I’m sure most men will agree, but as a woman I say thank God the days of the male version of the short-short is over. For those much younger than myself who may not really remember what a guy looked like in such athletic attire, I advise you to watch an episode of Mad TV whenever there is a skit of “Coach Hines” or simply rent the movie Grease and pay careful attention to John Travolta in the track scenes. As recent as 1996, I saw a male fashion victim wearing these shorts. In fact, he was in my Modern Dance class in college and we all would cringe and close our eyes when he would do high kicks or splits.
Even after the male short-short, men’s athletic shorts weren’t really impressive nor did they scream style until recent years. When a guy was heading to the gym or playing hoops, the athletic shorts were mesh or your basic cotton short. Times have really changed and nowadays men’s athletic shorts
are what make the outfit. Now at mid-thigh (thankfully) with different fabrics, most athletic attire revolves around the shorts and their brand. It’s no longer status quo to just throw on no name shorts and your average tee. It’s New Balance, Adidas, Nike and so on. The shirt now matches the shorts, and most likely, so does the socks and sneakers making it an “outfit” and in a sense “dressing up” to go work out.
Men’s athletic shorts have also grown in innovation. There is the Nike Dri-FIT Workout Shorts, which manages moisture and keeps you dry or Insport’s Legend Short that has a quick drying microfiber shell and an X-Static brief that manages moisture and inhibits odor. Many of the new athletic shorts are not just about style alone, but also about comfort during your workout and they’ve taken into consideration the issues men have had over the years with working out and working up a sweat. Just another way that listening to the consumer has changed the direction of fashion.