Shorts Are Suddenly Deemed Cool

I remember back in eighth grade when May rolled around and I hit Filene's Basement with my mom to get some new shorts. I think they were by Z. Cavaricci, they were very short, they had zippered pockets, and I thought they were way hot. Then whenever I wore them to school, this horribly snarky girl named Clio, who had bright yellow bleached hair that clashed badly with her bright pink face, would sing the "who wears short shorts?" song at me. I still thought they were hot, but in hindsight, they might not have been the best idea. If not slutty, shorts generally have been considered Way Dorky in the past few years, until the advent of Formal shorts and Long Shorts a year or so ago. Now Dame Fashion has gone beyond those categories and returned to normal ol' casual shorts, somehow sprinkling her magic Vogue sprinkles on certain pairs to make them gleam with chic instead of frump. I'm not saying that they're randomly classified as cool when they used to be dorky. No--dorky shorts are still dorky, but some designers have come up with new tweaks to make shorts flattering and interesting, rather than horrible and hi-I'm-going-hiking-with-my-boyfriend-who-wears-socks-with-Tevas-and-a-CamelPak.



My personal epiphany that shorts are cool started not with the fashion magazines' proclamation (which did occur, but I didn't believe it), but with this pair of Isabel Marant shorts (above). Look how COOL they are. Slouchy yet tailored, big yet they make your legs look long and lean, thick linen that's still lightweight, pleats that somehow add cool volume without looking like your mom's Dockers...genius, Isabel. Sadly, they cost $400 or something. So I kept them in my little mental shrine as I looked for more attainable options.

These Free People shorts were a good jumping-off point. A little crunchy-granola, but still neat with the pockets and the cuffs. Flattering for the stems, I think. And I noticed they've gone on super sale at Nordstrom (clicky the pic! [God, $44.99 is now cheap for shorts. The shorts Clio commented on cost about $12 at Filene's Basement, I think.]).


I happened on these James Perse long shorts at Nordstrom, thought they were the answer to my search, but then tried them on and saw that they tapered in a weird way and made the legs look not-so-nice. And then I saw the price tag, which was also no-so-nice. But I still like the idea of long shorts with the slouchy tailoring.


7 for all Mankind did a cool denim short that has volume and neat details without being too ass-expanding or too girly. They could be formal or casual depending on the shoe and top. I hate 7 jeans--they're so ubiquitous now on girls standing in line outside of lame West Hollywood clubs--but these I like.

The Final Fantasy of Shorts showed up, believe it or not, in the store window at Express. Somehow I can't post photos, but here are similar ones on the website. They have pleats and volume and cuffs and good butt pockets and they would never cause Clio to yell anything at me. Fingers crossed that the shorts pendulum doesn't swing too far anytime soon, because I got two pairs for the price of one and I intend to wear them basically constantly. Thank god I don't work in corporate.

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