Should You Wear Shorts Out at Night? The style landscape has moved in countless ways in the decade-plus since then. And, happily, we are mostly in a no-rules era of men’s fashion. And yet opinions about shorts and where men should or shouldn’t wear them have still bloomed like algae. And while, for the most part, Ford’s Rule of Shorts has faded in recent years—it’s OK to wear shorts in the city, people—a different question has taken its place. Can you—should you—wear shorts at night? Are bare legs uncouth and too informal, or cool and irreverent—or, moreover, irrelevant? Is there a proper inseam for a pair of night shorts, or is it simply 32 inches, a.k.a. pants? Seeking some sort of consensus, I asked designers, doormen, tastemakers, and my fellow GQ staffers for their personal take on wearing shorts at night. I also asked if there are specific places or occasions where night shorts are acceptable, and encouraged them to share any other considerations, such as styling, inseam length, fabrics, and footwear pairings, at play. Among the 13 GQ employees who responded to my very official Google Form prompt, a state of the union was inconclusive.