#FreeTheKnee: Are men revolting against pants at work?
Should men wear shorts at work?
That鈥檚 the question one Washington Post writer is asking. Christopher Ingraham describes the experience of wearing shorts to the office for the first time in that uses exaggerated images to drive his message home 鈥� it鈥檚 time for men to forgo slacks in the summer.
鈥淭he average guy in your office probably wears the exact same clothes in August and December 鈥� a dress shirt over an undershirt, tucked in to full-length slacks. Add a tie or sport-coat as needed. Lather, rinse and repeat,鈥� Mr. Ingraham says.
After stories about thermostats that cater to men鈥檚 dress codes began circulating the Internet, he decided to take things into his own hands. He says that wearing shorts provided his legs with ventilation they rarely received in the humid summer months and cut back on sweat.
There鈥檚 even a #FreeTheKnee hashtag on Twitter.
But some aren't as thrilled. Rex Huppke, an advice columnist for the Chicago Tribune, . He reached out to workplace fashion expert Mary Lou Andre, editor of DresingWell.com, and asked why shorts are never seen as an office option.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e just not the norm in our society in most industries 鈥� they鈥檙e a distraction,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey are one of the lower-food-chain bottom options. With shorts or, for women, an inappropriate skirt, you鈥檙e emphasizing the bottom half (of your body). You don鈥檛 want to emphasize the bottom half of your body,鈥� she said.
In other words, wearing shorts attracts people to your out-of-norm style choice and can be distracting. Mr. Huppke describes his experience wearing shorts to work and says that he felt awkward, almost like he was wearing underwear. Ellen Kossek, a professor at Purdue University who specializes in work-life issues, told him this discomfort could come from a blurring of boundaries, specifically the line between work and relaxation.
鈥淧eople have physical cues that they use to feel like they鈥檙e at work,鈥� Ms. Kossek said. 鈥淢aybe for you, wearing shorts made you physically feel like you weren鈥檛 at work, like you weren鈥檛 in work mode. Going home and (putting) on a pair of jeans or a pair of shorts is a way of saying, 鈥業鈥檓 home, I鈥檓 relaxing.鈥� You can create role confusion when you don鈥檛 have those boundaries.鈥�
But as in an April opinion piece, it鈥檚 all about 鈥渞eclaiming鈥� shorts.
鈥溾� say, fight back. It鈥檚 time to end this tyranny, and accept that man cannot live on trousers alone (especially during a forecasted heatwave). I hereby declare short season officially open.鈥�
If you plan on joining the shorts revolution, there are rules to follow. Ingraham gives a few tips:
- Wear the right shorts. No Bermuda shorts, no jogging shorts, and no cargo shorts.
- Wear the right shirt. Not t-shirts, no performance polo shirts, no short-sleeved dress shirts.
- Don鈥檛 tuck your shirt in. Improves ventilation.
- Wear good shoes. Try some type of dressy loafer.
