Best Shorts for Older Women of 2026

This is the priciest pair in the roundup, and it is the one we keep for days when shorts need to look deliberate rather than thrown on. Lee cuts it as a relaxed Bermuda that finishes at the knee, in a stretch fabric with a denim look — dark wash, pockets you can actually get a hand into, and enough structure that a linen shirt does not feel like overkill.

The stretch is the part we noticed most. It bends and sits without pinching and stays comfortable over a long day rather than needing to be peeled off by four o'clock. It also runs large, genuinely so — the relaxed cut is relaxed through the hip and waist, so between sizes go down rather than up.

What earns it a place here is continuity rather than novelty. Lee has been selling this same model number since 2015, and in a category full of one-season listings that matters: you can buy a second pair next summer and get the same short. We think the extra money is worth it when the shorts are going out to lunch and running errands, not just down to the mailbox.

The cost of that structure is weight. It is a heavier short than the jersey and terry pairs here, so it is the one you reach for in June rather than in the middle of a heat wave.

Eleven inches is the longest inseam in this group by a wide margin, and it lands just above the knee on most people. If your idea of a summer short is one that covers the thigh and then gets out of the way, this is the pair that does it without a fight.

We like it best as a house-and-errands short. The French terry has a sweatpants hand — soft, a little fleecy, sturdy enough that you are not careful with it — and it washes and dries quickly, which matters more than any feature if you plan to live in one pair. The elastic waist takes a drawstring too, so it stays up when you are carrying laundry.

The pockets are the weak point. They are shallow enough that a phone slides and a set of keys can work loose when you sit down, so treat them as a place for a tissue rather than for anything you would mind losing.

The cut runs roomy, and it is roomy on purpose — order down if you want it to skim rather than hang. One practical note: the darker shades hold onto lint and pet hair, so keep a roller by the door.

This is the loosest pair we tested. The legs hang away from the body, the waist is a wide elastic band with a drawstring, and the hem sits about an inch above the knee. Nothing clings, nothing creases, and nothing needs adjusting when you stand up.

That looseness is a genuine comfort win in humidity, and the fabric has a soft, almost silky hand that feels cool rather than brushed. It is also why the fit is hit or miss: the rise runs long, so the waistband can sit higher than you expect, and folding it over once is the usual fix.

Two practical notes before you order. The knit picks up lint, hair and pet fur faster than anything else here, so it is not the pair for a house with a big shedder unless you keep a roller handy. And the palest shades do not always match the listing photo — treat the light colors as a gamble and the darks as the safe buy.

For all that, this is the pair we hand to anyone who wants shorts that feel like nothing at all: a hot-day, dog-walking, grocery-run short with pockets deep enough for a phone and a waistband that does not dig. It will not hold a pressed look, and it is not trying to.

Two inseams, one cut: this is the pair we pack for hot weather. You choose 7 or 9 inches and everything else stays the same — the high waist, the elastic band, the three pockets — which makes it the easiest way in this group to dial in exactly how much leg you want showing. The fabric is light and slightly stretchy, and it dries fast enough to wear again the next morning.

It is cut for movement, so it works for a long walk, a bike ride or a day of errands, and the waist neither rides up nor rolls down. Light colors are the ones to check in daylight before you commit, since the fabric is thin where the sun is bright.

Sizing is the friction. This one runs small, and the same size does not always fit the same way twice, so order up and re-check the fit when a new pair arrives rather than assuming the next batch matches the last.

What it is not: a short for a seated dinner or a day at the office. It is the pair for a three-mile walk in July, and it does that better than anything else on this list.

Five pairs in one order, with zippered side pockets. If the goal is to stop thinking about shorts for the summer, this is the shortest route: one decision, a week of pairs, and a place to put a phone where it cannot slide out when you sit down.

The zipper is the detail we appreciate most. A zip pocket turns a pair of athletic shorts into something you can wear to the store without carrying a bag, and the knit itself is soft and light — closer to a brushed athletic fabric than the cotton jersey of our top pick, with a color range that holds up in the wash rather than fading.

The cut runs slightly large, and the zip pockets are shallower than the zipper suggests, so a big phone is a tight squeeze through the opening even though the hand pockets swallow it. Check your phone against the zip before you commit to the pack.

The catch with any multipack is commitment: five pairs in colors you have not seen in person, in one size. That is a bigger bet than a single pair, and it is the only reason this sits below the Hanes jersey short for a first-time buyer.

The most useful thing about these is not the workout they are sold for. They are a layering short: high-waisted, close-fitting, and long enough to sit under a dress, a skirt or a golf skort without a visible line or a second thought about a gust of wind.

The waistband is wide and genuinely high, and it holds without rolling down, which is the entire job when you are wearing them under something else. The fabric is soft with a brushed face that feels like a second skin, and four pairs in one pack means one can be in the wash while another is on.

Where they stop is worth being clear about: above the knee, so they are a coverage layer rather than a modest short in their own right. They also run small, so between sizes take the larger one and expect a close, compressive fit rather than a loose one. As a layer they are excellent value; as a standalone short they are a compromise.

One detail that sold us: a small pocket sits inside the waistband, which is where a key or a tissue ends up. Not a phone pocket, but for a walk or under a dress, that is enough.

Five inches is a different proposition from the 7- and 11-inch Bermudas here. The hem lands mid-thigh, so this is the pair for a hot day when you want to look like you are wearing shorts rather than covering up, and the stretch cotton reads more like denim than the athletic knits do.

It does not ride up, which is the usual complaint at this length, and the mid-rise sits where you expect it to rather than up under your ribs. The front pockets are deep enough for a phone, and the fabric has enough body that it does not cling.

The stretch is generous, and that is the thing to plan around. They come out of the wash a touch smaller and then give as you wear them, so the fit you get at noon is not the fit you had at eight in the morning. A pair that feels perfect in the mirror can be baggy by dinner.

This sits in the also-consider tier rather than higher up because that give is real, and a short that loosens through the day is not the one we recommend for a long outing. For errands, a lunch or a warm evening, it is the best-looking short here that is not a Bermuda — and if mid-thigh is your length, it is the pair to start with.