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I Hate Wearing Jean Shorts—Except This $70 Pair from Levi’s I Can’t Stop Wearing

A summer must-have if I do say so myself

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  • Value: 20/20
  • Functionality: 19/20
  • Quality/Ease of Use: 20/20
  • Aesthetics: 18/20
  • Chafe Protection: 20/20
  • TOTAL: 97/100

With a trip to Indio, California, nearing for Coachella weekend, I recently found myself in desperate need of an up-to-date warm-weather wardrobe—one that didn’t call for short shorts. Having gone through the micro shorts phase once upon a time (mainly in high school and college, if my memory serves me right), I wanted to steer as far clear of that chapter of my life as possible. After all, I wasn’t there for the Coachella festival. No, I was there for the Gallery Desert House events and activations, where I was expecting to run into plenty of colleagues, many of whom I’d be meeting for the first time, and booty shorts don’t necessarily scream, “I’m a professional.” So, I did the only thing I could do…I went shopping with my mom and my sister. Spoiler alert: I found a holy grail pair in the Levi’s High Baggy Short.

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Levis baggy denim review; editor’s selfie in the shorts
Stephanie Meraz

Today, it often seems like malls are dying, but luck was on my side in a local Nordstrom store. I didn’t approach my shopping day with the mindset of finding shorts, specifically, and I was open to anything that read cute-yet-professional and cool enough for a weekend in the desert. (I’m a believer—by unfortunate experience, not by choice—that if I’m searching for a specific item, I’ll almost never find it.) That’s when I stumbled across a rack of Levi’s. It’s important to know that I’ve never had great luck with the beloved denim brand. In fact, I’ve found that the brand’s jeans never complemented my figure as well as my Agolde jeans. But something about this particular outing was different: Perhaps it was the baggy flare or the rigid cotton or the longer inseam, but there was something enticing about the shorts in front of me. I thought what the heck, and I added the Levi’s to my pile to try-on in the dressing room.

As soon as I shimmied into the baggy Levi’s, I knew I struck gold. It was one of the few times I glanced in the badly lit dressing room mirror and didn’t have one singular thought about how my thighs looked or if my belly was on display. Rather, I was thrilled with how comfortable they felt. They only had a size 27 available versus my usual 26, but I found it to fit well without looking ill-fitting. Despite its no-stretch composition, the waistband never dug into my skin or left me spilling over. (The only time I find myself wishing I’d gone with my normal size is when, after wearing them for a multiple days in a row without washing, they loosen up a bit.)

The 6.5-inch inseam and baggy leg opening are an absolute dream if you hate wearing shorts like me. Not once does the fabric cling to any parts of my legs, thighs or hips, which means there’s absolutely no chafing or riding up. I prefer a more tailored look on myself, from form-fitting dresses to straight silhouette sets that highlight my figure, so I wasn’t expecting the slight flare of the shorts to be so flattering. I’m usually self-conscious in shorts, always tugging at the seams and feeling hyper-aware of literally everything below the belt, but I felt dang good about my legs in ‘em—and just downright cool.

Seeing the majority of my fellow Coachella-goers rocking a similar baggy jorts trend that weekend, I knew I hit the nail on the fashion head, and—trends aside—it’s a tell-tale sign you’ve found a good pair of shorts when you decide to wear them multiple times in one week.



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Associate Fashion Commerce Editor

  • Covers all things fashion and shopping
  • Boasts over 23 years of experience as an avid shopper, having secured a personal stylist at Limited Too at the age of four
  • Studied English literature, communications and creative writing at the University of San Diego, and completed the Columbia Publishing Course at Columbia University in New York

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