The Perfect Shorts for Summer, According to 6 Stylish Men

Lately, shorts have become one of the most adventurous categories in menswear, with designers and everyday dressers alike embracing every cut and style under the sun. The sheer variety is liberating—with everything from tailored pleats and enormous jorts to short, sultry inseams out there for the taking—but it can also make getting dressed a little more complicated.To help narrow down your options, we asked a group of stylish guys and menswear experts to recommend their perfect shorts—the one pair they reach for as soon as the temperature climbs. Some swore by old-school staples, while others championed newer silhouettes. But taken together, their picks paint a picture of what defines a great pair of shorts in 2026—and why there’s no single right answer anymore.Young-Su Kim, SVP & men’s fashion director, Bergdorf Goodman“These strike the perfect balance between formal and casual dressing for summer,” Kim says of these Jacquemus beauts, which balance a relaxed silhouette with a sharp single pleat. The subtly herringbone-patterned linen blend, meanwhile, delivers the breezy feel of pure linen without all the fuss and wrinkling. All of that adds up to an easygoing pair that’ll look just as good at the end of a long, humid day as they did that morning.JacquemusHerringbone Linen-Blend Pleated ShortsNick Wooster, design consultantWooster has long made the case that shorts deserve the same attention as the rest of a man’s wardrobe. His pick for this summer is Sid Mashburn’s classic side-tab short, albeit in a fabric with a bit more personality than the usual summer staples. “Sid Mashburn is great for when you want to push the envelope but not look overdone,” he says. “These are kind of perfect. They’re not too much, but they’re just enough.”Sid Mashburn Side-Tab Sport ShortSid MashburnSide-Tab Sport ShortErik Allen Ford, cofounder & CEO, Buck MasonLike much of his brand’s clothing, the design process behind Ford’s favorite Buck Mason shorts began with a well-worn vintage find. The inspiration was a pair of paint-splattered OG-107 army pants that he’d worn so hard he eventually chopped them at the knee. “Weirdly enough, I even wore them in the ocean,” he adds, laughing. When the style made its way into the label’s lineup, Ford and his team reimagined it in an airy linen weave that’s been washed for a lived-in feel from the start. The result is the rare pair of shorts that feels perfectly broken-in on day one.Buck MasonLoomed Linen OG-107 Fatigue ShortMirko Antich, creative director, VansA SoCal native, Antich has been wearing Dickies shorts for as long as he can remember—and he isn’t interested in replacing them anytime soon. “I really don’t believe there’s a better short,” he says. Today’s runways are full of designers riffing on workwear, but few have improved on the blueprint Dickies established decades ago. Antich’s advice is to size up for a roomier and wider fit, then have the hem tailored to wherever you like it. “Trust the process and wear the hell out of it,” he says. “A pair of worn-in, weathered Dickies is unbeatable.”Jake Woolf, fashion writerLike many great vintage finds, Woolf’s favorite shorts—his beloved ’90s-era Armani Le Collezioni joints—are now all but impossible to track down. But he says Aaron Levine’s recent collaboration with Zara scratches a remarkably similar itch. “The fabric is a little bit more robust and sturdy, which I think gives them a nice structure and silhouette,” Woolf adds. “They come in white or black, and they look really, really good. I love the way that they fit.”Aaron Levine x ZaraRelaxed Fit Pleated ShortsSameer Sadhu, music industry executiveSadhu never expected his go-to shorts to be part of his wedding suit. When the uber-stylish record exec commissioned an inky blue suit from the cult-loved label Stòffa, he opted for shorts instead of trousers—a decision that’s paid dividends ever since. He’s since ordered several more pairs. “They’ve been my GOATs,” Sadhu says. Just as importantly, Stòffa’s custom program allowed him to dial in the fit with near-obsessive precision. “I was able to change it ever so slightly to be a little bit wider. Which is exactly how I love it.”StòffaDouble Pleat Tropical Wool Short