What is in this collection
A jean short is a denim short cut from the same fabric and finished the same way as a pair of jeans, which is what separates it from a cotton short that happens to be blue.
Eleven shorts and one skirt sit on this page. Eight of the shorts are denim, three are cut from other fabrics, and the skirt is a denim mini. The Billie Short carries hand distressing and a raw hem at a five inch inseam. The Steph Short runs longer, to the knee. The Rebecca Short finishes with a trouser hem, a tailoring detail on a garment that usually doesn't have one. All of it comes out of the same Los Angeles pattern room as the women's jeans.
Length, from a five inch inseam to a Bermuda
Length is the decision that determines everything else about a denim short. Get the length right and the rest of the fit tends to forgive you.
The Billie Short sits at the short end with a stated five inch inseam, mid rise, meant to sit low on the hips. That length ends high on the thigh and leaves the whole leg visible, which is why it works with a flat sandal and asks nothing of the shoe. It comes in Bone and Rhythm.
The Frankie Short and the Simone Short sit in the middle of the range. Frankie is high rise and relaxed. Simone has a self-tie waist and an easy leg, which gives you a softer line across the top of the thigh.
Both Steph Short colorways are Bermuda shorts, and a Bermuda is simply a short cut to finish at or just above the knee. The extra length changes the garment in ways the inseam number alone does not suggest. It covers the thigh entirely, holds a straight line down the leg, and sits closer to a tailored short than a summer one. Skim runs mid rise and relaxed through the leg. Breeze is easier still.
One thing to check on any length: the leg opening matters as much as the inseam. Shorts that are generous through the opening will hang away from your thigh and stay comfortable when you sit. A narrow opening will grip at any length, which is the failure most people remember.
White and light wash denim shorts
Three of the eleven shorts are white or close to it, which is a genuine sub-group rather than a single option.
The Rebecca Short comes in White and is the most structured of the three, high rise with slim hips flaring into a wide A-line leg. The Steph Short in Skim and the Billie Short in Bone are both off-white rather than optic, so they carry warmth and sit more easily against skin than a true white does.
White denim asks more of the fabric than any other wash. It has to be heavy enough to stay opaque and dense enough to hold its shape, which is why a light white short and a good white short are rarely the same thing. The rest of the light end of the grid runs through the Simone Short in Swell and the Billie Short in Rhythm. The full ranges sit under white denim and light wash jeans.
Rise, and the baggy end of the grid
Rise sets where the waistband lands on your torso and changes how long your leg looks below it. On a short, it also decides whether the waistband stays put when you sit down.
This grid runs high on the Frankie Short and the Rebecca Short, and mid on the Steph, Billie, and Blake shorts. A high rise gives you the longest visible leg and the most secure waistband. A mid rise sits at the hip bone and suits a shorter torso. High rise jeans and mid rise jeans cover the same choice across the denim range.
The denim skirt
The Alexis Skirt is an A-line denim mini cut from a soft cotton and hemp blend, finished with a raw cut hem and a zip fly. The hemp gives it a drier hand than a pure cotton denim and it softens with wear. The raw cut hem is left unfinished by design, and the edge will fray a little more with each wash.
The non-denim shorts, and wearing any of it
The Easy Army Short is the short version of the Easy Army Trouser, with utilitarian front and back patch pockets, a small amount of stretch and a finished hem. It comes in Ripple and Bittersweet. The Blake Short is the drawstring pair, mid rise and relaxed. Both sit alongside the full trousers and pants range.
On top, the shorter the inseam the more room you have to go relaxed above the waist. A fitted tank balances a five inch short. A looser tee works better over a Bermuda, where the longer leg carries the weight. Shoes follow length: a flat sandal at the short end, a loafer or a low boot once you reach the knee.
