A good pair of shorts says more about your legs' relationship with confidence than any other item in your drawer, and most women own precisely one, bought in a panic the week before a hot spell, which is exactly the problem. Shorts deserve the same thought as trousers, not a last minute grab because the forecast said twenty six degrees.
Stick to colours that don't argue with everything else you own. Washed denim, a soft stone, navy, black, that faded khaki that looks like it's seen a few summers already, those go under any top you already have without a negotiation. Leave the acid brights and the loud prints for later, once you know which shape actually sits right on you. If you've nothing in this department at all, start with a pair in a sturdy cotton or denim, mid thigh rather than anything that needs tugging down every ten minutes, because that's the one you'll reach for with a plain t shirt and trainers without thinking about it twice. Before you buy, sit down in the changing room, properly sit, because a pair that looks fine standing at a mirror can ride up or gape at the waistband the second you fold into a chair, and nobody wants to be adjusting themselves at a beer garden table. Check the waistband sits where your trousers usually sit rather than where the shop's mannequin had it, check the hem doesn't curl up at the back when you walk, and if there's a fly and buttons, do them up and sit down again before you decide. Tailored and linen versions earn their place from late spring through a city summer, worn with a linen shirt or a simple top, good for anything from a lunch to an evening that stays warm enough not to need a jacket. The relaxed and jersey kinds are for weekends properly, the school run, the supermarket, sitting in the garden with a coffee when everyone else got dressed and you decided you had better things to do. Denim shorts are the honest, unglamorous middle ground, good from June right through to a warm September, worn until the weather actually tells you to stop.
Tomorrow morning, if the sun's out, I'll have a pair of washed denim shorts on with a plain white t shirt and my oldest trainers, and I won't think about it for one single second.
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