Short pants: The long and the short of it

The summer of 1936 was not just hot; it was lethally so, with at least 5,000 people succumbing to heat-related causes across major U.S. cities like New York, Baltimore, and Columbus. For weeks, temperatures remained at or above 100°F (38°C) in many locations, shattering records that still stand today. Without widespread air conditioning, residents endured relentless heat, often seeking refuge in movie theaters or sleeping outdoors.

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New York City, Baltimore, Columbus, Ohio, Lexington, Kentucky, Minneapolis – I mean, cities were hammered.

This extreme weather significantly altered daily life and, during a relatively conservative fashion era in America, influenced clothing choices. The popularity of shorts surged as a practical response to the heat. However, wearing them was not universally accepted; in some places, it courted legal trouble. In Yonkers, New York, the wearing of shorts was once explicitly illegal, punishable by fines and even jail time.

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For weeks, some cities were 100° or over. There were records that were hit, and still have not been broken.

In 1936, two New York Daily News reporters deliberately wore shorts into Yonkers to challenge the ordinance. They were arrested, but their subsequent court battle led to the overturning of their conviction and the eventual dismissal of the law. While a new "modesty ordinance" was passed the following year, it too was short-lived.

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All day, you're suffering, and then you can't sleep. And this would go on day after day after day.

Costume design historian Erin Black notes that leg exposure was considered scandalous in certain historical periods. She points to the Elizabethan Era, where men wore short breeches called pumpkin hose, often stuffed and worn with stockings, which could sometimes lead to insect infestations.

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Isn't that usually the case?