Best Women's Shorts: Eyelet, Poplin and Striped Cotton Styles

The dressiest shorts in this edit borrow their detailing from blouses rather than swimwear, all eyelet, lace and poplin. Sea's Babette shorts use an eyelet cotton that lets a little air and a little skin through without reading as underwear. Jonathan Simkhai's Emmie shorts go further with a cotton lace overlay, the kind of texture that makes a plain white shirt look considered. A poplin pair and a printed mini round out the group with less texture but the same crisp, cotton hand. Worn with a tank or tucked under a blazer, they read closer to tailoring than to beachwear.

This group leans looser and a little more playful, starting with The Latest's Dafne shorts in a classic stripe that could pass for pajama bottoms if you let it. Matthew Bruch's bubble shorts push the silhouette furthest, gathering fullness at the hem instead of the usual straight or slightly flared cut. A crepe pair from Vix and a cotton short from By Malene Birger keep things closer to the middle, structured enough for daytime but not stiff. Together they show how much room the short has to move away from a fitted tailored line. None of them need a swimsuit underneath to make sense.

Length drops here, but texture picks up the slack so the shorts still feel considered rather than like an afterthought. Made Some's nylon micro shorts are the outlier of the group, the only pair built more for movement than for sitting at a café table. Sea's Gardener shorts go the opposite direction, embroidered cotton-linen with enough detail to anchor an otherwise plain top. Two striped cotton pairs from Posse and Siedrés split the difference, short but still clearly meant for daytime dressing rather than the gym. The range proves a micro length does not have to mean minimal effort.

Print does the talking in this last group, led by Farm Rio's tapestry-print pieces in fruit, tile and floral motifs that all read more like upholstery than swimwear, which is exactly the point. The Emily floral tapestry belted shorts are the most structured of the three, cinched at the waist so the print does not overwhelm the shape. Sloan's georgette mini dress with built-in shorts solves the styling question entirely, skipping the need to pair a top at all. A running-short silhouette in the same fruit print keeps the group from tipping too precious. Tapestry prints like these work because they commit fully instead of hedging with a single small motif.

Shorts get treated as an afterthought most summers, thrown on only when it is too hot for anything else, but this edit argues they deserve the same attention as a dress. Embroidered cotton and lace shorts can carry a whole outfit the way a blouse would, stripes and crepe soften the silhouette without losing shape, and the tapestry prints prove a bold pattern does not need a lot of fabric to make its case. What ties the four groups together is fabric that actually breathes, since nothing here is built to survive real heat by being stiff. If you take one thing away, it is that the right pair of shorts can replace a dress on the days a dress feels like too much. I would keep one dressed-up eyelet or lace pair and one printed pair in rotation and let the rest of the outfit stay simple. Shorts this considered do not need much help from anything else you are wearing.