Shorts Get Shorter This Summer

It got very hot in New York. Accordingly, as one does when it’s 97 degrees, women started wearing less clothing. For some, this was a look that included shorts (often denim) on occasion so small that they showed the bottom parts of their, well, bottoms. At first, you wanted to walk up to these young women and whisper, “Excuse me, I think you might need to pull down your shorts” (as one might do for someone whose skirt has accidentally become hitched up by her handbag). But then, you realized this big reveal is on purpose. And this summer all the girls who rock an edgier look—from Rihanna to Cara Delevingne to Miley Cyrus—are wearing them.

So this is a real thing, not just a wardrobe malfunction. Can it, and should it, be interpreted into something less street, more chic? Yes, if you are shopping fall Marc Jacobs (did you order your fishnet embroidery hot pants from Moda yet?). With little shorts under sweaters and jackets, his girls looked pantsless. Not an appropriate everyday style for anyone who’s not a model or pop star. But pair some with opaque tights and wear them under one of his longer coats and you’re pulling it off.

Actually, Rihanna's stylist, Mell Ottenberg thinks the street version of what he calls the “I forgot to put my pants on, but who cares? It’s hot out” look could have had something to do with the tiny shorts  Nicolas Ghesquiere showed last Spring at Balenciaga. Though Ottenberg recognizes the difference between the denim, “more of a retro-sexy thing,” and the “more rigid” runway pieces.