Why Tom Ford was wrong about shorts

A few years ago, Tom Ford – one of the most respected gentlemen in fashion – said this, here:

“A man should never wear shorts in the city. Flip-flops and shorts in the city are never appropriate. Shorts should only be worn on the tennis court or on the beach.”

Now, we all know how I feel about flip-flops, so I do agree with Mr Ford on that. What I don’t agree with, however, is that a gentleman cannot wear shorts in the city – a theory I’m here to blow right out of the water. At work, granted, they might be a little inappropriate. But on the weekend or after work in the pub garden? Shorts are fine and can – shock horror – even look good. So why is he wrong?

We all know that Tom Ford’s life is probably all air conditioned offices and chauffeured cars, and that he probably doesn’t ever need to step outside into the sweltering heat of the city – let alone onto the tube. If you’re in the city on a baking July weekend you can definitely get away with shorts, hell, even look stylish in them. No self respecting gentleman should suffer in the name of style, no matter how seriously he takes it: