The semiotics of skull-and-crossbones preppy shorts
What’s so special about these goofy pink preppy pants?
Look closer at the little repeated insignia:
Yes, a skull and crossbones.
These are the short pants for the man who is not content to say “I am wearing a retro preppy ensemble”. These are the short pants for the man who wants people to know that he knows that his preppy ensemble is bogus, that he mocks it while he embraces it, that he is so confident in his preppiness that even the skull and crossbones cannot overwhelm his pink. It is not the retro preppy garment for just anyone. And that, gentle reader, is what makes it preppier than straight preppy ever could.
Spotted at a shop window in Beacon Hill. Naturally.
(This may be the last commentary on a fashion trend I ever attempt as a quick google search reveals that I was scooped by the CBS Early Show last October. Then again, maybe I don’t care about being first).
May 11th, 2007 at 9:32 am
Holy crap!! My brother has those pants. When I first saw the shorts, my first thought was, “why is he wearing pink shorts?!” Then, my next thought was “and they have whales on them?!” But no…they weren’t whales…they were skull and crossbones!!! Wow…I knew he was preppy but I never thought he would shoot so high with his preppiness. Very nice!
May 11th, 2007 at 10:04 am
Retro? Ez, some people never left.
May 11th, 2007 at 10:59 am
The official pant of Yale’s own “Skull and Bones”.
May 11th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
A Frenchman re-writing Don Quixote word for word in the 19th Century means something different than Cervantes writing the original in the early 17th.
Someone in Beacon Hill wearing preppy pants in 2007 means something different than someone in Beacon hill wearing preppy pants in 1985. In this case, that something different is retro.
May 16th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
It also seems to dovetail nicely into your discussion of what is or isn’t original below. So the Early Show scooped you, still new to you. Preppy or anti preppy, does it matter? If you’re of the ilk to wear pink shorts with skulls and crossbones, by all means do it for the fun and/or the fashion. Of course, it still leaves me scratching my head when the women at work wear the new “dress shorts” or whatever they’re called, where you think for a second they’re wearing a skirt, but then you notice that’s not the case. Not that I’m sure it matters.
May 16th, 2007 at 11:02 pm
Like when you think, “is Helmecki wearing a kilt? Or is that just his red flannel tied around his waist with a jaunty knot?”
July 29th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
nice shorts, anyone know who makes them?