The Seasons BLOG

16th April 2012

Short-sleeved shirts: cool or fool(ish)?

Ah, the short-sleeved shirt. An item of clothing that, like flip-flops and chino shorts, is (somewhat unjustifiably) the subject of derision when worn by men.

This is despite its obvious advantages: no more sweltering in a hot office when the sun is blazing through the firmly shut window, the ability to wear it untucked without looking like a scruffy schoolboy - hell, you can even look at your watch without the effort of hitching up your cuff.

And forget the hassle of fastening your cufflinks. Those bad boys don't get a look in when you're rocking the shirt-sleeved look, meaning you get a whole six minutes extra in bed on warmer days.

But sleeve-challenged clothing has come in for some stick in the past. There's the issue of smartness - can a short-sleeved shirt ever look suitable for the office? You can't wear a tie with it, unless you're willing to keep your jacket on all day and disguise the lack of protruding cuff with copious amounts of file-holding or clasping your hands behind your back whenever a colleague walks past.

Then there's the problem of looking a little bit like an overweight security guard. The shirt and tie combo tends to be seen only on shopping mall guards or past-it American cops, which is a look no style-conscious male will want to ape this summer.

So how can you wear a short-sleeved shirt in an office setting? The simple answer is, sadly, that you can't. Unless you work in a very informal office, in which case: go nuts.

The good news is that short-sleeved shirts work well in almost all other settings (weddings, funerals and veterinary work aside). Try a J-Lindeberg shirt in a check pattern for instant barbeque cool, and pair with bright loafers and chinos rolled to just below the ankle for a smart/casual weekend look.

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