Nicholas Daley Pullcord Short

Most shorts are a trouser that somebody stopped early. Daley starts from the other end. The waist closes with a long cord left deliberately exposed rather than hidden under a placket, and a D-ring hangs at the hip beside it, both lifted out of workwear and rope work and then left where they can be seen.

The panels are the other half. Waxed cotton is cotton impregnated with paraffin so that water runs off it: stiff, industrial, and made to be abused, which is the opposite of everything a summer short is usually cut from. Set into a plain cotton body it darkens where it creases and lightens at the points of wear, so within a season the panels stop matching the cloth around them and the garment begins recording where it has been. Knee length keeps the proportion generous rather than athletic.

Why we selected it

We took this because Daley thinks about a short with the same seriousness he brings to a trouser, which almost nobody does. The cord and the D-ring are the details that carry his trousers, and putting them on a pair of shorts is the least obvious place to find out whether they were ever more than decoration. They were.

Exposed hardware and visible function run through Nicholas Daley’s trousers, and the Pullcord pieces are where they are most legible.

Materials and construction

One hundred percent cotton, made in England. Waxed cotton contrast panels, exaggerated pullcord at the waist, D-ring hanging loop. Knee length. Colour: Navy.

Wax is a finish rather than a fibre, which is why a garment carrying waxed panels can still read as cotton throughout on a composition line.

Fit notes

Knee length and cut generously, with the waist controlled by the cord rather than by a closure, so the fit at the top adjusts within a range. This is a short to wear loose. Sizing down to make it fit closely will fight the cut and put strain on the cord.

Styling

With a plain tee and the Hand-Crocheted Bucket Hats. With the Aloha Shirt worn open. Navy will take almost anything on top, and given what is happening at the panels, almost anything plain is the right choice.

Care

The waxed panels govern the whole garment: no machine washing, no tumble drying, and no dry cleaning, since all three strip the wax out of the weave, and a cotton body with panels sewn into it cannot be treated separately from them. Brush off dirt when it is dry, sponge marks with cold water and no detergent, and dry away from heat. Tell any cleaner about the wax before you leave the shorts with them. Our fabric care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The Pullcord Trouser in navy corduroy is the same detail at full length, with the Pullcord Trouser in khaki corduroy and the Pullcord Trouser in black corduroy beside it. The Wide Short is the plain corduroy short. Everything we carry from Nicholas Daley is listed together.