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.
You May Also Like
Twiggy Twiggy's success story began in 1965 when Nigel Davies – a jack-of-all-trades who had worked as…
Smiley Face Manhattan button manufacturer NG Slater brought out his new line of yellow "smiley face" buttons in…
Unisex The Unisex fashion movement largely came and went in one year: 1968. The trend began on…
New Romantic Movement The "New Romantic" movement was a distinctive music and fashion genre that emerged in Britain in…
Big Hair In the extremes of the 80s, the "bigger is better" concept came also to hair. To…
Swatch Watch Swiss watch company Asuag-SSH scored a hit in March 1983 with its low-priced 'Swatch' range of…
Rudi Gernreich Like his art world contemporary Andy Warhol, Rudi Gernreich was a modern visionary and shrewd press…
Psychedelia In the late 60s, the duffle coats and scarves of yesteryear were replaced by kaftans, beads,…
The first Americans to adopt the style were vacationers on the island of Bermuda, a British colony in the East Atlantic.
