Wearing shorts in cold weather seems to be a thing lately. You’ve seen the memes. Someone’s standing in the middle of a blizzard or shoveling snow, and the caption is a variation on “Minus 20 degrees, better wear my winter shorts” or “I don’t always wear shorts in the wintertime, but when I do I make sure I have my hat and gloves on.”
Maybe the cold air feels good on some people’s legs. Maybe it’s an “I can take it” kind of attitude. If you feel comfortable, why not? It’s not like Emily Post placed a deadline on when you need to stop wearing shorts, and these days it’s even fine with her (okay, it’s actually fine with the Emily Post Institute) to wear white after Labor Day.
Of course, there’s more than fashion involved. You need to avoid frostbite and even hypothermia, so use common sense and don’t keep your bare legs out there for too long when it’s really cold.
For better or worse (because climate change), frostbite and hypothermia haven’t exactly been a worry this winter in many places. January was a record-warm month in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont. In fact, the temps across the country were 5.1 degrees above average in January.
So if you live in a part of the world where it’s been a strangely warm winter—or even where winter is lingering into March—but you’re ready to dress for summer, we’ve got some hot shorts for cold (or any!) weather.
And if you’re not in the mood to bare your legs until the mercury hits a balmy 70 degrees, put a pair of our super-comfy leggings under your shorts to keep cozy. And remember, summer’s just around the corner.