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Is this the summer New Yorkers should all wear shorts to the office?
By
James Ramsay
Published Jul 16, 2026
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James Ramsay/Gothamist
By
James Ramsay
Published Jul 16, 2026
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This column originally appeared in Looped In NYC newsletter. Sign up here.
Summers in New York City: They’re only getting hotter.
Does it follow, then, that wearing shorts in the office is only getting … more appropriate?
A few weeks ago, following an afterwork jog along the West Side (where everyone’s naked), I had to make an unexpected return to my desk when a colleague informed me that my knees shouldn’t be visible in the workplace.
This was enough to make me curious, so I did a little poking around and discovered that everyone from Seattle to Sydney is talking about this.
Some stylists and experts say wearing shorts in the office is cool. Others say no, it makes you look like a Minion. The Atlantic declared the stigma around office shorts “the most illogical fashion convention still standing.”
But I don’t actually care what professional stylists or logicians think. I care what my coworkers think. So I threw on a pair of khaki shorts (gotta have skin in the game) and asked them.
Watch this week’s video:
Darnell Jefferson, our senior coordinator for security and office service operations — and a 13-year WNYC veteran who has what they call “institutional knowledge” — said wearing shorts to the office is “of course” fine. (He had them on as well.)
Iru Ekpunobi, an assistant producer for our “NYC NOW” podcast, said yes — but the longer the better, especially if they’re jorts.
Housing reporter David Brand was a no.
Health reporter Caroline Lewis was a yes.
Eddie Mouradian, a senior director for corporate and event development, said he’s pro-shorts (“my calves are my best quadrant”), but conceded that in his department, it’s not yet kosher to meet with clients or donors with your knees out.
Luke Green, an associate producer for “All of It,” said he’s a “hard, hard no.”
“I find it deeply off-putting to have my legs out in front of my colleagues,” he said. (When asked whether that sentiment was applicable to others or more of a “him problem,” he admitted it could be the latter.)
John Schaefer, the esteemed host of “New Sounds,” also happens to be a legendary shorts-in-the-office guy. When asked about his approach, he doubled down and said his shorts (often of the soccer variety) are best paired with fun socks. (The ones he had on said, “Just resting my eyes” in a nifty font.)
After fielding all these varying opinions, I remembered one key nugget of my hater’s argument: It was against company policy to wear shorts in the office because our employee handbook clearly states that we have a “business casual” dress code.
So I went in search not for an opinion but an answer: What does our company’s head of human resources say?
Ru Sharma, our new chief people officer, who once worked for a bank and has a long track record of officiating people in a corporate environment, gave it to me straight: “The shape of the garment does not determine what is too casual for work or formal enough for work. If you can wear a skirt, you can wear shorts.”
So there we had it, the truth: It’s OK to wear shorts to our office.
But in this process, I also discovered my truth: Having my legs out all day felt vulnerable, weird and too chilly under the office AC.
As bold as I felt walking into the boss’s office looking like I’d just stepped off a boat, I ultimately think I’m more confident, more at ease, with a 34-inch inseam, even in the heat of summer. Maybe it’s a “me problem.”
Tagged
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summer
James Ramsay
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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