Self-Portrait: Shorts

I think I've mentioned before that sartorially I'm of decidedly polarized positions. One part of me loves classic "English country" clothes. If I lived in Scotland or Yorkshire, I'd never wear anything but tweeds . . . particularly tweed suits and bow ties, looking like an extra in a Masterpiece Theatre costume drama. Throw in a Barbour wax jacket (which I've had for about 15 years) for rainy, blustery days - common in the Yorkshire Dales - and I'd never need another article of clothing.

Alas, I don't live in the UK and the weather here warrants tweeds and a wax jacket for only a few months each year. More often than not, it's fairly warm and humid, and that trend is increasingly evident during our winters. So I spend much of each year in shorts, the threshold for the comfortable wearing of shorts being somewhere around 50-55 degrees. I know that sounds a bit chilly for some, but remember I'm from the South where shorts are de rigeur for more than just the summer months. I'll typically wear them from March until October and longer if the weather allows. If I could wear them all the time, I would . . . baggy, long, and comfortable, in linen (pictured here), seersucker, or madras.