Group Discussion: The Return of the Jorts

Photo by Guian Bolisay via Flickr (C BY-SA 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/instantvantage/4711292318

Everything that is old eventually comes back into fashion, apparently. Personally, I blame EBay and the John Cena retirement tour.
Washington Post:

Jorts have spent a lot of time in the “uncool” category of fashion. Perhaps it’s because of their sheer indecisiveness: A portmanteau of jeans and shorts, they’re not pants, but they’re not usually all that short either. As such, they can obfuscate a wearer’s lower form.

Then there’s the curt word itself, which rhymes with the derisive “snort” and sounds like it could be the name for a poorly marketed ’80s sports beverage.

Late last month, a skit on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” skewered their supposed off-trend “dad style” tackiness. Performing a song about jorts, Fallon, Will Ferrell and Nick Jonas sported thick mullets, tucked-in polos, high socks and belted jorts. (“They start at my hips, and they end at my knees. … They’re jorts, and they’re short, and they’re totally denim,” Jonas croons.)

And yet, in this summer full of twists and turns, jorts have become undeniably cool. Instead of evoking a sort of tourist-dad aesthetic, they’re being worn in a way that fits right in with the insouciant “Brat” summer moment.

There is evidence writ large. Shorter iterations of skater-flavored, flared trousers have appeared on the runways of Valentino, Diesel and Louis Vuitton. They’ve been worn by Charli XCX, Hailey Bieber and Dua Lipa, declared a bona fide trend by Vogue and posted about endlessly on social media.

Designer Eli Russell Linnetz, of the “California Couture” label ERL, calls the silhouette — which often balloons out like a baggy, ’90s-flavored jean and features a cinched, fitted waist — a great “middle ground between a suit and sweatpant.”

On a recent video call, Linnetz said his brand’s shin-length “boardwalk short” (so long, you might wonder whether capri was a more fitting category) is hands down the bestseller on ERL’s e-commerce site right now.

“Every single type of person wears that,” he said, referencing past megawatt clients. “From Billie Eilish to A$AP Rocky.”

Of course, if you thought it was the summer of short-shorts, you’d be right too. As Linnetz points out, there has been a “mirror resurgence” of both long-shorts and short-shorts, particularly in menswear. It highlights the increasing bid toward statement-making silhouettes in fashion right now, on both ends of the spectrum.