I, when faced with warm weather, find myself leaning towards the easy, cute, and versatile, skirt, however I know that my preference is not universal, so this week I challenged myself to style shorts. I’ve long felt that uniform shorts should be avoided at all costs: they’ve always been too long, too tight, they stop at all the wrong places and in general were uncomfortable. Since approaching the uniform with a new perspective, I learned that there are multiple types of acceptable shorts, and that some can even look cute. The first step in styling uniform shorts is to find the right pair of shorts. Different short styles look better on different bodies and what you may think of as a uniform short is not the only option. My best advice for shorts though is just to get what feels right; if you don’t like the way they look at the store even the best of styling won’t help. Shorts are just one of those things that are finnicky and will (at least for me) make or break a fit. My go to pair of dress code approved shorts are some high-rise khaki dress shorts; they are not long but if I position my arms correctly, they will meet fingertip requirement (which thankfully are not a problem at my school). They have a sort of airiness about them that not only puts them in style put makes them extremely comfortable. I got mine from old navy, but as of right now the only similar type on the website has a 3.5 in inseam which for many schools may be too short. Many dress codes don’t even allow girls to wear shorts, or strictly police length so this post may not be super applicable… however I hope something here will be helpful.
the styling behind this look is highly inspired by Taylor swifts’ wildest dreams video, where in many scenes she is seen in a crisp white v-collar button-down, high-rise khaki pants and an aura of vintage glamour. When I wanted to try out the slightly daunting challenge of cute shorts it was really helpful to have a reference point that I use as proof of possibility. there was so much about the opening outfit seen in “wildest dreams” that looked right and, though bright red lipstick and a fabulous smoky eye aren’t exactly allowed, I tried to emulate the aura of exploration elegance with faux ruby earrings, slightly coiffed hair, and vintage blue and red oxfords. the flouncy white button up, brown belt, and khaki shorts that made up the bulk of my outfit also contributed to a styling worthy of a background character on the iconic music video.
