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.
DarrenBarefoot.com 
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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!
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.
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
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!
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?
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.
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.)”
Okay I dont see a problem manpri or what ever you want to call them. Women steal mens clothes all the time from our shirts to our undies. Bein a long distance truck driver I want to be comfortable while im drivin. Sorry but mens jeans and pants cut into the waist sittin for long periods example my job. Zipper cuts if you unbutton the top. So im normally runnin down the road in a pair of capris dont matter if mens or womens comfort is what im after. After all look at sweat pants. Can you tell me the diffrence between mens and womens. They both look the same to me other then the colors offered. Both come in black or grey. So wear what you want I do.
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