The Swede Matilda Djerf showed up in it last summer.
On Instagram, she posted a photo of herself in airy shorts, which looked quite similar to the underpants for men (see above).
Boxer shorts for women - also for outdoors, for everyday life?
To some, that may sound like one of those crazy fashion trends that only influencers like Djerf wear and present with full conviction.
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But is there more in the shorts in boxer shorts, which sit high in the waist or casually on the hips and always swing loosely on the legs? Because one thing is obvious, many men will probably confirm this from their own experience: boxer shorts are comfortable. And what fashion performance feel-good trousers are capable of, we have known since last March at the latest, when suddenly even Anna Wintour was sitting at the desk in sweatpants.
Comfortable clothing or loungewear has long been socially accepted - not only, but also due to the Corona period.
Jogging pants are just one example; long silk pajamas or lace nightgowns are two more.
The corset is no longer just under clothing, but comes to the fore in different variations.
Proof that new combinations can also lead to new uses that create a different aesthetic.
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And now the boxer shorts?
In any case, online shops like Farfetch are already full of them.
There, under the name “boxer shorts”, very different versions of the shorts are hidden: From the actual boxer shorts, which are actually known from sports shows and on boxers like Mike Tyson, to the cut-off version of the long jogging pants made of heavy cotton, everything is included .
Model Emily Ratajkowski also has short sweatpants on offer with her own brand Inamorata, which she already made in summer 2020.
Fashion lovers also seem to like this variant of the boxer shorts
Source: Getty Images / Edward Berthelot
For hot summer days, the thin version of the boxer shorts made of cotton or other air-permeable materials is certainly more suitable. But it is also reminiscent of men's underpants, see the example of Matilda Djerf. Our styling recommendation: The airy boxer shorts work particularly well as a two-piece with simple basics such as a rib tank top or a loose shirt in monochrome colors. To round off the sporty look, a pair of comfortable sneakers are ideal, while platform sandals are a bit more chic. With a long trench coat and boots, the shorts in boxer shorts work even in the transitional period.
Many women will probably also wear shorts this summer, especially those made of jeans.
It is a classic in the wardrobe.
But shorts made of any material are getting longer and wider this season.
With the slim-cut cashmere and wool shorts like with Jacquemus last summer and the tight cycling shorts that had celebrated their comeback in previous years, it's over for the time being.
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A look at old fashion magazines shows that fashion often shows parallels to social development. A phenomenon that in the past led humanities scholars and historians to take a scientific look at fashion. The fashion historian Ingrid Loschek, for example, described the 1960s as a radical change in fashion - the change from haute couture to prêt-à-porter after young designers like Mary Quant or Barbara Hulanicki had approached young groups with affordable and unusual creations. The anthropologist Alfred Kroeber examined the changes in skirt length in Western fashion over 100 years ago and put them in a more cultural context.
Karl Lagerfeld already showed boxer shorts in a monochrome look for Chanel at Spring-Summer Fashion Week in Paris in 1996, although he actually didn't like comfortable trousers
Source: AFP via Getty Images / PIERRE VERDY
It is still too early to predict what the post-corona fashion will look like. But after about a year of lockdown, at least the words of designer Karl Lagerfeld, who died in 2019, “Anyone who wears sweatpants has lost control of their life” no longer seem to really apply. This may be due on the one hand to ongoing fashion trends such as athleisure - the combination of sporty and comfortable clothing with street clothing - and on the other hand to the basic need to free oneself from restrictive clothing. And also about being sexualized by men in a tight fashion, many women no longer want that. In this respect, the trend towards boxer shorts can simply be seen as an extension of the trend towards unisex fashion. Will that prevail? This will show when the days get warmer and the need for styling increases.
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