Confession time: I would never have thought of Talbots except for Angie's post. But you know what? Ten days ago the zipper on my favourite Mexx white shorts finally broke. They are eleven years old (from my first year at YLF!). I think I can get them fixed, and I will if I can, because believe it or not, apart from the zipper, they are still in fantastic shape. But in the meantime, I've been going crazy without a pair of white lightweight shorts (my denim ones sometimes feel too heavy and because white shorts are a wardrobe essential, with only one pair I end up with laundry bottlenecks). I had already searched (online) in all the usual places and had come up empty handed -- either they didn't have white shorts, or didn't have the style I wanted or the fabrication or my size, or the cost was astronomical, or I wasn't sure about the fit model, etc. etc.

Another confession: I'm always a bit self-conscious in shorts. I'm verging on petite in height. My legs are on the shorter side even for my shorter height, not always perfectly toned (ahem), and my proportions are a bit off (longer thigh, shorter calf -- which can exaggerate the impression that I am short-legged.) I'm sure a shorter short would be more conventionally flattering to my vertical proportions, but I feel more comfortable in a longer short because I like the coverage, and I hope these are JFE.

Despite my self-consciousness in shorts, I wear them all the time in the summer months. With my casual suburban bike riding, gardening, and hiking lifestyle they are quite simply the most practical choice. Yes, I wear dresses and skirts whenever I can -- even for some bike outings -- and I love them! But most days I wear shorts for at least a few hours even if I later change into something a bit dressier. In summer, shorts are a wardrobe essential, in other words. With white being the most essential, since it works with all my summer tops.

There's a Talbot's store at the local mall. Without a lot of hope, (because, really, Talbots?) I biked down there this afternoon, and lo and behold, they did indeed have a pair of shorts for me. Two, in fact!

These are the "Perfect short" which is basically a chino Bermuda with a bit of stretch. I ended up sizing down in regular sizing. I tried petite but (as usual) the rise was not good for me. If they'd had my regular size in petite, that might have worked, and I'd probably have liked the length better, but available sizes were extremely limited and I felt lucky to get what I got. I can always cuff these (as in pic 3).

If you are looking for something similar, sizing is generous. They call these "waist high" but they are not, on me -- instead they come to just below my navel, which on me is 3 inches below my true waist. But this happens to be my favourite mid-rise place for pants -- much more comfy for me that true low rise or high rise.

I got white and sagebrush. I have been wearing for a few hours now -- they stretch a bit but not at all in a bad way. Cotton is soft, substantial, well-finished, and pleasant to the hand.

Wearing with my new Ecco flip flops. For years I've been a fan of Fit Flops but alas, they stopped making the adjustable straps and the shoe is simply too wide for me now. I have been feeling unstable and "floaty" in them and that's not a good feeling. The Ecco Corksphere thong runs narrow, for Ecco. It would not work at all for a wide foot but would work for a narrower to regular width foot. The footbed has a small ridge all round -- those with longer toes might find that uncomfortable but it does not affect me. I wear this kind of shoe as my "house shoe" in summer. (Indoors and on the deck, with an extra pair for beach wear.)

At Talbots, I also tried on the jungle friends shell --- lovely lightweight cotton voile and a fun pattern which looked great on me (ivory and charcoal) but alas, the ruffle was a deal-breaker for me so I left it there.

Two pair of shorts for $50 CAD isn't bad these days. Thank you, Angie!