A few readers have been asking in recent weeks when the shorts were coming back in stock.
Fortunately, we've been rather more organised this year and they're here on May 1 rather than June 1. They're listed now on the shop site.
Personally, last week when it was 25 degrees in London, my shorts were the first thing I put on. Washed green with a grey sweatshirt and sneakers; smarter navy with a blue linen shirt and loafers.
Shorts are like white trousers in that regard: something it feels indulgent to wear in England; a celebration of the weather.
This year we've expanded the range slightly, to include a washed khaki version (pictured).
This is the same model as the green: more casual styling, with belt loops and unlined inside, and garment washed to give it a soft worn-in look.
So there are now three colours - navy, green and khaki - of which the latter two are the washed 'sports' style and the former is the smarter, tailored style, with side adjustors rather than belt loops, and a shirt-fabric lining.
As you can see here, though, even the washed style is nice with a crisp white-linen shirt. I wore it with boat shoes, but it would equally have worked with tobacco-suede loafers like the G&G Classics for example.
There are more details on the various styles, and photography, on last year's launch post for the shorts.
As ever with Permanent Style products, these are not just shorts for their own sake.
They fill - in my view - a particular niche, and one I was frustrated to not be able to find anything in.
I find most shorts oddly large or oddly small. Workwear-inspired brands offer big, high-waisted gurkhas that I don't think flatter most men. High-street brands sell mostly narrow, tight shorts that are equally unappealing.
As I put it last year, most cling to big thighs or drown skinny ones.
The PS Short is moderate. A flattering halfway point. It's what most men want out of trousers, frankly, and certainly what they want out of shorts.
Most men already feel self-conscious wearing shorts - the last thing they want is for them to be attention-grabbing.
The PS ones have a straight cut in the leg, finishing just above the knee. They have a medium rise, slightly higher at the back, and a 4cm turn-up.
Those turn-ups and the two small, shallow pleats retain a little bit of character. Sartorial touches, but nothing that will be remarked upon.
I usually don’t wear pleats, but these are shallow, adding only a touch of fullness (helpful with a large seat, like mine) without making the top half bulky.
I’ve tried the shorts on a few friends, and it’s interesting how the pleats help fit a greater range of body shapes - something particularly helpful when buying online.
They were the result of three years' sampling back and forth, largely with Rota in Italy. We finally got the perfect cut and fit (at least in my view) and they were popular last year.
On the new khaki: since I've been wearing it these past few months, the thing I've loved best is that it works with blue, white and navy.
It looks great with a white shirt (or white polo shirt, as above), with a classic pale-blue colour (in chambray or cotton/linen perhaps) and with a navy shirt or knitwear.
No other colour I've tried is quite as versatile as that. And it makes khaki particularly useful colour, for example for travelling when you don't think you'll be wearing shorts every day.
All three shorts have a coin section inside the right-hand pocket; the navy has one rear pocket on the right, the others two rear pockets.
The washed-cotton shorts have corozo buttons, the navy ones horn.
They were made by Rota, a factory based in Italy that readers will probably be familiar with, and makes for several other high-end brands.
The construction is a good level for ready-to-wear, with great hardware, linings, buttons, and finishing. A machine make, but with a high level of precision.
The shorts are available in four sizes: small, medium, large and extra-large, equivalent to Italian sizes 46, 48, 50 and 52.
Do remember that we offer free returns if the fit doesn’t work. Contact [email protected] to arrange a return or exchange.
Full measurements are listed on the shop page. As with other pieces, we recommend comparing these to something you already own to get the best idea of fit. I wear medium (48).
In terms of alterations:
- All shorts can be taken in considerably at the waist, by 5cm (2 inches) at the most. It helps here that there is only one rear pocket, as large alterations won't push two pockets oddly together. On the green and khaki shorts, such a reduction in the waist would also require the rear two belt loops to be taken off, and reduced to one, over the back seam.
- The navy can also be taken out in the waist, by at least 3cm (1.25 inches) as there is considerable inlay there and running down the leg. However, the green and khaki cannot be taken out as this would leave lines around the old seam (as they are garment dyed and washed).
- All shorts can be shortened in length, at least by 5cm (2 inches). The bottom of the leg is obviously smaller than the thigh, but there isn't much taper at the bottom. At the worst, the leg might need to be narrowed slightly as well. The green and khaki, however, would require the turn-up to be cut off and machined on higher up, as again there are fade lines at the top and bottom of the turn-up.
- The navy short can be lengthened, by at least 2cm (0.75 inches) by either reducing the size of the turn-up or changing the way the turn-up is made (currently it is folded over, making three layers of material. The folded layer can be reduced.)
Other details:
- The shorts are 100% cotton
- They should be washed cool, at 30 degrees, and hung to dry before ironing.
- Shipping is from the UK
- Price (£175) does not not include VAT, as most PS customers live outside the EU. Taxes are added at checkout.
- Shop page here
- Note: due to a slight delay in packaging, the shorts will be shipped starting Monday next week
In the pictures, the shorts are worn with:
- Khaki:
- Bespoke linen shirt by D'Avino
- Vintage leather belt with brass hardware
- Suede boat shoes by Polo Ralph Lauren
- Panama hat by Anderson & Sheppard
- Jersey long-sleeved polo shirt by Aspesi
- Navy:
- Bespoke linen shirt by D'Avino
- Biscuit-brown knitwear by Luca Faloni
- Suede loafers by Edward Green
- Green:
- Shirt in Everyday Denim by Luca Avitabile
- Linen bomber jacket by Hermes
- Leather sneakers by Common Projects
- Grey Friday Polo from Permanent Style
As ever, please let me know if I’ve forgotten anything, or you have any questions.
Thanks everyone for your support
Simon
Photography: Khaki, James Holborow; Navy and green, Jamie Ferguson
Look good to me.
Are the boat shoes you refer to wearing the RL ones from an earlier posting?
Yes they are
Simon
Why, if you were all about artisan, quality etc, are you buying and wearing designer label shoes which will have been mass produced in a factory somewhere using cheap materials?
See our Spring/Summer Top 10 for more on that David.
Hi Simon,
Great to see a restock of the PS shorts and an added khaki colorway. Appealing for a size 44 (XS) once again for these shorts.
Wondering if a pre-order is possible for possibly low/less demand sizes?
Thank you.
Hi Neil. For some things like the Friday Polos, yes we can as cloth is stocked. For things like the shirts, not really I’m afraid as the minimums are too high
Just a small comment. You should always put your hat down, with the brim facing upwards.
Why?
From all the sources I have seen, it is because the brim can get flattened and the hat misshapen. Also, given the nature of this site, it is a tradition similar to that of always holding a hat, crown out. There really is a considerable etiquette involved in the wearing of hats.
Thanks – nice to have both the practical and the etiquette/style points.
I think it’s interesting that the point of holding it with the crown out is that this looks smarter, yet having it laid flat with the crown upwards looks less smart by that logic.
Personally I do think the hat looks nicer when held with the crown outwards, but I’m not sure I’d bother to do it most of the time.
On putting the hat down, I don’t think it would flatten the brim if it was only down for a few minutes, but of course I’d always store it so the brim wasn’t flat.
Beautiful collaboration, Simon. The khaki colour is particularly lovely. I recall you said on an old post that you would generallly stick to Tom Ford´s advice not to wear shorts in the city. Would you still say so, or have you changed your perspective?
Yes, pretty much.
Sorry, not sure I understand your response. Is it that you would not wear shorts in an urban setting? Or that you would?
By way of background, I asked because you mentioned the weather in London causing you to wear them. I would like to get a sense of in what kind of situations you would these beautiful shorts (i.e., only while on vacation, or on a Saturday around town, etc?) Thank you.
Sorry, no it wasn’t clear was it?
I wouldn’t wear them in town, no. So not into work, not in the centre of London, even at the weekend probably.
But I would wear them around the London suburb where I live – on the day I referred to, I was wearing them with a sweatshirt to the cafe with my children and then to the park.
Hope that helps
Really nice, perhaps these should expand into chinos?
I concur. I find it difficult to find most RTW chinos to low in the waist.
If there were a “like” button here I would like this comment. I like this comment.
Couldn’t agree more. The perfect chino is yet to be invented.
Officine Generale come perilously close but their leg is ever so slightly too narrow.
If these shorts (same colour selection – retaining pleats) were extended into trousers with the correct leg width they could be perfect.
Simon, would medium be the appropriate size for a man with a 33 inch waist? The design looks very nice.
On that one measurement you might be between a Medium and a Large. I’d suggest comparing our measurements to ones on something you already have – that’s the safest way and avoids having to return/exchange
Simon, 25 degrees and you need shorts? To me it contradicts the point of a web site devoted to the higher examples of what men’s clothing can be, when you then rush for the total informality of shorts at the first opportunity.
I was in Rome during the Easter holiday. It was not hot, around 20 degrees, and many were running around in shorts, many in flip flops. When I was young, and I’m not that old at 46, men did not wear shorts in cities, including Rome, including in the heat of summer when few had air conditioning at home or even in their cars. No one died as a result of the heat. Even at beach resorts in the evening men did not go out in shorts. But people have gotten much too fat, combined with becoming much too informal, and now everyone dresses in cities as if they were at the beach.
I think it is aesthetically awful.
That being said, I like your shorts but only for my beach holiday in August.
Anybody here been to Bermuda?
Tailored shorts, made from lightweight wool or heavy cotton, usually with forward pleats, turnups, and worn to the knee with knee length socks and formal shoes. Together with a shirt and tie.
Genuinely a very good look.
I’ll let you go first in London !
Fantastic comment and so true, thank you!
Couldn’t agree more.
Shorts are for the beach or country hikes.
These are beautiful for those occasions.
On colour versatility, wouldn’t the green also work well with white, pale blue and navy above the waist?
I find pale blue and navy certainly work. White is ok too, and perhaps you wouldn’t say it doesn’t work – but a pale-blue shirt looks much better with it than a white one, and a grey T-shirt better than a white T-shirt.
Where did you get that vintage belt? Love it.
A vintage shop in Florence
May I ask which one?
Tartan
Your comment about pleats, that you usually don’t wear them, is interesting. However, in the case of the shorts you noticed that they adapted well to a number of body types and the touch of fullness was helpful to you. Why would you not adopt the same thought process for your tailored pants?
Good question. It’s because these shorts are ready-to-wear, and therefore don’t have enough space for my body in their normal cut. But my tailored trousers are bespoke, and as a result have that cut in, so I find the pleats aren’t needed.
Understood. So do you believe that plain front is a smarter look than pleated for tailored pants? I’ve struggled with this question and generally have my pants made with pleats, primarily to be on the safe side in case of weight gain for example.
I wouldn’t say it’s smarter, but it’s subtler and probably more modern
Thanks for the updates. Can the shorts be worn in Italy during the summer?
You mean are they cool enough for an Italian summer? Yes I would have said so
Look great, would love a pair but as a definite 54 it isn’t to be… though do have a navy pair just in case one day I find a love for the gym or fallout of love with beer.
Odd that we should foray into hat etiquette on an article about shorts but hey ho… brim up as if brim down the interior may pick up dirt etc. from the surface, or indeed any small insects if left for duration. Hat is held crown out: in period of hat popularity, roughly up until 1950’s, urban areas, particularly London, were incredibly smoggy. The inner part of the hat was thus held facing the body. Additionally, personal hygiene, especially pre-war was often indifferent with many men coating their hair in macassar oil (it’s why anti-macassar linen was placed on the back of seating) , laterally brylcream. Hat bands would therefore have been quite unsightly and thus not on show.
Simon, can you explain why the need for a slightly higher back on these shorts. I’ve suffered from horseshoe folds through the back on certain RTW trousers and often wondered whether a slightly lower back may alleviate it.
It all depends on your physiology obviously, but on the people I’ve tried these on, I found that slightly higher back made it more likely to get over someone’s bum, and therefore not slip or gape. But it’s only a slight change in height, not much
I’ve been happy with SEH Kelly shorts, which are made of lovely materials and are somewhat roomy and high without going to the exaggerated proportions you mention (I like Brycelands a lot but it would take a confident man indeed to wear their ghurka shorts). These PS shorts look nice too!
Simon – like the outfit. As regards your white linen shirt, did you specify a formal style (fused/lined?) or the “paramontura” single-piece on which you’ve written previously, e.g. as used by Luca Faloni?
I pretty much always have my collars with good fused linings, and that’s what it is here. I find fusing always better with casual shirts, and just as good with formal ones.
But no, it’s a regular spread collar not a one-piece collar. I quite like that style, but only as an exception – I only have one or two of them
I got both green and khaki today. They are awesome. Regarding alterations, I have to reduce the waist by less than 2cm. Despite the small amount of adjustment, I still need to ask the tailor to remove one of the beltloops at the back according to your instructions??
Not necessarily Ben, up to you. It’s a visual thing, so just if you think they look too close together
Hi Simon, can I ask the size of the leg opening. I couldn’t see it on the shop site.
Currently trying to choose between green and khaki! Many thanks.
Hi,
Sure – it’s there on the measurements, it’s the ‘bottom’ for the whole circumference of the leg opening. So halve it for the width
Let me know if you have any other questions
Cheers
So am I understanding that one shouldn’t let out the khaki and should buy a size up and bring them in?
If you need to adjust them in the waist, then yes that’s the best idea
Dear Simon,
Could you give some details about the navy cloth such as weight and bunch number? It feels absolutely lovely and I would like to have some chinos made from it to go with sweaters.
Best
Alex N.
Hi Alex,
I’m afraid it’s not a cloth that is available for bespoke – most cloths used by brands are not.
Sorry
Hi Simon,
I have purchased a size 46 kahki, it fits every except the waist a bit too tight. I’m 5’5 (165 cm), would you recommend I take the 48? I’m afraid that it may be too big every except the waist. Alternatively should I exchange it for the navy which could be let out at the waist?
I would take the 48 and take in the waist, if you’re happy that the length will be longer.
If you’re not, then yes the navy would be best
Hi simon I’m thinking of getting a pair of snuff suede loafers with thin soles in a blake construction to be worn with shorts. I’m currently considering this from carmina https://www.carminashoemaker.com/horsebit-loafers-snuff-suede-80746
It looks great in the last as it’s pretty casual but I’m not sure about the horsebit hardware. Does it make the shoe more formal?
Yes, it probably makes it more formal. But it’s also much more of a fashion thing. It’s not one I like, but I know others that do
Hi Simon,
Is there a difference in style between cuffing and not cuffing shorts?
Would cuffed shorts result in a more formal appearance? Would like to inquire if the shorts have pleats would they also normally be pleated?
Cuffed shorts would be a little smarter, yes, as would pleats. They’re not big things (bigger with trousers) but they would tend in that direction
Hi Simon,
I have been trying to add a white linen shirt to my collection. However all the fabrics I came across (Albini, Thomas Mason etc) are pretty transparent. Do you have any recommendations for white linen that’s relatively not transparent? Cheers!
Look at the Irish weavers, not Italians. Spence Bryson for example
Is there a reason PS shorts are no longer available on the shop site? Thanks
Hey Marvin,
Yes, we’re tweaking the design and will be reissuing them in a month or so.
Are you able to indicate which colors will be available? Same as previously? Looking forward to these, and count me down for a pair. Thanks.
Cheers Rob. And yes, same colours. As ever, worth adding your name to the waiting list as you’ll get most updates that way.
Sorry for the additional question Simon. I am trying to work out whether i should take a size S or M for these, when they are re-stocked (thought it best to ask now before they are released and then go out of stock!). I see you took a size M; can i ask what is your waist size (if that’s not too personal) and did you have to take in the waist of the olive or khaki pair? Thanks!
My waist size is 32, and I didn’t have to take them in. If I was going to tweak anything (eg if making a bespoke pair) I would make the seat/thigh a little big bigger. But it’s a small thing.
If in doubt, I’d size up and take in the waist, rather than the other way round, because the washed pairs won’t allow you let out points like the waist, without leaving marks at the edges.
Hi Simon,
first and foremost, Happy Easter! Secondly, I saw a couple of readers already asked for an update regarding new batch of shorts a couple of weeks ago and I would like to get on the waiting list, if that is possible, not to miss out an these. Could you please advise on how to proceed?
Many thanks!
Hi Justin,
Of course. For all waiting lists (and indeed all stock information) the best thing is to email the support team at [email protected]
Any update on the shorts? Thanks!
No, sorry Mike, but shouldn’t be more than a week or two. As ever you’ll get an update if you’re on the waiting list – by emailing [email protected]
hey simon what do you think about these short (MOGADOR – SHORT (casatlantic.com)). They seem pretty good to wear with polo shirts or long sleeve shirts tucked out over them. without looking odd (too wide etc.) and still being interesting with their pleats (rather than flat fronted shorts)
They’re nice – I wouldn’t tuck in, as you say, but nice otherwise. And they’re wide but you can always slim them down if you want to later