I recently snagged this Brooksease blazer off of eBay for $50. Even though quality wise Brooksease is probably about the equivalent of Brooksgate without all of the heyday fanfare, I think it was a pretty good deal. This post isn’t really about the blazer though.

Even though this post isn’t specifically about the blazer I will tell you about it. Brooksease was an entry level line. The internet chatter starts about them around 2004 and I know they were still around a little after 2010, but I don’t have a firm grasp on their production dates. While they are mentioned to have less inferior fabrics than the 1818 line with the inclusion of synthetics and stretch. I am not sure if this holds true for them all. Many of them do have a canvassed lapel and to their credit were made in the USA by Southwick.

My Brooksease blazer is classically trad. It has the prized 3/2 roll closure, it’s a dart-less sack cut, and while it doesn’t have a hook vent it does have a center vent. It also has swelled edges which I think are an underrated feature and it has my preferred pocket setup which is a welted breast pocket with lower patch and flap which are accented by nicely opened quarters. The fabric is 100% Lora Piana wool which by touch I am guessing is the 100% Lora Piana pure stretch wool and it was indeed made in the USA by Southwick.

The only problem with my blazer is that it’s about 1 inch too long. While that is certainly better than 1 inch too short especially in today’s post-menswear climate there is a time when this would have driven me crazy. I would have obsessed over it and it most likely would have prevented me from wearing it. Now I’m not saying that my menswear OCD complex has cleared up completely, but currently the length isn’t bothering me one bit. In fact, I think it looks pretty good. It’s summertime and living is easy.

I am not sure how Patagonia Baggies made it into the picture. If I had to guess I’d say that they wandered into Tradsville from a far away place called Fratagonia with their friends the stand-up short and the classic snap-t. Regardless of how they got here, they are here now.

I was never in a frat, but as a resident of Tradsville I love my 5″ Patagonia baggies. When summer gets into the swing of things and the heat is pumping these are the shorts that I reach for. They are super light, they come in great colors, and they dry pretty quick. I am a big fan of yellow and purple.

What do I wear them with you ask? Easy, anything and everything. I wear polo shirts, ocbds, broadcloth shirts, madras, and of course my grey-t’s. When it comes to footwork you can obviously wear sandals or sneakers, but camp mocs look great and I could see some beat up loafers working as well. In short, they are versatile.

Now on to the liner. This is what I get asked about the most. Do you leave the liner in or cut it out? My answer is that it depends. If you are going to use them to swim fairly often the answer is leave it in. If you don’t plan on using them to swim then remove the liner. I have some with and some without the liner. Don’t overthink it.

There you have it. The 5″ Patagonia baggie is the warm weather adventure short of trads. Whether you are going to the lake, beach, river, pool, hiking, or just hanging these shorts are perfect. They are my go to vacation short. To learn more about trad items with frat origins checkout Red Clay Soul’s classic Late 90’s-Early 00’s Fraternity Style post.

Bonus Pics