At Short Motivation, we can safely say we’ve sampled a wide selection of swim shorts, with varying degrees of quality. What has become apparent is the swim shorts produced in Portugal always live up the top quality craftsmanship you’d expect from the region and the Porto area has become synonymous with luxury swim short manufacturing. Buying high-quality swim shorts will see you through many a Summer, but can quickly put a strain on your wallet.
Bowler & Beach was launched with a mission to produce the highest quality swimwear on a realistic budget. Established in 2016 by brothers Matt & BJ; both grew up spending their Summers on sun-drenched beaches in Portugal. The company produces men’s and children’s high end swim shorts inspired by vibrant colours of summer on the beach, with simple yet effective prints and a high attention to detail. Each short combines Portuguese flair with British design, with the British heritage strongly represented by the iconic bowler hat logo sewn into the back of the shorts.
After a successful Kickstarter campaign, their very first prints were from the “Animal Collection”, where standard colour bases are offset with simple and sleek repeated animal symbols. Short Motivation’s first pair of Bowler & Beach shorts were ‘The Lobster’ (light blue base) which instantly became one of our favourites.
“The Coral” is on our future wishlist
We found the polyester material is fast drying and the prints stand out in a great way, gathering plenty of attention while at the pool or the beach. The shorts are extremely comfortable, with a slightly thicker material than you’d expect to find in most men’s swim shorts, resulting in a less clingy design, particularly when you step out of the pool. The last thing you want is the embarrassment of a super-clingy short you have to subtly re-adjust on the way back to your lounger.
After our pleasant Lobster experience, we extended into the sunshine collection by obtaining the ‘The Sailing Boat’ (yellow base) and ‘The Pineapple’ (green base). Although we’ve yet to try a plain short from Bowler & Beach, we’re interested in obtaining ‘The Navy’ and ‘The Coral’ and both on our future wishlist.
The men’s swim shorts are available for £89 from the Bowler and Beach website.
