Fit for A King

Are corduroy shorts back? Or have corduroy shorts never left? Honestly, we have no idea, but one thing we're certain about is that corduroy is a polarizing material. Guys tend to either love it or hate it. Rarely do you find a bloke who sits on the fence when asked about their opinion on corduroy shorts and they reply, "Not bad, I could take 'em or leave 'em." Even rarer, is finding the first guy who's willing to go around and ask the second guy his opinion on corduroy shorts. But that's the type of artisans we are here at Mr Simple – dedicated to almost nothing else but the time-honoured craft of making the finest corduroy shorts in this great land. Yes, we're all out and proudly in the pro-corduroy shorts camp and these are a few reasons why you should join us...

Corduroy goes back

Dating back to ancient Egypt, there was a fabric known as Fustian, which is like the ancient relative to corduroy. The material we know today though, with its signature texture known as "wales", originated in 19th century England, where its hard-wearing nature made it perfect for factory wear. Because of this, corduroy is still called "Manchester" in some parts of Europe. Elsewhere, like Italy, corduroy translates to "velvet with a rib" because it's woven in the same way. There's even a legend that the word corduroy was coined around the late 18th Century using the French translation of "cloth of the King" so basically your corduroy shorts are good enough for a Pharaoh.   

Corduroy is cool

The first glory days for corduroy was in the 1960s and '70s, when the counter-culture picked it as their material of choice. Loved by musicians, artists and directors, this was back when the President of the Board of Trade claimed that "The Beatles saved the British corduroy industry." While they might not have sported corduroy shorts, the fabric has been famously worn by Steve McQueen, Bob Dylan, Pablo Picasso, Mick Jagger and more recently, Wes Anderson. Today, our corduroy shorts are inspired by brands like Gramicci and Stussy, sporting a little extra flare in the details and colours.  

Corduroy lasts

It really does. Which means a lot when you think about forming a long-term relationship with your corduroy shorts. While other materials might get beaten up over time, corduroy just keep getting better with age. Make them yours this summer.