Bermuda Shorts were the strangest male fashion fad to come along in the 1950s.
Businessmen would actually wear the big, baggy shorts to work during the summer months, combining them with suit jackets, dress shirts, ties and knee-length socks for a look that could only be called ‘indescribable’.
The first Americans to adopt the style were vacationers on the island of Bermuda, a British colony in the East Atlantic. Policemen there dressed like British soldiers in the desert, with knee-length khaki shorts and white knee socks.
Women tourists began wearing the shorts because they couldn’t wear bathing suits as Bermuda law didn’t allow women to show their thighs on the beach. Soon their husbands were wearing the cool, comfortable shorts, too.
As the fashion made its way to the US mainland, the khaki fabric was replaced by bold colours and plaids.
Related Posts
Beatle Boots The traditional Chelsea Boot was adapted for The Beatles by…
Carnaby Street By 1965, London had become the fashion capital of the…
Hawaiian Mania An abundance of disposable income combined with Hawaii's entrance into…
Teddy Boys The original teen fashion rebel of the post-war era, the…
Valley Girls When it happened we can't say . . . fer…
Rudi Gernreich Like his art world contemporary Andy Warhol, Rudi Gernreich was…
Peggy Moffitt The top American model of the 1960s, Peggy Moffitt was…
Sharpies The Sharpie movement was a short-lived youth subculture that seemed…
The first Americans to adopt the style were vacationers on the island of Bermuda, a British colony in the East Atlantic. Policemen there dressed like British soldiers in the desert, with knee-length khaki shorts and white knee socks.
