You too can dress like Paul Mescal — the best short shorts for summer

Times

a day ago

The question in fashion circles is not so much whether it will be a short summer, but will it be a shorts summer? This time last year it was most definitely the latter, largely thanks to Paul Mescal, who before he graced our screens in a leather skirt in Gladiator II, set tongues wagging after showing up at a Gucci men's fashion show in the briefest of shorts — cotton with stripes — teamed with socks, loafers and shirt.He told GQ at the time: 'I'm a big advocate for men wearing shorter shorts.' And indeed the Irish actor has made the micro short something of a wardrobe signature for a few years now. But though he told a five-year-old caller on a Radio 1 phone-in, in response to their question of why his shorts are so short, 'They're sports shorts … they're just very practical for exercise, and they're great for running in,' let's face it — the Gucci skimpies were not about being workout ready. This was a fashion statement and heralded a shift of focus from that traditional male area of musculature, the six-pack.
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That being said, Mescal was not wrong in his designating this sort of micro short the friend of track and field. Look at the glamorous tennis stars of old — Borg and McEnro era — and you'll see the style in its heyday. It's just when you bring it into an everyday context, it becomes something quite different.
The funny thing is that in the rise of the men's short short — literally — we have the male equivalent of that hoary old fashion barometer, the female hemline. Forever a source of cultural comment, the movement of skirt and dress lengths is seen as an indication not only of aesthetic pendulum swings, but also of changing attitudes to permissiveness. Early 20th-century styles with a hangover from Victorian decorum saw modest, long hemlines, while the roaring, decadent 1920s championed shorter flapper models. Later, the 1940s dipped to knee length or below, and then there was a longer drop to mid-calf, as advocated by Dior's New Look, in the 1950s mid-length trend. This would be torpedoed by the anything-goes miniskirted 1960s.
So what does today's Mescal micro short signify? Are we seeing a type of sexual revolution where men are saying proudly, to paraphrase ZZ Top, 'We got legs, we know how to use them'?
Possibly. It's certainly a trend that's still here for spring/summer 2025 — you can expect it to be on display not just in a park or on a beach near you soon, but also on the high street, at the coffee shop and — whisper it — in the flexible work sphere. And designers are ready to fulfil demand: scantily cut shorts are on offer in the collections of Gucci (striped cotton shorts with embroidery), Tom Ford (shiny rayon satin shorts with piping), Celine Homme (grey School Boy shorts in wool), Orlebar Brown (the tailored fit Norwich style in linen or seersucker), Polo Ralph Lauren (the 15cm Polo Prepster linen short in multiple colours) and so it goes on.
One advocate of short shorts is the actor Luke Evans, whose own fashion collection of casual wear, all T-shirts and sweatshirts and joggers, features some very high-cut shorts. Given that the name of his brand, BDXY, comes from the words 'Bold' and 'Sexy' we should not be surprised. The Cameo shorts (Evans has named all his items after roles on a film set) with their sculpted leg design, contrast stripes and colours (burgundy, army green, white and black) unashamedly nod to the sportswear of the Eighties. And the Welsh movie star reveals that short shorts have a classy provenance.
'The inspiration came directly from JFK Jr, who was the epitome of style and youthful sex appeal,' Evans says. 'He wore the short short perfectly and we wanted to bring the style back and honour what was such a masculine, bold and attractive fashion choice for a man at the beach, by the pool, on the tennis court, on the boat or at the gym.'
Channelling the American socialite son of John and Jackie Kennedy, Evans regularly wears the Cameo style himself. 'For me it's about comfort and freedom. And it allows for a much better tan on the whole leg,' he says. 'Also it forces me to never miss leg day at the gym!'
It's worth pointing out here that Luke Evans, like Paul Mescal, is a Hollywood actor. Though now in his forties, he has the buff body of a man half his age. For those of us less blessed, it might be worth pointing out that BDXY is adding a new style: 'We are launching a mid-length short soon that isn't a short short, so we can appeal to the less brave,' he reveals. 'But our short shorts have been extremely popular.'
So is it brave or foolish for a man of a certain age — movie stars in peak condition excepted — to try this style? To find out I conducted some targeted research. Very targeted.
I asked Rowan, my son's 24-year-old girlfriend, what she thought of the trend. 'I love it,' she said enthusiastically. Why? 'Because it makes men get their legs out.' And is there an age at which we should consider something less high-rise, I inquired.
'Oh yes,' she replied. 'About 29.'
Guess how old Mr Mescal is.
gucci.com. tomford.com; celine.com; orlebarbrown.com; ralphlauren.co.uk; bdxystudio.com