Jorts are the long jean shorts that every It-girl is wearing…

Could YOU pull off the jorts look this summer? They’re the long jean shorts that every It-girl is wearing… But, says FARRAH STORR, more coverage isn’t always more flattering

To ‘jort’ or not to ‘jort’, that is the question for fifty-something women everywhere this summer.

In case you missed the style memo, or indeed the images of every twenty-something fashion darling cavorting around Europe, the jort du jour (‘jort’ being a portmanteau of jeans and shorts) is a mid-length denim short that stops just above or below the knee. 

Think of it as a denim Bermuda, but without the elasticated waistband or ‘snazzy’ print.

Jorts are very hot right now. The model Bella Hadid wears jorts. So, too, does Hailey Bieber, model and wife of singer Justin – and pretty much every fashion influencer on Instagram. 

Cool girls who hang out on the sidewalks in Brooklyn, New York, wear jorts; and Glastonbury was awash with them.

Jorts are very hot right now. The model Bella Hadid (pictured above) wears jorts

In case you missed the style memo, or indeed the images of every twenty-something fashion darling cavorting around Europe, the jort du jour (‘jort’ being a portmanteau of jeans and shorts) is a mid-length denim short that stops just above or below the knee. Celebrities like Nicola Peltz (left) – who is married to Brooklyn Beckham -, model Gigi Hadid (centre) or Love Island presenter Maya Jama (right) also sport a pair of jorts

Hailey Bieber (pictured), model and wife of singer Justin, also wears jorts – and pretty much every fashion influencer on Instagram

But at what point does the ‘jort’ morph from white-hot clothing item to being the most ridiculous – and most ageing – garment in your summer wardrobe?

Firstly, it’s a style rule generally acknowledged that denim shorts of any length are tricky things to navigate. 

They cling to thighs and grasp buttocks. They need to be lovingly frayed along the hem, too, like you’ve just chopped up your favourite pair of Levis in a hurry. 

The goal for most people’s denim short fantasies is to look like a 1970s Jane Birkin in St Tropez, though few of us achieve it.

The new breed of jort looks promising, however, particularly for women of a certain age who are having second thoughts about trying to look like Daisy Duke on holiday.

Jorts are looser around the thighs for a start. They have roomy pockets, reassuringly high waistbands and are ‘softer’ around the derriere.

Their longer length, meanwhile, means you no longer have to worry about having acres of mid, or even upper, thigh exposed. In short, they look like the shorts of every mid-life woman’s dreams.

The goal for most people’s denim short fantasies is to look like a 1970s Jane Birkin (pictured) in St Tropez, though few of us achieve it

Good, old-fashioned denim shorts are still in trend, like model Kendall Jenner (left) and actress Halle Berry (right) demonstrate. If they are a little beaten up, with a touch of distressing, and worn with a slightly oversized T-shirt, they can, in fact, be rather timeless

But trust me – they are far from it. I say this as a 44-year-old ex-editor of Elle, who experimented with jorts just last month. 

I decided to take a pair of scissors to some old cream Cos jeans and create the perfect summer holiday jort. 

READ MORE BY FARRAH STORR: Just four years ago, big was beautiful: fashion brands were proudly promoting plus-sized models at the shows, while celebrities loudly applauded body positivity. Then, quietly, it all changed

(A crucial word of warning – you can only fashion jorts from wide-legged jeans. If you try to create a jort by hacking into a pair of skinny jeans, you end up with denim pedal pushers, a look no one is keen to resuscitate in 2023.)

I wore them to dinner with heels. Finally, I thought! A pair of denim jeans that offer comfort and coverage. It was only when I saw my reflection in the restaurant window that I saw the error of my ways.

Jorts are great in theory, but a disaster in practice. They are the most unflattering of lengths. 

If they hit just below the knee they shorten the calf, making you look like an extra from a 1990s hip-hop video; above the knee and they highlight this most delicate of areas – and the knee at any age, let alone middle-age, is not a pretty thing. Mine look like a pair of concertinaed potatoes.

All that structured denim across the expanse of your thighs adds extra thickness, meaning you can end up looking unintentionally bottom-heavy.

And then, of course, there’s what to wear with them. The shoe of the summer is still the leather fisherman’s sandal. 

These can look great – and ironically cool – on a 21-year-old jort-wearing blogger. But a 51-year-old in a pair of light denim jorts? Well, you very quickly end up looking like the lost member of a Cornish fishing crew.

What we are forgetting is that those who look truly fantastic in jorts are also those who have two things on their side: youth and height. (I’ve seen the petite and young in jorts and, truth be told, they don’t do them any favours either. Sorry!)

For the rest of us, good, old-fashioned denim shorts, such as those Holly Willoughby (pictured) was seen parading about in this summer in Portugal, are still our best bet for rocking denim shorts in mid-life

Sixty-three-year-old Nancy Shevell (pictured), Paul McCartney’s wife, is another woman who understands the beauty of the shorter short

For the rest of us, good, old-fashioned denim shorts, such as those Holly Willoughby was seen parading about in this summer in Portugal, are still our best bet for rocking denim shorts in mid-life. Sixty-three-year-old Nancy Shevell, Paul McCartney’s wife, is another woman who understands the beauty of the shorter short. 

If they are a little beaten up, with a touch of distressing, and worn with a slightly oversized T-shirt, they can, in fact, be rather timeless.

Which reminds me of a very famous celebrity stylist who once told me it was a fallacy that full coverage bikinis looked better on those with bigger, middle-aged bodies. 

In fact, the smaller the bikini, the better it looked, she explained, since more material not only adds bulk, but can age you, too. 

Which is why I chopped a good seven inches off my cream longer-line jorts to create something far more flattering.

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