shorts…plus they’re giant so no one would ever say anything to them haha

  39. Hmm..I’m gunna have to vote ‘no’ on this one. It’s totaly pointless and it doesn’t look very good IMO.

  40. I don’t especially like any of those models, but I’m OK with the concept. I already wear shorts over tight trainers and this is just an extension of that theme. And I suspect this may become more popular.
    But it really bothers me that women can wear anything of men’s clothes and be thought fashionable and even sexy, but if a man tries the same thing he’s not a real man, his manhood is questioned and he should stick to baggy jeans and frumpy t-shirts. I mean it’s all just clothes right?

  42. NOPE, not a goo idea.
    Of all three, the middle one is almost acceptable.. Only the right person could pull that off.
    The first and the third looks, I would hope never to see anyone attempt.

  43. Eh, I can’t see it working on any of the guys I know.. but maybe those super fashion-y skinny Scandinavian/Japanese boys?

  44. i totally adore Givenchy collection. it’s very subtle and romantic in a way, yet there’s something brutal considering this traditional tisci-esque dark catholic aesthetic. the look mentioned above is hard to pull off (especially if you’re not that rebellious), but i can see no problems with it. the only thing that makes me feel uncomfortable is… well, i find wearing leggings uncomfortable (they don’t feel good). anyway, i really adore how Tisci tries to incorporate his vision into menswear, i doubt he wants his boys look like his girls (even if the tricks are pretty much the same). it’s just this solid vision which is true for both sides of Givenchy tribe. which i love.
    and who said menswear should be less unwearable than womenswear? just kidding.

  45. i am boy….but i am not gonna wear like this…cos its TOO girly for me…
    haha XD

  46. I wouldn’t mind trying it besides gender norms are so outdated.
    I think that’s the fun part with fashion, you’ve got a lot of exploring to do just for fun.

  47. Bravo ppl…. the general consensus seems to be a no but there are a few exceptions that have said that they might be willing to try which is nice to hear… I’m also with the ppl who said that the Number Nine option with the looser shorts over trousers would be a great option to try out…for both guys and girls actually….
    I think as with all things, it takes seeing to believe and like always…never say never!
    Anyway…thank you all for commenting… and I do believe there are more guys reading this blog than I imagined…

  48. I am a guy and I would wear shorts and leggings, but in a more colorful way (I want to free us men from total black outfits).

  49. yikes Im not sure how I feel about this. Im leaning towards “its a girl thing” but then again Im an advocate of the boyfriend blazer so they’re cant be rules for one and rules for another……. right? xf

  50. i think it’s how they wear it and whether they can pull it off. i have quite a few friends in japan who wear tights under shorts or torn jeans during winter or the cold months. and they’ve been doing this for years. i think they look great in it, personally. (and no none of them were gays)

  51. I had to comment on this one, as I just acquired an awesome pair of ripped up, high waisted light wash denim shorts with slightly longer, baggy-ish, patterned built in leggings underneath. They’re hard to describe, but they look amazing with everything, and I’ve been wearing them non-stop since the start of warm weather.

  52. I used to wear something like this when I was cycling a lot and it was hovering around the 0 degrees mark. But as an everyday look it fails. Please god don’t let people start doing this.

  54. Why is everyone so worried about men wearing a ‘women’s wear look’? I agree with danz.
    I like the Givenchy shorts and leggings with the Kiminori Morishita cardigan and a Philip Lim triton sandal. Dream.

  55. There is a problem to this look that seems to have been overlooked… men have leg hair. They would have to shave their legs or have hair sticking through the tights all the time!

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