8 Trends We Refuse to Wear With Shorts

There are times in life when nothing is more appropriate for a given situation (or weather forecast) than a pair of shorts. Even if you hate shorts, now more than ever, there are tons of different styles to choose from to suit your style type, from denim cut-offs to bike shorts to long suit shorts. Every one of us Who What Wear editors wears shorts on occasion (I found the Instagram posts to prove it), and we've certainly figured out what will and won't help us reach our maximum shorts-outfit potential. 

Last spring, we shared with you the shoes we'd never wear with shorts, but truth be told, there's more that we'd avoid wearing with shorts, so we're at it again. It goes without saying that you can and should wear whatever you feel comfortable in, regardless of whether or not it's someone's personal cup of tea. Scroll on to find out which trends aren't our personal cup of tea with shorts and shop what we're wearing with them instead.

Anna LaPlaca, Assistant Editor

"I'll be shying away from tight crop tops with my shorts this summer and instead will be reaching for easygoing tees in tie-dye or graphic prints."

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Shop Anna's pick:

Kristen Nichols, Managing Editor

"I haven't attempted high heels and shorts. Instead, you'll find me wearing sneakers, a low heel, or sleek sandals like this pair from Studio Amelia I can't wait to add to my closet for summer."

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Shop Kristen's pick:

Nicole Akhtarzad Eshaghpour, Market Editor

"While I love a good bodysuit in general, when styling shorts, I prefer to opt for a slightly looser tee or blouse. I think it balances out better that way."

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Shop Nicole's pick:

Kat Collings, Editor in Chief

"For me, I'd avoid wearing chunky sneakers with shorts. It's not too often I show a lot of leg, so to feel like my most confident self in shorts, I'd opt for a sleeker shoe like minimal sandals."

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Shop Kat's pick:

Amanda Montell, Features and Beauty Editor

"Kitten heels and shorts are not my vibe. I just feel so exposed! Way likelier to do shorts with a white cowboy boot, like these from Ganni."

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Shop Amanda's Pick

Allyson Payer, Editor

"The thought of wearing an oversize long T-shirt with shorts makes me cringe. Since they don’t have much length to them, covering them up just looks sloppy to me. So that you can see that I’m actually wearing shorts, I stick to boxy, slightly cropped T-shirts instead."

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Shop Allyson's Pick

Judith Jones, Market Editor

"It would be highly unlikely you'd see me wearing high heel pointed-toe pumps with shorts. I'd opt for some cool sporty sandals instead."

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Shop Judith's Pick

Lauren Eggertsen, Editor

"I feel that when I wear ankle boots with shorts, it makes my legs look shorter than they actually are. So this summer, I will be swearing by strappy sandals of all kinds with shorts and more. I am particularly loving this bright blue pair."

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Shop Lauren's Pick

Shop Shorts We Love

Next up, six summer trends Carrie Bradshaw would never wear.

Allyson Payer
Senior Editor

Allyson is a senior editor for Who What Wear. She joined the company in 2014 as co-founder Katherine Power's executive assistant and over the years has written hundreds of stories for Who What Wear. Prior to her career in fashion, Allyson worked in the entertainment industry at companies such as Sony Pictures Television. Allyson is now based in Raleigh, North Carolina, and is originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She holds a BFA in theater. Her path to fashion may not have been linear, but based on the number of fashion magazines she collected as a child and young adult, it was meant to be.