July 15th, 2004

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Vancouver
14 Comments »

New Term: Man Capris

A friend of mine was complaining about a love interest’s taste in clothing recently:

“I got all dressed up for our third date, and he shows up wearing an old t-shirt and, uck, man capris.

While I know what capri pants are, and I have seen the occasional man wandering around in these baggy, clam-digger-type trousers, I’d never heard them called “man capris”. Google thinks it’s a new term as well. For more information on this disturbing trend, here’s a LiveJournal rant, a five-year-old CNN article and a Georgetown Voice piece that includes the phrase “while we support the veritable man-capri revolution that has swept Scandinavia”. I had no idea.

Etymologically speaking, I suppose this term follows “man bag”. The popularization of that term probably had a lot do with this Friends episode.

Comments: 14 Responses so far

Mark
July 15th, 2004
11:29 am

I am sad to say that not only do I have a pair, but that I wore them twice this week. But then my friends always did call me The Fashion Victim. I would never wear them for a date though - good grief. Mind you, these come just barely below the knee, barely longer than some of my shorts. Bought them in Singapore in 2000, dug them out the other week because I lost some weight and could actually fit in them again. Sorry, but I like them. I will have to look into that man-bag thing.

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Darren
July 15th, 2004
12:17 pm

In an athletic context, I think the shorts-just-past-the-knee are acceptable. Odd, maybe, but within fashion norms. Before they acquired the fancy name ‘capri’, they were called ‘pedal-pushers’, after all.

I’m a big advocate of the man bag (or ‘murse’, if you like). There’s just no other way for me to carry my iPod, sunglasses, wallet, cell phone, keys, book, etc. on my person.

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KevinG
July 15th, 2004
1:19 pm

Darren-

There is no need for a ‘murse’. There is plenty or room in my pants for four enormous bulging pockets. If more space is required, the keys can be hung - janitor style - from a retractable steel cable attached to your belt.

The less obvious, though more practical reason for the absence of a ‘murse’, is the ready excuse for misplaced keys, wallet, glasses etc. Besides, patting oneself down looking for keys, or elbow deep probing of pockets looking for spare change can be oddly exciting. No?

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NIck
July 15th, 2004
2:08 pm

I’m wearing black 3/4 length shorts right now at work. They are made for mtn. biking though, does that make me somewhat masculine?
I didn’t realize there’s such a movement against it.
At least I didn’t bring my ‘man bag’ today.

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Myron
July 15th, 2004
3:45 pm

So long as they don’t start making them (and men don’t start wearing them) in floral and other eye-searing electric polyester prints, I say live and let live.

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Martine
July 16th, 2004
7:58 am

On the right guy (thin or in shape, long legs, generally stylish), with the right shoes (sandal like, but not heavy, german tourist sandal), and when they are the right lenght (just slightly shorter than a regular pant) they can look quite nice. But I’m aware that it’s a delicate formula and that a lot can go wrong!

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George
May 18th, 2006
7:05 pm

I just got back from a month in France and saw “capris” for men everywhere when the weather warmed up. I thought they looked pretty sharp, especially compared to the extra long board shorts that a lot of American kids wear. As far as length is concerned, they’re almost identical, except the capris are less baggy so you don’t look like a brick. I even brought a couple of pair back with me.

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My Hot Climate Shoe Crisis | DarrenBarefoot.com
February 13th, 2007
1:20 pm

[...] Keeping these factors in mind, I’m likely to be wearing a lot of light trousers. Possibly even, if there’s no one about, some man capris. [...]

Air
February 13th, 2007
5:27 pm

Dude: Man capri’s are HAWT. Get the light ones. Get a few pairs. Also consider Tilley Endurables. They’ll last longer than your waistline. As for shoes: Teva’s.
http://www.teva.com/
http://www.tilley.com/thumbnail.asp?catId=13&gender=m&extractBy=CategoryId&id=7

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Air
February 13th, 2007
5:30 pm

oops–posted on wrong page–but you get the idea

another idea is matching his/her outfits. Cute!

I just got a great pair of Columbia pants (to take to Australia). They hae SPF, and dry fast: which came in handy on the log rides at Disneyland, too!

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gil
March 5th, 2007
12:02 pm

well, i’ve seen them on a few people(when in Europe mostly) and I kinda like them lol…where can one find these…website?

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Market saturated in South Florida? - Autopia Car Detailing Forum
May 22nd, 2007
4:44 pm

[...] Originally Posted by themightytimmah This is how most of the competition works: http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22…h/DSC00596.jpg You could see the swirls 20 feet away on the *white* one… the black one was just beyond hope. First thing I see wrong with this picture, besides alot of other things. Is if I seen this guy outside washing cars with a Mobile van with decals…I would never consider calling them. Look how unprofessional he is. I know it is hot in Florida but put on some fitting shorts and a polo. Doesn’t need to be anything fancy…but detailing in a wife beater is just not professional. One thing I must give him "props" for is his fashion taste…looks like he is a following the new trend of man capris __________________ Touch of Perfection Mobile Detailing *04 Grand Prix Supercharged* [...]

Sally
August 12th, 2007
1:01 pm

I’ve been perusing the internet searching for manpris!!! My 16 year old son loves them and he is wearing out the one pair he has. Where can I get more? The store where we originally purchased them said they sold out and know nothing.

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Derek K. Miller
May 26th, 2008
9:48 pm

Not always buying from China: …following in the bare-calfed footsteps of my “doppelganger Darren Barefoot–my new summer man capris were sewn in Bangladesh. (Of course, the Bangladeshi government is no great shakes either.)”

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