5 Easy Alternatives To Denim Shorts This Summer | British Vogue
Published 13 hours ago• 3 minute read
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, I’m immediately transported back to traipsing up and down Portobello Road – bubble tea and digital camera in hand – on the hunt for the perfect pair of vintage Levi’s for jumping around to the Arctic Monkeys at Reading Festival, fresh off the back of my GCSEs. They had to be barely-there, with massive pockets that hung past the hemline and ideally paired with a crop top that would disintegrate in the rain. It was a rite of passage – in the words of Kendall Jenner, “the vibe at the time” – but much like spending three days in a field with a bunch of other chain-smoking 16-year-olds, not one I’m keen to repeat.
I can appreciate the nostalgia of the Noughties holy trinity – Sienna Miller, Kate Moss, and Alexa Chung – in their denim-clad Glasto era, but I’m looking for other options. Finding jeans that won’t send you into an existential spiral is hard enough and denim shorts are a whole other level of emotional labour. The good news is that the chokehold of the denim cut-off is loosening and there are plenty of options for the anti-denim girl.
Below, see the best alternatives to denim shorts this summer.
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The pilates princess staple. Beloved by Princess Diana and every oat milk-fuelled fashion girl since, cycling shorts take up minimal packing space and are an easy way of signalling to everyone that you live by the mantra of “my body is a temple”, while swigging from a can of warm beer at 3pm in the festival field.
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A pair of actual borrowed boxers makes a great summer option but they can occasionally veer into “I woke up like this” territory. For something slightly less pyjamas in public, long boxers are easy, breezy and an oversized nod to stealing someone else’s clothes. Paired with a tank top and matching shirt if you’re feeling coordinated, this strikes the balance between just rolled out of bed and carefully curated outfit.
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The east London girl’s holy grail, basketball shorts are an off-duty indicator that you run your Depop page like the navy. Slouchy, sporty and undeniably comfortable, these are shorts that won’t leave you regretting your outfit choices come nighttime. The more relaxed cousin of the cycling shorts, these are also a great way to feign interest in sport even if you’d rather be watching Real Housewives than getting together for a game of rounders.
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This is one for the clean girls and corporate-core fans out there. If you’ve ever wished there were a way to wear your tailored trousers all year round, we have the solution. Crisp, clean lines and a welcome relief from the chaos of low-rise anything, the tailored short is a shortcut to looking put together despite clammy temperatures and the looming threat of sunburn.
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Lara Croft-coded and Charli xcx-approved, cargo shorts are the ’90s classics that have made it out of the mud. With all the pockets you could ever need, this practical style is function meets form, preparing you for any eventuality, even if the closest you get to survival mode is navigating the never-ending queue for the portaloo.
