In 1958, the Los Angeles City College Banned the Wearing of Bermuda Shorts on Campus

Shorts first became popular in the 1920s when boys wore them as part of school uniforms. However, for many years since then shorts were thought of as too risqué for the general public, especially for women.

Students at Los Angeles City College gather to read about the campus ban on shorts, 1958. (Photo: USC Libraries/Corbis)

Colleges have also been battlegrounds. In 1958, Los Angeles City College issued a dictum against Bermuda shorts. Students questioned the fairness in a story by the United Press. “Some of the drama students are allowed to go around in beards,” one student protested.

A dean of the school told the UP, “One day last year a boy came to school in something like a bikini ... We can't have that — we have to draw the line some place.”