4S Designs P. Short

Lurex is a metallic yarn, and the difference between a metallic yarn and a metallic finish is the difference between this short and most of what is sold as it. A finish sits on a cloth and wears off it. A yarn is spun into the structure, so the shine is a property of the weave and changes with the angle rather than with age. Here it is worked into a blue plaid tweed, which means the metal is distributed through the check rather than laid over it, and the effect is that the pattern shifts as the light moves instead of glinting in one place. A tweed short is already an odd and good idea, because tweed is a jacket cloth and putting a jacket cloth on the leg above the knee is a deliberate mismatch.

Why we selected it

Most metallic cloth is a surface treatment and looks like one within a season. This is spun in, and it is the reason a tailored short survives being this decorative.

Tailoring cloth used where tailoring is not is a repeated move in this house, and a plaid tweed short is the most direct version of it.

Materials and construction

A blend of cotton and lurex, woven as a blue plaid tweed. Color: Blue.

We do not hold percentage figures for this piece, only the two materials by name, and we do not hold a country of origin. Please ask us and we will look at the piece with you.

Fit notes

A single size, 50, on the Italian scale. A tweed short has more body than a cotton one and stands away from the leg rather than following it, so it holds its shape when you sit and will not cling.

Styling

With the Long Sleeve Woven Polo or the Rugby Shirt, both of which are plain enough to leave the check alone. Under the PL Bar Blazer if the point is to make it a proposition. Not with the Tearaway Shorts‘ grid check or the James Cargo Pant‘s, for the obvious reason.

Care

A metallic yarn will not take heat, so this should never meet a hot iron and should not go in a machine. Have it cleaned and mention the lurex. Our care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The Tearaway Shorts are cut short in a recycled cotton tweed, and the Work Shirt – Tweed sets a denim collar against a metallic cloth. Everything we carry from 4S Designs is listed together.