Speedo Sunday

Snug suits not for shy beach boys
By Jessica Yadegaran
CONTRA COSTA TIMES



Be it a pad on the shoulder or "pelvis-rise" jeans, women tend to submit to trends. Even when they're uncomfortable, unflattering or outlandishly expensive.

Men, on the other hand, aren't always as likely to sacrifice comfort in the name of chic.

Take this summer's "must-have" for men: snug, square-cut swim shorts that sit low on the waist and high on the thigh and thus accentuate nearby vicinities. Think Rock Hudson circa "Pillow Talk."



t's the original boy short -- for boys, of course -- and demand for versions by Versace and Dolce & Gabbana over the past five years has paved the mainstream way. Now Speedo is in on the action. But are guys wearing them?

"It's definitely a trend," says Durand Guion, director of men's fashion for Macy's West in San Francisco, which carries the shorts in a range of styles and price-points. "I think initially the appeal was a bit gay-oriented, but that's changing. It's now for guys who have a great build and like great color, fit and quality."

And, Guion points out, with the standard boardshort becoming a part of street wear -- paired with a hoodie and sneakers -- this is the next step in men's swimwear.

Hit the streets, however, and you get a different take. Jhayson Henderson of Brentwood wakeboards and jet skis, so he took one look at the shorts and said they would "cause too many problems."

"If it doesn't come to my knees, I won't wear it," said Henderson, 24, assessing several samples handed to him. "But I think my girlfriend would look nice in these."



Joshua Burgess, 25, of Danville concurred. "I've got skinny legs and I don't really like to show them," he said.

Barney Frazier winced when he was asked to hold the shorts against his body. "You're telling me these are making a comeback?" asked Frazier, 53, who lives in Hawaii but was spotted shopping in Walnut Creek. "To be honest, you'd never see these in Hawaii. You might see them in Miami, but nowhere else."

That's not true, according to Edie Kelly of International Male, which sells the shorts through its catalog and Web site. The shorts do well because of the body-conscious mentality that came out of the metrosexual boom, she said. But there's also another reason.

"We're becoming more globalized," explains Kelly, vice president of merchandising. "There's plenty of Europeans and Latinos living here and they're more comfortable in their own skin. While we tend to be a bit more provincial, we're becoming more homogenized. But this (customer) is a pretty upscale guy who takes care of himself and is well-traveled and would be less giggly about it."



There's also public versus private swimwear, as in sunbathing at home or on vacation. "I don't think a lot of guys would admit that they buy them, but they do," Kelly said. "Fifteen percent of my business is thongs for men. But no one has ever told me they'd buy a thong."

Visit a public swimming pool and you'll find swarms of the less-giggly type. Members of the Walnut Creek Masters Team took one look at the square-cuts and started grabbing for them.

"They look like drag shorts," said Chris Danesi, 37, of Concord. Sure enough, the most cutting-edge look in men's swimwear is no different than the cover-ups Michael Phelps and other svelte swimmers sport every day.

Chris Horner of Martinez slipped on an army-print pair over his own, smaller drag shorts and around his lean waist. He asked if he could have them.

"I'd wear them around here," he says, referring to the pool at Heather Farm. "And I wouldn't mind putting them on once in a while at the beach."

"Wouldn't mind"? Not very convincing.

"Well," he added, "just because everyone would stare at me."