Who Wore Short Shorts?

Tommy Towery

LHS '64

Short shorts, as their name implies, are shorter than average. Such garments had been known since the 1930s when female Hollywood stars wore them for publicity photographs. New York City, passed a by-law (repealed 1942) banning women from wearing them. They were principally worn for sports and active purposes, such as cycling. Shorts that terminated at the upper thigh became increasingly popular as informal leisurewear and sporting attire throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s for both men and women. In the early 1970s short shorts began to be made in fashion fabrics, in which form they became known as hotpants and the terms hotpants and short shorts have since become interchangeable.

I was recently reminded of short shorts and how they were accepted in society during our high school days. Shorts were not allowed to be worn in school. I cannot remember what the girls wore for PE, but I know shorts were not allowed in normal classes. Not shorts OR pants!

When looking back through the yearbooks I did find that some classmates were allowed to wear shorts - for special occasions. One exception was men's basketball.  The 1964 Silver Sabre includes examples worn by Greg Dixon, LHS '65, and J.R. Brooks, LHS '64.

Another example was found in the 1965 Silver Sabre that included a photo of the Lee Band majorettes wearing a short shorts outfit in a parade.

Even the cheerleaders did not wear short shorts in 1964. Their outfits were long skirts. The accompanying photo is of the 1965 cheerleaders in shorter ones.

Even looking back at the 8mm movie I made at the 1964  Senior Class Picnic on May 8, 1964, all the girls who elected to wear shorts wore Bermuda length shorts.

My puberty-inspired memory of any girls being allowed to wear short shorts was during an assembly in the auditorium when they were allowed as part of the activity. I cannot remember if they were worn as part of a school election skit, or a band performance. I don't remember the name of the girl (or girls) but I do remember a pait of nice tight short shorts. Funny how the brain works!

I also know there was an opportunity for the girls to get into trouble for trying to wear them at times their parents felt inappropriate.

The Royal Teens were an American rock and roll band that formed in New Jersey in 1956 . The group is best known for its single "Short Shorts", which was a number 3 hit in the United States in 1958.

It appears we did not have any classmates who ended up being a member of a chain gang.

I am looking forward to hearing some of your remanences of short shorts, filed in the memories of both the females and males of the class. 

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