What I Look For In The Perfect Shorts (Pear Shape Edition)

Buying shorts is the worst. I basically avoided buying shorts and pants for years because it was always more frustrating than anything else and I rarely found anything I liked long-term. However, I recently bought a pair of lounge shorts that actually fit me really well and I decided that from now on, I would look for shorts with the same style and shape as these.

I lean pear-shape— with a smaller waist, wider hips and fuller thighs, so if you are similar, hopefully this will work well for you.

Here’s what I now look for:

• Extra High Rise

• 4-5 inch in seam (length from the crotch to the bottom of the short)

• Words like “A-Line,” “Wide Leg,” or “Loose Fit”

• Large Back Pockets

• Thicker non stretchy material

If you don’t have a pair of shorts you love yet, I was thinking a good way to figure out what to look for would be to go shopping outside of your price range for a day and just try on really high end shorts that are more likely to be made well-fitting. Analyze what you like about them and take note of the style and measurements and from then on you can take your time browsing online and reading descriptions until you find a pair that fits all of that and is within your price range.

Maybe this is all obvious, but for me it really helped to systematize the whole thing so I can stop wasting my time on shorts that will never fit right.