The MR PORTER team tackles the most controversial summer-dressing topic.

Although the relaxing of dress codes has rendered some debates about style meaningless, the quandary of whether one can appropriately bare legs in an office environment or not continues to be contentious. This is less about our perception of what is smart or relaxed clothing, and more to with taste and etiquette. And air conditioning. To represent both sides of the argument, we asked two men well-known to MR PORTER to give their opinions on the matter. Whose side are you on?

Contributing Editor, MR PORTER

In warm weather it’s undoubtedly more pleasant to wear shorts than it is to wear trousers. Despite this fact, shorts, like other comfortable garments including vest tops, running leggings and sandals, have no place in the office. People go to an office to work together, they are social places, and the time we spend in one is as much defined by how we interact with our co-workers as it is by the work we do. Our lives are shaped by what happens in the office, in the form of the friends we make, the relationships we develop and the opportunities that we seize or squander.

Men who dress well find it easier to advance their cause in the social, romantic and commercial arenas even though making the necessary effort means prioritising something other than personal comfort. Rest assured that few of us are at risk of suffering any serious discomfort thanks to the ubiquity of air conditioning, the relaxation of dress codes and the rise of gym culture. The first of these is self-explanatory, the second means that no one has to wear a heavy suit to work any more and the third makes the commute bearable as it’s largely acceptable to arrive at the office in shorts and a T-shirt as long as you then change.

When we want to be taken seriously we need to dress up, something Facebook’s famously casual Mr Mark Zuckerberg demonstrated recently when he appeared in front of US politicians in a navy suit and tie. He knew he needed to project a certain gravity in those meetings and made the effort necessary to achieve this. This logic extends to us non-billionaires every time we go to work. So save the shorts for the beach, and, if you’re genuinely too hot in the office, buy a suit made from tropical wool, a few linen shirts and a pair of unlined leather loafers.

Chief Sub-Editor, MR PORTER

Years ago, I was working for another men’s style publication (not that one, the other one). One Monday morning during a particularly hot summer (we used to have those), I arrived in the office wearing shorts. No big deal, I thought. Just the small matter of the editorial meeting first thing, where we all pile into the editor’s office to discuss the current issues with the current issue. Only on this particular Monday, discussion turned instead turned to my knees.

Unbeknown to me – I’d spent the previous day frolicking through parks, I imagine – my editor had written a big piece published in one of the broadsheets that Sunday, the gist of which was that under no circumstances should a fully grown man with a real job turn up to work wearing shorts.

He wasn’t the first to make this case – I’ve seen decrees from on high by the likes of Mr Tom Ford on why shorts belong on the beach, not in the city. I even subbed the following words from Mr AA Gill (probably while wearing shorts myself): “No 13-year-old or over should ever be seen in trousers that finish above the ankle.” I’ll wager neither worked next to the window in an office overlooking Heathrow’s flightpath through a vast expanse of glass that, in summer, resembles the bridge of the spaceship pointed at the heart of the sun in Messrs Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s 2007 sci-fi film Sunshine. Because I do.

The thing is – and, truth be told, it’s what keeps us all in business – the parameters of men’s style are not fixed, but in constant flux, otherwise we’d still all be wearing a body-length fur-vest-and-tie combo like Fred Flintstone or a ruff like King Philip III of Spain. In the workplace, dress codes are loosening up – dress-down Friday is now every day of the week. If you think of shorts as a natural extension of the drift towards bare ankles that has become commonplace over recent summers, then it’s not such a massive jump.

But all this does not mean there aren’t rules: length-wise, shorts should sit in the Goldilocks zone no more than an inch or so above the knee. Below the knee is for late-1990s nu-metallers, above mid-thigh and you’re straying dangerously close to hot-pant territory. The shorts should be tailored rather than billowing, but not so tight that anything gets bunched up in there. Remember that to some eyes you’re already revealing too much.

As for footwear, no-show socks are your friend here. Shoes shouldn’t be too formal, but neither should you assume flip flops are acceptable in an office environment (unless you work in a water park). Tidy, minimal sneakers are probably your best bet; boat shoes or espadrilles if you really want to push that leisurely vibe.

And the reality is that shorts are not going to suit everyone: you have to have the legs for them. But if you can pull off a short-sleeved T-shirt without embarrassment, then surely you should be fine.

So I stood by my decision to wear shorts to that editorial meeting back then and I do so again now; with fully ventilated lower legs to boot.