New York - In midwinter, daydreams tend to detour toward sun-soaked
beaches—plans for long weekends in the Caribbean, agendas for schlepping the
kids to Florida for cold-weather recess, or just sprawling on South
Pacific sands.
What sort of swimsuit does one dare to wear in these
visions?
Adam Brown, head of London-based swimwear maker Orlebar
Brown, had his Archimedes-in-the-hot-tub moment at a pool party in 2005. The
male guests looked bad and felt worse, swaddled in billowing trunks they’d need
to wriggle free of before entering a dining room for lunch. “I was actually
laughed at by my friends,” Brown told me. “They said, ‘Who would ever want to
wear a tailored swim short?’”
These days, who wouldn’t? Brown’s vision anticipated
an age when Instagram has transformed men’s beachwear from an afterthought
into something set down on your permanent record. Like all of the best
contemporary trunks, Orlebar Brown's permit a smooth transition from swim-up
bar to sit-down meal. Quick-drying polymers are where the action is—a tradition
of technical fabrics stretching back at least to the 1940s and Jantzen’s
“Nylonit” trunks.
Before you place your next order, here is what
some of the top names in men’s swimwear advise.
Start with your height
In its design, the contemporary trunk has amphibious
ambitions. “We design our swim shorts so they can be worn in place of regular
shorts,” said Mike Faherty, co-founder of Faherty Brand, which has
attracted a premium customer with board shorts that come
with 7-inch and 9-inch inseams.
How to choose? The easiest way to decide, says Faherty,
is based on height. “Tall guys over 6'3" tend to go for the 9-inch,” he
says. “Shorter guys, 5'10" and under, go with the 7-inch.”
Location, location, location
But in this arena, the matter of how tall one stands is
less important than the issue of where he is standing. “A shorter inseam is
definitely more relevant on the East Coast,” Faherty said. That’s where he
is competing with European brands for fashion-minded customers.
And the West Coast? “A lot of our guys in California
have grown up wearing classic surf brands,” Faherty continued. “They only know
a longer-inseam short. Guys, sometimes they gravitate to what they’re used to,
and there's nothing that can change that.”
Embrace a European vibe
Yes, swimsuit length is a consistently vexing issue. The
French brand Vilebrequin began in 1971 after its founder, Fred Prysquel,
followed his future wife to Saint Tropez to pitch woo. Feeling distinctly
uncomfortable in the Speedo-type briefs of the day, he created a dashing
swimsuit that offering greater coverage. This model, called the Moorea, has a
5.5-inch inseam in size medium, while a longer short dating to 1996, the Okoa,
has an 8.5-inch inseam.
In the US, about 30 percent of Vilebrequin’s business
is in the Okoa, according to Chief Executive Roland Herlory. “The rest of the
world, it’s about 5 percent to 10 percent,” he said. Gingerly testing his
English, Herlory added, “The Americans, they are more … prude. You can say
this? The opposite of the Italians—they do not cover the body as much.”
Herlory’s observation was seconded, but qualified, by
Michelle Copelman, design director at Solid & Striped, which offers swim
shorts in four lengths. “Traditionally the American customer is more
conservative than the European customer,” she said, “but we are noticing men in
the USare starting to explore different silhouettes.”
Though Solid & Striped’s bestselling silhouette is
the “classic” with its 4-inch inseam, Copelmen refuses to believe that the man
who wears it is more or less fashionable than the guy catching waves or rays in
the brand’s board short, with its 8-inch inseam. “The 1970s surfer vibe is
stronger than ever, and instead of the board short being conservative, it’s
stylish. As men’s swim trends are broader than women’s, you can design and
market to many different customers and still tell a strong brand story.”
Patterns
At Orlebar Brown, both the brand story and the product
range accommodate an older customer who buys deep (they name-drop the Apple
designer Jonathan Ive) and a younger one nonetheless willing to lay out $245 or
more for a “hero short” worn on special occasions. The company offers its
shorts in four lengths, each with a canine name, ranging from the abbreviated
springer to the not-quite-knee-length dane.
Brown himself tends to prefer middle lengths, and when
venturing to the shorter end of the spectrum, he’ll select a solid color or
simple pattern, as opposed to one of his flashy photo-print numbers.
“I’m 51,” he said. “It’s like, Is that too much of a good
thing?”
A few loose ends
The biggest business news in the rag trade this week
concerned Kate Spade & Co, as shares rose amid takeover speculation. Those
of you who earned money on this move might consider slipping it into one
of the new Jack Spade billfolds available in early March, among other leather
goods, exclusively at Barneys New York ... Drake’s of London, esteemed
purveyor of scarves, ties, and much else, dropped a spring collection. Men of
taste will be interested to know they’ve expanded that much-else category to
include proper suits.
“Navy’s always been our color, so it felt right starting
there,” says creative director Michael Hill. There’s a navy seersucker made
with Loro Piana fabric and also a navy Spence Bryson Irish linen, each
soft-shouldered and unlined. “We also have the Irish linen in a beautiful
chocolate brown,” Hill adds. If you are concerned about getting laughed out of
your workplace for turning up in a brown suit, the jacket and trousers are
available as separates ... Discuss among yourselves the flair and oomph of the
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Week by leaving his Park Avenue ladies out in the cold ... This would
seem to be a slam-dunk case: The best and worst clothing lines from NBA
stars.
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