Women's Fashion & Outfit Ideas5 ways to wear city shorts with Charlie Gowans-Eglinton
There’s nothing Charlie Gowans-Eglinton doesn’t know about fashion – from A-list outfits to the best B-corp brands. This month she discovers the joy of wearing shorts in the city…
I’ll admit to having hang ups of my own when it comes to shorts – specifically, my legs in shorts. I’m average height rather than Amazonian, and am the midi over mini sort – so for years I avoided shorts altogether, even when that meant sweltering my way through summer.
It was complete nonsense, of course, since there’s no height requirement and no body type that should avoid shorts. And it was entirely my loss – once I gave myself permission to wear whatever I felt good in, I realised just how versatile shorts really are.
The beach-or-barbecue iterations are pretty self-explanatory when it comes to styling, but smarter shorts for everyday life are less so. Here are my tips for five ways to style them.
Get touchy feely…
The casual connotations have a lot to do with distressed denim cutoffs in pale blue washes with raw edges. To instantly make shorts feel smart, opt for a different, more luxurious fabric – like glossy leather, or even velvet. These are the elevated sort of shorts you can wear long past summer, adding boots or semi-sheer black tights as the weather shifts.
Stand-out shorts mean you can pare things back elsewhere. Look for warm, neutral tones of cream and camel, and little touches of gold in your jewellery, or the hardware on your bag or shoes.
Brighten those whites…
Blue and white stripes can instantly conjure up the seaside, so to make them work for the city you’ll want to steer clear of raffia basket bags or buckled sandals. Instead, try glossy metallic loafers and your favourite shoulder bag (or this chic white one) with crisp white layers and for an elegant spin on stripes.
Rather than a jacket, layer an oversized white cotton shirt over a ribbed cotton vest – if they remind you of school gym knits, then let me refer you to the designer versions shown on the Prada and Bottega Veneta catwalks for autumn.
Get clashing…
Trying to work out what to wear with a bright colour is often harder than anticipated. We’re told that black and white go with everything, but while you could style these lilac shorts with a white blouse, a vivid colour clash really makes the most of them.
A sharp blazer in zingy citrus green makes for a very happy clash, with a bit of deeper khaki in the shoes and bag so that the two brighter colours can really stand out. There’s no rigid rule about which colours to clash – try pink and red, or sky blue and orange.
Try tailoring…
Now to a different kind of contrast, a stark monochromatic mix of black and white. Limiting your colour palette can make an outfit look very pulled together, even if it’s actually a mish-mash of different styles, and black and white make this particularly easy to do. Again, I’ve skipped a proper jacket (you won’t need one in this weather), but stuck to tailoring with a waistcoat.
Longer shorts feel wonderfully breezy and draped on, but look particularly smart, especially if you add a belt and a closed-toe shoe. Or to relax this look a bit, you could add chunky sandals.
Suit up…
It wasn’t so very long ago that I tried my first trouser suit (love at first buttoning), and now comes the short suit. You can wear them in a work context, of course, but I’d wear mine as I wear trouser suits in winter: as evening wear.
Look for a lustrous fabric, or a less bright but still bold colour, like a jewel-toned purple or deep green, or this antique rose. Layer a slinky printed blouse underneath rather than another block colour, then add great jewellery and heels if you like, though I prefer a flat strappy sandal.
