When I was a kid, we wore shorts all summer long. By shorts I mean cutoff jeans. Holes in the knees of jeans were common in our household. If they occurred when the jeans were relatively new, they were patched. Our mother seemed to have an endless supply of jeans material to make patches. We were allowed to wear jeans with holes in the knees on occasion, but only for play. If we were heading to school, our jeans had to be free from holes or have the holes patched. Each summer, however, we were allowed to wear jeans with the legs cut off. Of course there were places where we were not allowed to wear cutoffs. We wore dress pants to church and the only time we could wear jeans was rodeo Sunday, which was only one day peer year. We wore jeans to school, but always long pants. Cutoffs were reserved for summer days when we weren’t going to church or someplace special.

We would never have been allowed to wear jeans with multiple holes torn in them as is considered to be fashionable especially among teens these days.

I can’t remember our father wearing short pants. He always wore work pants to work and dress pants to church. He’d slip into a bathing suit that consisted of short pants for swimming at the pool, but usually when he was fishing, he wore an old pair of jeans and just got them wet as he waded.

As a result, when I grew up, I wasn’t much for short pants. I owned a few pairs of short pants and I have worn them on occasion at camp or on vacation, but my go to pants have long legs and these days I very rarely wear short pants. There are a couple of pairs of cargo shorts in my drawer, but they don’t get worn very often. Part of the reason is that I have had to have skin cancer treated on my legs and I have no desire to expose more skin to the sun than necessary. I am not much for short sleeved shirts these days and I put sunscreen on my face and hands as a daily ablution.

I am, however, not typical for retired men in our area. I see lots of men who wear shorts. Of course retired men are rarely fashion trend setters. There are plenty of men who wear socks and sandals around here, but that isn’t a look I intend to imitate. I do own a pair of Crocks brand clogs, and I have been known to wear them when walking to the mailbox, but they are mostly reserved for trips to the back yard to garden. And they cover up more of my feet than a pair of sandals would.

There are a few men that I see around our area who wear knee high compression socks with shorts. It is a look that I have no intention of imitating.

Of course, I am not a fashion trend setter. I still wear dress slacks to church. Although it is less common for me to wear a tie to church in the summer, I almost always do so in the winter and I occasionally wear a tie in the summer. I even own two suits that are light weight and suitable for summer wear. It is not at all uncommon for me to be the only man wearing a suit and tie at church.

Summers in the United States continue to get longer and hotter as global climate change shows its effects. People are turning to clothing that is more cool and comfortable. And for lots of folks, that means short pants. Fortunately for me, we now live in one of the more temperate places in the country. It is not at all unusual for the temperatures here to be ten or even twenty degrees cooler than inland locations. However, temperature is not the only factor driving fashion choices. I know several adult men who wear short pants often, including on winter days. A couple of days ago, I went for an early morning bicycle ride and saw a gentleman walking near the beach wearing short pants sandals with socks and a parka zipped up with the hood over his head. I thought the parka was a bit of overkill. It wasn’t that chilly. But perhaps he was on vacation and had neglected to pack a sweatshirt or sweater.

One of the advantages of being retired is that I don’t have to worry much about what to wear. I can pretty much wear what makes me feel comfortable every day. Then again, I have never had to pay much attention to my clothing. In my early career, a suit and a tie or dress slacks with a blazer or sport coat was pretty much acceptable for everything except yard or farm work. I dressed more casually when visiting folks on farms and tried to always be wearing clothing that was suitable for joining in the work for work days at church or visiting on farms and ranches. But my dress shirts and ties were a kind of uniform. I wore similar things each day and didn’t have to put much energy into thinking about what I would wear.

These days, sun protective fishing guide shirts and cargo pants are pretty much my go to clothing for everyday wear. I don’t have to invest much energy into fashion choices. I do, however, have plenty of dress clothes for occasions. I can have a fresh tie for every day for a series of meetings when needed. Of course when I do, I’m usually the only man wearing a tie each day. I don’t care. One of the gifts of being an elder is that I can get away with appearing old fashioned.

Most trips to the grocery store involve me seeing people wearing clothing that I would never consider wearing in public. I am often surprised that people are dressed the way that they are. My surprise, however, is probably just part of being an old man, so I keep my comments to myself for the most part. I’m comfortable allowing others to set the fashions.