summer friday: who wears short shorts?

When all of those hot pants/tap shorts/micro-mini shorts started popping up on the Spring 2010 runway shows (like Stella McCartney, above, and Balmain, two photos down), I was almost unfazed. I mean, who would really wear shorts so tiny you practically need a bikini wax??

Apparently lots of people.

I mean, Whitney Port was doing it long before she probably should've been [I recall many a paparazzi shot of bare cheek flapping in silk-tap-short-wind]. But this leather short short is actually, dare I say it?, chic and flattering.

And last night, all I could think of during the Real Housewives of NYC was how amazing Kelly's legs looked in those red hot pants!

There seems to be two secrets to pulling these things off in real life:

1. Find a pair in substantial fabric--sturdy woven, brocade, even leather. With such short/non-existent hems, the heavy fabrics don't make you sweat even in the height of summer.


2. Wear them at night. These suckers seem less outrageous when you consider them as an alternative to the micro-mini skirt or dress. Pair them with a covered-up top, leg-shaping heels and bronzer to the max.

Would you ever try them? I definitely wouldn't go as short as the ladies above, but I might break out some pairs shorter than my usual bermuda-length. We're only young for so long, after all! And from what I've seen, the shorts look isn't dying out as fast as you might think--though luckily the hemlines are growing for fall.