Medellín, despite its
growing popularity, embraces change the way Kim Jong Un champions democracy.
Ok, so it’s not that bad,
but paisas tend to be very traditional. One aspect of their culture I noticed
upon moving here is that all the paisa men wore pants. If they wore shorts, it
was to go to the gym or do some other kind of exercise.
That has changed.
In the last year, I have
noticed paisas wearing shorts everywhere: the grocery store, the mall, various
neighborhoods.
Keep in mind, this occurs
during the daylight hours 90 percent of the time. At night, wearing pants,
especially jeans, is still the dominant fashion trend.
As Jeff, one of our new
writers, once told me, his girlfriend and her friends favor guys who wear pants
on a date,
and I concur, for the most part. Once, on a mid-afternoon date to Café
Zeppelin, I wore shorts.
So then why the change of
style at other times? Melissa will tell you more about men’s fashion overall in
a future story, the same way she did with her informative piece of what women
wear here.
In my story, I’ll focus
only on shorts and I have a few theories for the fashion shift. I even asked
some people in the fashion field their thoughts, to give this story a more
diverse perspective.
My first theory is
Colombians are strongly influenced by European and North American culture. Just
look at all the fast food places around Medellín, the McDonald’s and Burger
Kings, and is it just me or are there not an inordinate amount of Subway
sandwich shops now?
Heck, even a Starbucks opened
in Bogotá recently, and one will no doubt be coming to Medellín as
the company announced plans to open 50 locations in Colombia.
Tourism is another factor.
The Colombian government
estimates that the country will welcome more than 4 million tourists this year,
a new record, and many of these tourists wear shorts.
The locals notice this,
said Steven Marin, whose family owns Lonmar Itda, a textile
company in nearby Barbosa that makes clothing for popular Colombian brands such
as Chevignon and Stop Jeans.
“Gringos rock the shorts
and sandals,” he said.
There are other factors
as well.
“Big brands like
Chevignon and Americanino have been investing in publicity to sell more
Bermudas and shorts for both men and women,” he said. “Plus an increase in
temperature. Shorts are the practical way to go.”
With the El Niño weather
phenomenon, it has been hotter and drier this year, so I’d have to agree with
him there.
So does Mauricio
Velasquez, director of the design and fashion wing of the Escuela de
Arquitectura y Diseño at Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana.
“Hace mucho calor,”
Velasquez said, referring to the last couple of summers, the latest hotter than
the last, and that one hotter than the one before.
That makes shorts more a
necessity, he said, than a commodity.
But that’s not all.
Velasquez cited
foreigners having an influence as well, but not necessarily when they’re
visiting Medellín, more so just by living their lives the way they do at home.
With the city libraries either new or upgraded to make them as modern as any in
the world, the younger generations are able to see what people are doing around
the world with the click of a mouse.
“Es un fenómino del
Internet,” Velasquez said.
I have an Australian
friend, someone who is like a little brother to me, who used to drive me crazy
by wearing shorts everywhere in Medellín. It attracted attention, especially
when he wore a pair as short as players in the 1980s NBA.
That style has yet to
catch on here and probably never will, but otherwise, should he return and wear
a pair that at least touches his knees, he would fit right in.
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