Is it OK to wear shorts in the office? We asked designer Thom Browne for advice

Since 2020, many of us have gotten used to wearing whatever we want while working from our homes.

And even those of us who returned to the office have probably adopted a more lax dress code.

But given how hot it is around the country these days, maybe – just maybe – you’ve thought about wearing shorts to the office.

Or perhaps the idea is so mortifying that you’re shocked someone would even float the idea.

We asked Fashion designer Thom Browne, known for dressing various celebrities for events like the Met Gala and his own collection, to settle the question: Is it OK to wear shorts to the office?

“If it's appropriate in your line of work, then I think you should,” Browne told Morning Edition’s A Martinez. “But I think there might be situations or certain offices that it is not. So I think you have to kind of be respectful to where you are.”

Browne is known for rocking his signature gray suits – often with shorts.

He even wore a pair to court last year while fighting off a lawsuit from Adidas.

“I just love them because I just like the comfort of them,” Browne said. “ But I do also like the idea of almost driving people crazy because they don't really understand what they're seeing,” he said.

But shorts in the office are just “a little off,” Browne said.

“Back in the day when I started my collection, it was the dress down era and all the banks were dressing down.” He said, “And the reason why I wanted to reintroduce tailoring was because I was against the whole dressing down era.”

If you’re going to do it, here’s how, according to Browne.

If you have an office job and you want to wear shorts to work, Browne recommends a tailored pair of shorts with a jacket, more in line with a shorts suit.

Browne says you can’t just wear the same pair of shorts you would wear to the gym.

A jacket elevates a nice pair of shorts, he added.

“I always feel like if you pair a pair of shorts with a tailored sport coat, it makes it a lot easier to make the shorts more appropriate for work,” he said. “So that would be my advice, to wear it almost like you're wearing a suit, but the trousers are actually shorts.”

And if you are nervous or apprehensive about wearing shorts to work, Browne said, just don’t do it.

“You have to be able to know yourself and be true to your own sense of style,” he said. “And the one thing about personal style is just the confidence in being true to yourself. And so if you are nervous and you're going to look nervous, then I would advise not doing it.” Browne said, “But I don't think you should be nervous.”