Boys’ Shorts I Love: Cadets and More.

Over the past few summers, I have returned to the same handful of brands for my son’s everyday summer wardrobe: Cadets, Minnow, Oso+Me. I love that these brands feature shorter inseams and bright, interesting colors/patterns. Too many boys’ brands offer just the basics; why can’t we dress them up in color? I also find all three of these brands hold up beautifully to stain treatment and frequent washing — so much so that I’ve passed down most of the clothing from these three brands to a nephew in good condition despite heavy wear!

CADETS CLUB SHORTS // LACOSTE POLO // MINNOW SWIM TRUNKS // ZARA GRAPHIC TEE*

*I have good luck finding cute graphic tees at Zara. Also love this $6 tennis one from Old Navy!

Our Favorite Cadets Shorts.

Probably our favorite brand for shorts — Cadets. My son lives in their Club Shorts, which are a lightweight performance material — super airy for day camp in the DC heat — although the cardio shorts are the first pair he pulls out of the wash every laundry day (we only have one pair of the Cardios right now). I find the Club shorts the most versatile because they wear like athletic clothing but look nice enough to wear out to dinner. Paired with a polo, you barely notice the material. We also have some of their classic cotton shorts, which read a bit dressier (more like a classic cotton chino). I find these shrink a bit in the wash and end up quite short — FYI. I would go up a size in the classic cottons, but take your son’s true size in the club and cardio styles.

ABOVE: BOTH MY MEN WEAR THE CADETS CARDIO SHORTS

We also have the mesh shorts style, which he thinks are VERY cool (just like his dad’s from Nice Laundry), and the court shorts for tennis, seen below, which have a liner and come in crisp white (our tennis court has a strict dress code).

J. CREW FACTORY PERFORMANCE POLO // CADETS COURT SHORTS //

I have to give a little shout out to J. Crew and J. Crew Factory for their performance polos. Great quality! My son especially loves the patterned ones from J. Crew Factory (he has a few striped options and the cute sailboats, linked here). The latter remind me of the much spendier ones from Rhoback!

This year, we added these fun, retro-leaning terry shorts and a matching terry polo to the mix.

TERRY POLO // TERRY SHORTS // AMAZON SOCKS // NEW BALANCE SNEAKERS // BEDHEAD: MODEL’S OWN

Our Favorite Minnow Shorts.

Every summer, I buy son a new terry set from Minnow. These are his favorite for post-pool — he always packs them in the pool bag for the ride home. He also almost exclusively swims in Minnow trunks — he loves the patterns and is for some reason particular about the length of the drawstring at the waist; these pass muster for him. This brand runs a tad bit small; go up a size to extend longevity.

Our Favorite Oso + Me Shorts.

Of the three brands, my son tends to prefer Minnow and Cadets (soft, comfortable, athletic-leaning) but I love the Oso+Me Bingo shorts for dressier and more festive occasions — the patterns are so fun to mix with a button-down or polo.

Our Favorite Less-Expensive Shorts.

I am willing to invest in these brands because he wears them thoroughly and I have often been able to stretch them to work for two summers — before passing on to our nephew — but I know they are spendy for boys’ shorts, prone as they are to stains, tears, etc. My top rec for less expensive shorts: J. Crew Factory’s Pull-On Twill Shorts. Great colors, wear well, and have an above-the-knee length. J. Crew Factory often runs promotions driving the price down further. We buy a lot of these during the schoolyear as navy uniform shorts, too (we’re probably flirting with the regulations for uniform wear, but these are a great buy and he likes being able to pull them on). I like J. Crew’s similar style as well, but those can run a bit more pricey. Good to stock up at end of season!

For more casual wear, I have good luck at Zara — my son has a few shorts like these to pair with graphic tees.

And I’ve not yet tried these for my son, but have heard through the grapevine these $20 swim trunks are fantastic — in the vein of Minnow.

P.S. Notes to self on motherhood.

P.P.S. Things I love about my daughter.

P.P.P.S. Bedding picks for kids.

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