Baggy. Boxy. Intentionally ill-fitted. Jorts are the unexpected superhero of warm-weather dressing.
Every season, society inches closer to unironically ordaining Adam Sandler the fashion symbol of our time. In 2021, he was named style icon of the year by Vogue. A year later, he was hailed as a driving force behind the mainstream wave of “dad fashion.” There’s a certain je ne sais quoi about the 56-year-old’s comfort-first uniform of humungous T-shirts, wraparound sunglasses and oh-so-billowy bottoms. And this summer, Sandler style appreciation can be traced back to the widespread return of jorts.
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A combination of jeans and shorts, jorts put a Sandler-esque spin on classic daisy dukes thanks to their intentionally ill-fitting appearance. Not to be confused with capris, which are more akin to cut-off pants, jorts are overgrown shorts that sit somewhere around the knee. But really, their definition is lax, just like their silhouette. With a roughly mid-length cut, a baggy, boxy form, and a fit loose enough for ample air circulation, the wide-leg garments are an elevated version of Sandler’s favoured soccer shorts. And they’re quickly becoming a summertime street-style staple.
Just ask Hailey Bieber. Over the course of one week, the Rhode skincare founder and style maven has worn two variations of seriously spacious jorts: a light-wash pair with tattered edges and a clean-cut white iteration for a monochrome outing. Both low-slung, belted and plausibly plucked from the closet of a fatherly figure, her looks felt decidedly reminiscent of something Sandler might wear. And this, in all its breathable glory, is the beauty of jorts.
Like many ’90s and 2000s-inspired trends, the garment has been returning for a while — specifically making waves (and raising eyebrows) last summer. Though once a staple of skateboarder subcultures, today, jorts have reached legendary heights. They’re all over TikTok. Alongside Bieber, fashion insiders like Bella Hadid and Emma Chamberlain are firmly in the jorts-loving camp. And Google searches for the garment are positively peaking. Sure, they’re still dubbed “terrifyingly long” and oft-described as universally controversial. But despite the ever-present flack, jorts have successfully gone from cringe to cool — and in 2023, they’re on their way to usurping micro shorts altogether.
It’s not hard to see why. Sandler aside, some Spring Summer 2023 runways flirted with jorts’ signature cuts and silhouettes. Louis Vuitton presented logomania jorts that fell below the knee. And Givenchy’s collection featured Gigi Hadid in a cargo jean skirt that, in motion, resembled shorts, inevitably setting off discourse on the denim style.
Amid the cultural reclamation of dowdy dad fashion, there’s something indescribably in-the-know about wearing an outfit reminiscent of both a retired man on vacation and an 8-year-old at Chuck E. Cheese. Both of these demographics prioritize the experience at hand, and they’re always adequately dressed for the fun day ahead. The return of jorts melds this coziness mindset with strategic styling intention. When worn with a belly-baring tube top or ribbed tank, jorts are key in the coveted little-top-big-pant combo. When sported with an equally oversized shirt, jorts are the perfect piece for an effortless androgynous ensemble. When paired with a denim top, jorts provide the ideal template for the jean experimentation du jour. Aside from sneakers, they can be styled with cowboy boots, flats and even sleek slingbacks. Jorts are for everyone — your dad included — and that’s what makes them so great.
However big, unnatural and clunkily nostalgic they may look, jorts are always doing a service. They provide comfort and they garner confusion — and that’s the sign of an outfit well-executed. With plenty of styles available on resale platforms, they’ve become a sign of fluency in thrifting. And thanks to their prominence online, plenty of retailers have crafted their own takes on the resurfaced trend. Curious? Below, FASHION curated a list of styles that are sure to make Adam Sandler proud.
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