Ultimately I agree with Lisa. Personally I find some of these fine and some not fine for me, whatever the heck they are called.

I agree with you - I see them mostly as a useful, necessary piece of clothing rather than a fashion item. So when I say these can all look find it's under that premise.

Items 3, 6 and 8 are the only ones that I think do not look quite right. This is a very quick scan of the pics. It's good to show a variety of styles and footwear too - those things make a difference. The in-between pants with the in-between shoes (not either high enough heels or true flats) are the ones that don't look as good.

Agreeing with Una on the practicality of these. I have a couple pairs of cargo capris similar to #5 and #9. I actually always thought they were quite flattering! They were a bit lower rise and a longer length, though. They hit the leg below the calf and just above the ankle bone. Mine were worn for super casual errands, summer walks, etc. with a t-shirt and sport sandals or flip flops. Oh, and here's a thought! Mine had the option of cuffing and buttoning the cuff into place with that little strap-thingy. But I always thought they looked frumpy at that shorter length. They were probably hitting at an unflattering spot on my leg. Worn longer and not cuffed, maybe they were more similar to a true cropped pant! Hmmm!

Thanks for the pics Una, I see all of these styles worn in my neighborhood and by my extremely stylish family and friends. Who knew 'short pants' could be so confusing and controversial?

Enlightened by the Reddit user's comment, I immediately took my pairs of dress pants to be shortened to capri length. I will show you the results when I get them. Very excited.

Floradora, you have a good point there. I think you have identified what makes these pics less desirable. But worn with the right footwear, these length would make more sense.

I only like 2 and 7, The just below the knee length is more flattering because the calf isn't cut off. Ditto for the A-line shape. I like the waistband of 2 way more than 7. 7 is too bulky, but I am intrigued by the cut out fabric. 2 is casual and the waistband is pieced nicely for a flattering fit. I would wear it doing errands and gardening. Athleisure, but not sure what untucked length top works with it. I have so many tops with different lengths for different types of bottoms. I wish it were easier.

Something happened over the past decade where capris started attracting more poison eye than bermudas -- I haven't quite wrapped my mind around why one is okay and the other is not. Are knees really that awesome these days? (I usually feel ridiculous in bermuda shorts, almost always prefer either mid thigh or below the knee.)

The only one I really like here fashion-wise is 6 -- I think those olive culottes have possibility. But I'd definitely call those culottes, not capris.

The thing about the very straight-cut ones (a la #1) is that they do widen the hips pretty noticeably, and a high waist does not seem to help, especially in light colors. A column-of-color approach might help, or long, drapey, asymmetrical toppers.

I don't mind the black cropped sweats (2) and the below-knee cargos (5), but those would be gear for me. The sweats would be perfect for outdoor yoga on a cool summer morning (if a bit dated -- I'm preferring jogger styles these days for that application). The khaki clamdiggers are much like what I wear when I go for hikes with lots of river crossings, if I want something a little warmer/more pockets than running shorts or river shorts.

In general I think drawstrings don't do any favors at these lengths (or ever, maybe?). Cropped pants with a drawstring really look like PJs in a not-good way to me. And they add bulk to the waist/hip area, which is already the biggest figure-flattery issue with most of these, to my eye. More so than the calf-widening, although I do tend to prefer the ones that hid above or below, not right and mid-calf. Mid-calf lengths just look a little too chopped up, but the right footwear could fix that perhaps.