Can you wear board shorts to the pub?

Well, that depends where you are. But most of the time, honestly, no. And everyone already knows it, which is why the question gets asked in the first place. You're at the beach, the arvo turns into beers, and you're doing the maths on whether you can walk into the pub in what you're wearing or whether you're going home to change first.

We have thought about this exact moment more than any group of people probably should. It is basically the whole reason Berties exists.

Why do board shorts look like swimwear out of the water?

Because most of them are swimwear, and they can't hide it. There are three things that give a pair away, and once you know them you'll be clocking them from across the room.

The first being the drawstring. A lace up drawstring flapping around at the front of your waistband is the loudest possible signal that you're in your swimmers, because proper shorts close with buttons and clasps and zips, and the moment the closure looks technical the shorts read as gear.

The second being the fabric. Most quick dry fabric has this shiny, sporty finish that screams swimwear under pub lighting even when it's bone dry. And the frustrating thing is that fabric can dry fast without looking like that, most brands just don't bother, because they're only ever designing for the sand.

The third being the mesh liner. You know it's there. And by mid arvo you really know it's there. Liners exist because pool trunks used to double as underwear, and shorts you'd actually live in all day just don't need one.

What makes board shorts work as regular shorts?

Flip those three and you've got your answer. A closure that looks like real shorts, so a clasp and button at the waist, buckles to tighten, a proper zip fly, nothing to knot and nothing flapping. Fabric that holds its shape and looks matte when it's dry, so it dries on the walk up from the beach and then just sits there like a normal pair of shorts, no cling, no shine. And no liner. Ever.

Get all three right and the shorts stop being swimwear that tolerates land. They're just good shorts that happen to be unreal in the water.

The test we build for

We call it beach to bar, and it's a full day. Morning swim, coffee, a bit of driving around, lunch, back in the water, arvo beers, dinner with your mates. One pair of shorts the whole way through, no trip home to change, and at no point does anyone clock that you've been swimming in them since 9am.

Every single design decision we make runs through that day. It's why there's no drawstring on The Collective, it's why the fabric was picked for how it looks dry and not just how fast it dries, and it's why there's no liner. Not one hero feature, just the three tells, all handled.

Frequently asked questions

Can you wear board shorts as regular shorts?

Traditional surf board shorts, not really, the drawstring and the sporty look give them away pretty quickly. But shorts built with a proper closure, matte fabric and no liner pass as regular shorts because functionally that's exactly what they are. We've done the full breakdown of the categories in board shorts vs swim trunks vs swim shorts.

Can you wear swim shorts to dinner?

A casual dinner, yeah, as long as they pass the three tells above and they're dry. The failure mode isn't formality, it's looking like you're in swimwear, and shorts that read as just a good pair of shorts are fine almost anywhere shorts are fine.

Are board shorts smart casual?

At the relaxed end of it, definitely. A well cut pair in a solid colour or a subtle pattern with a decent shirt gets you through most Australian summer settings, and the chunkier the branding and the more technical the shorts look, the faster you fall out of it.

What do you wear with board shorts at the pub?

Keep the rest simple, a plain tee or an open short sleeve shirt, thongs or sneakers, done. If the shorts genuinely pass as shorts you just dress them like shorts, and nothing about the outfit needs to compensate.

More in this series: why board shorts zips break and how should board shorts fit.