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It hit 90 degrees in DC this past week and all of a sudden I have shorts on my mind. (Though I don’t think my legs are quite ready to see the light of day.) I probably don’t need to add anything to my shorts collection, but I thought you might want to! With that in mind, I thought I would share with you the three pairs of shorts you need to survive the summer.
Jean Shorts
When it comes to jean shorts, I always look at American Eagle Outfitters first. I don’t care if you haven’t looked at them since high school, this company knows their denim. They have the biggest variety and a huge amount of lengths. Since shorts are already well, short, and expose skin, I don’t really see a reason for mine to be that ripped. I also try to aim for a looser boyfriend cut because you don’t want to wear tight denim on a 100 degree day. I would also aim to have a “nicer” dark pair and a little rattier of a light wash. Think of the light wash pair as the pair that you would wear on moving day or to the beach.
Also, though I just preached AEO, I threw in some Old Navy options below, to give you some price variety. I’m also interested in checking out the Everlane jean shorts once they come out!
Khaki Shorts
We’ll call these, the necessary shorts. I can’t fully describe it, but they just are. They’re for when jean shorts aren’t appropriate, yet shorts still are. You want to wear “fun” shorts (see below), yet…those don’t feel quite right. They have a time and a place and you never quite know what it is until the occasion comes up.
My go to for these shorts? Old Navy. Don’t spend all of your money on these shorts. Just don’t. Old Navy has great pairs in basic colors, in more than enough lengths. Plus, these just somehow feel slightly nicer than jean shorts. Don’t ask me why. Also, no, they don’t need to be beige, you could pick another more subdue color like navy, gray, black, or white.
Fun Prints
Finally! The fun shorts. Shorts that come in a wide variety of colors, prints, and lengths. High waisted, different fabrics, and different waist ties. They’re all fun. Personally, when it comes to finding these, I love looking at Loft, J.Crew, and J.Crew Factory. J.Crew and J.Crew Factory have been kind of tame in the past, but they’ve really stepped it up this year with fun cuts and patterns. Loft has always been on the fun side, going crazy in the shorts department.
So there you have it! With a pair of jean shorts, khaki-ish shorts, and fun shorts, you’ve got the three pairs of shorts you need to survive the summer. Now, I wouldn’t say you only have to get ONE pair in each category. You can certainly get more than one, in fact, I encourage it for variety. But, if you’re going for the minimalist wardrobe (which I also encourage), you can definitely survive the summer with just those three pairs.
