The Short of It

What's wrong with Pants?

I started this newsletter as a way to contrast my former life in New York with my present life here in Pittsburgh. While I still miss NYC terribly, I’ve gotten used to life in the suburbs of a much smaller city. There are even some aspects that I rather enjoy. I like that I always know where my car is parked. And speaking of cars, I like being able to throw my Trader Joe’s groceries into the trunk instead of carrying them home on my shoulders. I do miss running through Brooklyn Bridge Park, but the 5 mile loop at North Park has been a suitable and often enjoyable alternative.

The other day I noticed a man and his two children walking through my neighborhood dressed in shorts and t-shirts. It was 53 degrees. I get that it was warmer than the usual January chill, but it was hardly what I would consider to be shorts weather. That morning it had been around 30 when I went out for a run. In other words, it was cold. It could be snowing, and I’ll see my neighbor outside clearing his driveway wearing shorts. It’s a question of WHY?

I own shorts. Plenty of them. And I wear them appropriately, or at least I think I do. I have cotton chino and linen shorts that I wear in summer. And I wear athletic shorts when I exercise and run. I’ll even wear the athletic shorts in winter for outdoor runs over running tights. But that’s where I draw a line.

People here (mostly younger boys, but also grown men) will wear shorts year round. My nephew once said, and I quote, “I just don’t like pants.” Thankfully, this has changed as he has matured. My daughter, who is ten goes to school with many young boys (it truly is only the boys) who will wear shorts in the dead of winter. She doesn’t understand it either.

Now, I’m not saying every person in New York is walking around on a daily basis wearing the best tailoring available. This is hardly the case. Most New Yorkers, like other Americans dress for the occasion. Some are more stylish than others. That holds true here in Pittsburgh too. I suppose what bothers me most is the impracticality of it all. Last night I went to the Y with my daughter. Since it was a short walk from the car to the door, I didn’t bother wearing pants over my gym shorts. And wouldn’t you know, my calves were freezing. For the few seconds I was outside, I dealt with it. But to dress this way to shovel snow? The question remains - why?

The local obsession with wearing shorts year round no matter the weather is just one of the (many) things I will never understand about Pittsburgh. I don’t have to participate. I don’t have to like it. But I probably need to stop letting it annoy me.