Shorts

Nobody is asking you to wear a tuxedo. A pair of cotton pants is going to severely compromise your comfort for a few hours?

 

I don't do khakis.

 

OK. You can rock some Sans-A-Belt Hagar slacks.

 

I used to wear khakis until Andy Bernard came along and ruined them.

 

If you're covering the state track meet ... in Texas ... in June ... for God's sake, wear shorts. And a T-shirt. And flip-flops.

I won't hold it against you. It's fucking hot.

 

Gotta chime in here...
Was once part of a committee deciding a work dress code, and managed to get the reasonable compromise that sports writers (and photographers) covering events outdoors for extended periods of time (i.e. baseball of any level, football training camps, track meets, etc.) be allowed to wear shorts. They had to don long pants if they were going to newsroom after on-site assignment (changing at Dunkin Donuts or home or in the lobby restroom).
Fine. Reasonable.
But then a non-sports dept. editor wondered aloud where this would end. She literally shook her head and said she could see sports writers at home, filing stories in their boxer shorts.
I couldn't resist.
"I can top that," I said. "I've already been home getting ready for a date, got a call that (an NBA team) was making a trade, took the conference call and -- while wearing a towel -- filed 10 graphs, got dressed, and made it to the date on time."
Her response: "Ewe! Ewe!"
My get-real response: "Hey -- it was a large towel. Relax."
Bottomline: Apply commonsense. Get the job done.

 

Fixed.

 

What's with the flip flop hate?

I'm on a college beat in the South. I normally wear tennis shoes, shorts and polo when I'm covering a 90-plus-degree practice, but I (and several others on the beat) wear flops from time to time. I don't see the harm. What's the big deal?

I wouldn't go cover a media day or game or anything like that in flops. But practice? In August? In the South? I don't see a problem there.

 

If you're a man, and you have toes, you have man toes.

 

Shorts and sandals, fine.

 

Will wear shorts nearly every day to cover a minor league baseball beat. The players, manager and coaching staff don't seem to notice and/or care. When I actually do have to go to the office, it's usually for a 7 p.m. call shift. Will wear shorts then as well.

If I have to cover a coach hiring press conference or a media day, I'll dress accordingly.

As JRC said above, common sense.