I desperately tried to find a pair of baggy tweed walk shorts to wear with boots, but no luck. Styles were either too short, too straight, too itchy or ill fitting. I even considered altering an inexpensive pair of ladies or men’s pleated tweed trousers to get the desired silhouette, but couldn’t get that to work either. I soon lost interest because I have a small window of  “the right weather” in which to wear the look – and that window is now. Just as I was about to give up I bumped into these LONG shorts from AlternativeApparel.com and was smitten.

I soon forgot about my tweed walk shorts obsession because these darlings fit perfectly, slouch in the right place and don’t itch. They remind me a little of the pedal pusher and knickerbocker styles I wore in the late 70’s and early 80’s. For some reason I have fond memories of those silhouettes and I’m totally rekindling them here.

I love my chestnut Fryes and am looking for a bright chestnut leather jacket, but apart from that I don’t wear brown. And definitely not brown tweed! Far too earthy for my style. But I’ve found that I’m comfortable wearing this combination on the bottom (away from my face) because I can create contrast on top with brighter colours and crisper textures. In outfit one my cream leather jacket provides the right amount of crispness. In outfit two my denim shirt provides the crisp factor. The yellow and orange scarf provides the vibrant colour. Wearing crisp texture against my face AND colour is key to making brown tweed shorts outfits “feel like me”.

The long shorts are at a versatile length just on the knee, although a couple of inches shorter would have worked just fine too. I’ve found that I can wear all sorts of footwear with long shorts of this length: flat oxfords, pumps, booties, heeled oxfords, slouchy mid-calf boots and knee-high boots. Some heeled and some flat.

I’m really excited about my long tweed shorts and am wearing them today. I can dress them up or down: creative business casual (leather jacket outfit) and casual (denim shirt outfit). As I mentioned last week, I’m tired of my skirts, which makes wearing long shorts, walk shorts and clamdiggers with boots or booties a welcome alternative.

These ensembles are definitely not as cheeky as they would have been with short shorts, but they make this 40 year old happy because they’re age appropriate and fun to wear. That’s what counts!