“US fashion commentators are now suggesting that economic strength might also be reflected in the length of men’s swimming trunks,” reports The Guardian. But is it a truncated theory? “When the stock market rises men’s beach shorts shrink proportionally as customers trade more conservative board shorts for racier lengths. Trend experts are claiming that as the economy musters a recovery then men’s hemlines are heading north. Shorter swim shorts are, according to Eric Jennings of luxury department store Saks Fifth Avenue ‘definitely the look right now’.