Bermuda Styles for Your Inner Prepster

You'd think being a fashion scribe -- a daunting occupation I'm just now beginning to accept with cautious honor -- would be swamped with all sorts of free toggery. Not so. Besides, me stuffed in a Prada suit, stunning as the suit might be, would do a disservice to the brand. I'm built for comfort, not for speed or slim style. I'm drawn to what works, for play or dress. Sometimes, the mood to get splashy strikes; when my father got a pair of Bermuda Styles shorts made of light, quick-dry micro suede fabric and emblazoned with a lobster motif, I flipped out with envy.

Sometimes called jackass shorts, and serving distant cousins to Lilly P and Steven Stolman, they’re a perfect summery assault of excitable, unbridled preppery. But what arouses me the most is that they’re functional. The colors don’t fade, and the print options range from Peach Crab to Stone Lobsters to Blue Palmettos. I ordered all three, but so far the Blue Palmettos are subtle enough to prevent hazing outside of a yacht club, yet also appreciated in beery Bowery joints. So, why not push back fall lines for the next month, make some bad decisions on your summer vacation, and pull on a pair? That’s my plan.