…comes around

Zara tank (similar)
Zara shorts (similar)
Steve Madden sandals
Ellen James bag
Zara sunglasses (similar)
Wolf Circus necklace (similar)
& Other Stories necklace (similar)
Keltie Leanne Designs ring (c/o)
Madewell rings
Daniel Wellington watch (c/o)
Location: Winnipeg Art Gallery – Winnipeg, Manitoba

The fact that I have mixed feelings about shorts is a topic that comes up time and time again. But necessity makes strange bedfellows. My sudden urge to wear shorts this year has nothing to do with the shorts-and-blazer trend, which, while I admire from afar, just doesn’t make sense to me from a practical perspective. It has everything to do with the blistering summer heat. To illustrate my point, I offer a simple but poignant explanation: last year, we turned our air conditioner on once all summer. This year we turned it on in May, and have shut it off only twice since.

Clearly, this year, I am wearing shorts out of necessity. Which meant that my two pairs of denim shorts, now both several years old, would not suffice. Two pairs of shorts are not enough for four months of wear, even for a minimalist. And personally, I am a minimalist who likes options.

Before our trip to Halifax, I ordered this pair of shorts from Zara. They allowed me to indulge my obsession with beige and my desire for shorts I can actually sit down in at the same time, which was a big win for me. They arrived just in time for me to pack into my carry-on suitcase. Halifax proved to be equally hot, at least during the day, so they got a lot of wear – hence the wrinkles. We’re all friends here, so I can be honest: I don’t even own an iron, and if I did, I probably still wouldn’t have any inclination to waste precious time using it.

I digress. The story of these shorts is less about how much I’ve worn them, although the fact that I have remains impressive in and of itself. It is more about the fact that what goes around comes around, especially in fashion. I owned a similar pair of shorts in a shade of cornflower blue when I was about ten, although they didn’t have the bow belt. I didn’t realise how similar these were until they arrived. But more than that, I didn’t realise why they looked so familiar until I was at my parents’ the night before our departure – and I found a nearly identical pair of shorts hanging in my mom’s closet. The cut, the colour, the length – all that was missing again, was the belt.

I couldn’t help but laugh. After all, I’m sure I shook my head at mom’s beige shorts, which she wore with a matching vest, when I was a teenager. But now, as the trend comes around again, I love them – so much that I almost stole mom’s old pair as a back-up!

Fashion is so often written off as frivolous, but the truth is, what we wear matters. Our clothes tell the world who we are, and who we aspire to be. We learn from what we wear, too. The more years I spend getting dressed, the more I understand that you can never say never. Life is full of unexpected surprises, and many times, those unexpected surprises come from ourselves. The clothes, the stories, the songs – anything we loathe today, we may wake up and love tomorrow. But with a sense of humour, and a little good-natured self-deprecation if necessary, we can wear whatever you want. Regardless of whether or not it is something we swore up and down we would never wear in our lives.

…or at least that’s what I’m telling myself, because I am wearing these shorts like they are going out of style. After all, they just might (again…!) Have you ever absolutely hated a style, only to fall in love with it later on?