In 1837, the same wunderkind that wrote the fairy tales, The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina, the Snow Queen, and Ugly Duckling, released his treasured satirical tale– The Emperor’s New Clothes. The Danish writer, Hans Christian Andersen, paints a scene of a vain emperor who believes he is wearing the world’s finest garment but in reality, “The emperor has no clothes on.”
A modern spin-off of the tale has been born, however, it is less fiction than its 19th-century counterpart. The 1800s tale features two swindlers, a kingdom, and a child. The 2024 debacle has fast fashion retailers, Pinterest, and a Lagos clubber.
The 2024 version unfolded when X user, Backwood Baby tweeted her clubbing experience, “This girl wore boxers to the club?” The tweet gained traction after it was discovered by the girl in question who responded with visual evidence of her blue chequered boxers.
Sorry oh fashion police. Foolish girl
— Siem (@Kasibuzugbee) September 7, 2024
😂😂😭😭 https://t.co/hiIfhhYXeM pic.twitter.com/fjANFrY1Yz
“Lmao you’ll think it’s something else the way these people are crying. On top Gingham shorts?” The first comment earned an agreement from the accused. This led to a confused uproar; what are gingham shorts? Aren’t those boxers?
In the past week, there have been floods of Pinterest photos of these Gingham Shorts to serve as proof that these are in fact not boxers. But a fresh new type of shorts you have not seen, they look like boxers but if you know, you know.
Does that sound familiar? If it does, it is because that is how the Anderson tale goes. The two swindlers claim to be able to weave the most beautiful fabric in the world, but only those who are wise and fit for their position can see it. Although the internet cites Pinterest as the author of the Gingham Shorts trend, they are merely the medium of virality. The author is Chinese-American designer, Alexander Wang.
THE ORIGIN OF THE TREND:
Women have always had a soft spot for men’s underwear but it was not until 2018 that they made their way into prestigious events and eventually to entertainment hubs.
In 2018, Wang redefined the signature of his eponymous brand, his quirky vision was to make innerwear luxurious outerwear. Think Calvin Klein but everyone can see what is between your Calvins. To push the movement, he had It girl and now supermodel, Kaia Gerber, wear boxers with him to the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) awards.
Wang was honest with his intentions and called them for what they were. By 2019, a few fashion girls jumped on the trend like Charlotte Lawrence. The Wang boxers or as his Wang girls called them, Wang shorts, were in. The late 2010s were one of the best years for Alexander Wang, he was in every fashion discussion, Madonna had him in a music video, Beyoncé name-dropped the brand in a song, and he had a cameo as himself along with the biggest names in fashion in Zoolander 2. He was a long way from being the Parsons School graduate who struggled as the creative director at Balenciaga and left after two years.
His entourage known as Wang Girls included supermodels like Gisele Bündchen and Liya Kebede, and future supermodels like Bella Hadid, Kaia Gerber, Kendall Jenner, and Gigi Hadid. To be a Wang girl was the epitome of coolness in late 2010s fashion with a Vogue article teaching people how to be on— if you are lucky enough to be wanted.
But all good things come to an end and by December 2020, Wang was slammed with several allegations of sexual misconduct. By 2021, Alexander Wang and the fashion industry were estranged. His Wang girls deleted photos, Wang went on hiatus (made a comeback in 2023), and anything Wang dropped ‘the Wang’ from its name including Wang shorts.
Nevertheless, the shorts remained in stock and to this day, they are bestsellers with the classic striped blue pairs sold out on the site and retail sites like FarFetch.
Wang has always been transparent with the marketing of the shorts, labelling them as boxers shorts. However, in his absence the trend of Wang shorts grew sans the Wang name and with little to no marketing, the internet ran with the shorts. Pinterest picked up on the latest supermodel trend as the It girls of fashion traded their Wang boxer shorts for other branded boxer shorts.
By the 2020s, fashion publications began detailing its rise with Vogue giving a rundown of the different types of boxers and where to shop them. The boxers trend caught on but since they were often referred to as shorts on Pinterest, retailers began marketing them as that. This made the most obvious part of the trend oblivious to several partakers– you are purchasing boxers at an obnoxious price, and yes, you are wearing underwear. The shorts are boxers and boxers are shorts.
WHAT MAKES A SHORT A BOXER?
Boxers are men’s underwear with predominately two types: shorts and briefs. Boxers shorts have a loose, relaxed fit that extends to the mid-thigh. They offer more coverage than boxer briefs and are often made of cotton or a blend of cotton and synthetic fibres. Wikipedia on its etymology states, “The term has been used in English since 1944 for all-around-elastic shorts, so named after the shorts worn by boxers, for whom unhindered leg movement (“footwork”) is very important.”
Boxers are simply shorts with an elasticised waist and a simple structure. They are designed to provide ventilation on hot days and help maintain a hygienic and well-ventilated genital area. They come in various colours, sizes, and patterns– including gingham.
Gingham is a medium-weight balanced plain-woven fabric typically characterized by a checked pattern, often in bright colors and white. Its defining pattern is also known as the Vichy check. All ginghams are chequered fabrics but not all chequered fabrics are gingham. There are eight commonly distinct chequered patterns, including tartan, gingham, Madras, Windowpane, Houndstooth, Prince of Wales check, and the Tattersall pattern.
The use of underwear as outerwear has been popular in the 2020s; from the rebrand of the bloomers (a 19th-century undergarment) to the No-Pants trend worn by stars like Sydney Sweeney, Kristen Stewart, and Emma Chamberlain. So the gingham shorts, which are men’s underwear, are a symptom of a larger movement. Ironically, the picture that sparked the Gingham shorts confusion was not a Gingham boxer shorts. It was a tartan boxer shorts.
