I have always wondered how the fashion trends in men’s
clothing department has evolved over the years.
Time was when, during my boyhood days we were sick and tired of wearing
shorts or half-pants, as we called them, then; we wanted to grow up fast so
that we could start wearing trousers or pants (as we used to invariably call
them); what can I say, the shorts have now come onto the fashion scene with a
bang; not only for young boys but for older men too! Older the man, more his new-found love for
wearing the shorts. I recently saw an
old man, touching eighty, I would say, by his demeanour, wearing beautiful
chequered shorts and lovely beachwear T-shirt too. He looked really smart with Nike sports shoes
and a walking-stick swinging in his hand! Shorts or half-pants, so to say, has really caught
on, with aplomb, in the minds of style-conscious men; young or old,
irrespective of their age. It is considered
the new-age ‘cool thing’ for men, to be seen wearing shorts!
Well, ruminating on my boyhood days, I had felt, rather
ashamed of being seen, wearing shorts in public; I was ever so eager to enter
manhood, mainly to show off wearing full length classic terry cot pants and
growing a moustache (or rather, start the process of shaving). I remember, I was so embarrassed of buying half-ticket
in city transport buses. I used to
persuade my parents to buy me full ticket in buses; more than anything else, to
feel the pride in being called a man, rather than a boy eligible only for half-ticket. As a young boy, when travelling alone in
buses, I was in the habit of stealthily buying full ticket, away from the
prying eyes of my parents; though, I was entitled to half ticket, according to
my age, then. When I asked for the full
ticket, during those half-pant days, the bus conductor, used to look me up askance,
weighing the options, whether I was eligible for half ticket or full ticket;
but finally, the conductor used to issue a full ticket; giving in to the profit
motive of the Bus Corporation! In those
days, the bus conductors had a way of assessing the boys’ ages, based on their
attire; whether the boy was wearing half-pants or full pants. Full pants warranted a full ticket and half
pants were eligible for half-ticket. It
was that easy! I don’t know, how it is,
with the present-day bus conductors. It
may not be that easy, considering that most men wear shorts or half-pants as
their casual attire.
It was standard attire with the villagers of those
days, to wear striped shorts; with a pocket sewn on the inside to keep their
currency notes safe. These striped
shorts were made of pajama cloth material and all the village tailors were
adept at stitching the pajama-based custom shorts. I am not sure, if this village dress code
was confined to South Indian States alone or was used widely in all other
villages of India. Striped shorts
combined with inner vest (or banian, if you will) was a regular attire for
village men. Recently, when I passed
through some of the villages, I could see from the road-side that these village
men too had radically changed their attire; many of them wore vibrantly
fashionable shorts and emblazoned colourful T-shirts. It appeared to me, that the India I knew, had changed; had indeed, moved
ahead on a swift path; fast catching up with the advanced nations, at least, from a sartorial
perspective.
Considering the current fashion trend in men’s casual
wear department, young boys of the present day need not feel ashamed of wearing
shorts or half-pants. Most of the men’s
population is wearing them; men of all shapes and sizes; loving the comfortable
and trendy short pants. It may not be too far-fetched
to assume that in the very near future, we may see most Indian men wearing
shorts and T-shirts to their work places and offices in lieu of the formal
shirts and trousers. The only downside
of men wearing shorts, is the amply visible hairy ankle, which may not be
such a pretty sight to most people, after all!
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