The Short Story Part 1: Leather Shorts

House of Holland

Shorts are actually my favorite thing to wear, since it's always summer in my country. There is never a wrong temperature for me to wear shorts, that's probably the only good thing about never having winter and snow. I'm afraid that I have some very very good news: I'm not the only one who seems to think that shorts are THE way to go. I mean have you seen the "Shorts on the Red Carpet" trend? Trust me there's more to come with FNO (Fashion Night Out) right around the corner. I though it would totally be my pleasure to show you, what kind of shorts by which designers you will be seeing this summer and maybe even the rest of the year.

Shorts on the red carpet can be a fierce and fun way of showing off some legs every now and then but they should NEVER look like a didn't-have-enough-time-to-shop kind of shorts. That's the only thing I'm scared (to death) about seeing on the red carpet. If the shorts are not leather or too simple they are either not red carpet ready or not for the red carpet. There is definitely a big difference between them!

Solange's plain black shorts would not look out of place on the red carpet because she styled it very well. She gave it color with her red lipstick, yellow blazer and black&white heels. Sophia Bush paired her plain black shorts with a red blazer, two necklaces and black pumps. Both Solange and Sophia wore white tank tops under their blazers. On the other hand Ashlee's shorts at the Samsung LA event are 100% not not red carpet worthy! They look like beach shorts.
The other kind of shorts that I've also seen on the red carpet are sleepwear shorts or at least they look like them! I don't think that loose shorts or jean shorts or not well tailored shorts are for the red carpet, they look way too casual. Out of experience I haven't seen any shorts with prints do very well on the red carpet. They either seem too summer-y or too hippie for a red carpet event. I'm also not crazy about flats under shorts on the red carpet.
With that said it's NEVER appropriate to wear shorts (or jeans) to an important award show like the Golden Globes or the Oscars or the Grammy's. Shorts (leather or well tailored) are for movie premieres, runway events and events where something new is launched.

Solange Knowles

Sophia Bush wearing Rebecca Minkoff

Ashlee Simpson at the Samsung Galazy S3 Launch in LA

My point is, if this trend is going to continue I hope that it doesn't lead to a more casual red carpet, because that would be awful! I am now going to showcase the red carpet ready shorts and combinations that make for a possibly best dressed look!

The Leather shorts!

The most worn shorts on the red carpet are leather shorts because they don't tend to look too casual. Leather shorts also don't need a lot of prints, color and design so it's easier to do. The most common leather shorts are black or brown, but every now and then (especially for a Resort collection) we can see colored leather shorts.
For Resort 2013 we got to see colored leather shorts in A.L.C. (red), Alice + Olivia (green) and Fedi (blue) collections. I'm not shocked about A+O adding colored leather shorts to their final look, just like I wouldn't be surprised if Chris Benz added color. They are both know for their excellent mix of bright colors. I actually really love colored leather shorts because you can pair it with a plain white blouse or with a matching colored shirt with a print, just like A.L.C. did. A+O chose for a black and white top and jacket, which is also a good choice for such a difficult green.

Resort 2013: 3.1 Phillip Lim - Vasilisa Pavlova for A.L.C. - Chantal Stafford-Abbott for Alice + Olivia

Resort 2013: Andie Arthur for DKNY - Erjona Ala for Fendi - Suvi Koponen & Elza Luijendijk for Chloe

For Resort 2013 we saw black leather shorts in 3.1 Phillip Lim, DKNY, Chloe and Alexander Wang collections. Black tights often get paired with very short leather shorts, just like DKNY did. Black leather shorts are the easiest to style. They go perfect with a plain white T, a blouse with a loud print. It depends on your kind of style. I do prefer high waist shorts over normal shorts because I like the tuck-in-your-shirt trend better with leather. Hey! that rhymes!

Resort 2013: Tamara Weijenberg & Maria Bradley for Alexander Wang

For Resort 2013 Belstaff, Bally and Barbara Bui had brown leather shorts in their collections. I'm not a big fan of dark brown leather shorts. I think that the best way to style brown leather pants is to do it the way Belstaff did it (first look). The striped blue and white shirt underneath with the nude biker jacket is a great way to combine color and structure to the leather fabric. Mostly though I see a lot of people wearing just a plain white T or a white blouse with it.

Resort 2013: Maud Welzen for Belstaff

Resort 2013: Bally - Bally - Barbara Bui

There is someone I would like to name Shorts Leather Princess. I mean, she has worn so many leather shorts that I've stopped counting. There are more celebrities who wear a lot of leather but for the events I really keep track of she is definitely the winner. Her name is Olivia Palermo and here are three ways to wear leather shorts:

Olivia Palermo: 1st and 3rd look are Tibi leather shorts

 

Here are a couple of ideas on how you can wear your stylish leather shorts:

Rachel Bilson and Shay Mitchell's black leather shorts are perfect for the red carpet. They're the perfect fit and they both chose beige/nude colored tops. Shay's V-neck makes it more feminine and Rachel's printed long sleeved top makes it more vintage. Ashlee Simpson's red leather shorts are on the other hand more to the sporty side paired with her white half-tucked-in blouse.

Shay Mitchell at FNO 2011

Rachel Bilson at Sunglass Hut event

Ashlee Simpson in shorts by Alice + Olivia at the Samsung Galaxy S3 Launch in NY

Alexa Chung is also one of the celebs who wears a lot of shorts especially leather and jeans shorts. Alexa Chung always adds a couple of accessories or shirts to make her outfit more edgy and tomboy. Most people choose the sexy-short-leather shorts but tomboy can definitely be a choice. In the first look Alexa wore black tights under her leather shorts with a black sweater to make her look edgier. In her second look she tucked in an over-sized grey shirt with high waist leather shorts.

Rachel Bilson went for a flirty look with a blazer, an over-sized top and very short leather shorts. Leandra Medine went for nude colored leather shorts, which are not definitely not Man Repelling! Her white over-sized top and pastel green boots give her outfit a more resort feel.

Rachel Bilson at a Chanel event

Leandra Medine also known as "The Man Repeller"

Have you worn any leather shorts this summer and do you think they are red carpet worthy? Let me know which celeb has rocked the leather shorts trend and what you thought!

Much Love,