Fold-over shorts have quietly become one of the biggest athleisure stories of the year, positioned as the alternative to bike shorts and leggings that nobody knew they needed until they tried them. The style, built around a fold-over waistband that can sit higher or lower depending on how you roll it, has been picked up specifically by the LA fashion crowd as a pilates-and-errands staple, with Kaia Gerber among those photographed in the look, and it’s carrying real Y2K throwback energy in the waistband detail itself. Sales data backs up the hype, with fold-over styles consistently ranking among the top performers in the shorts category this year.
My honest take: obsessed is not an exaggeration. These might be the single most-worn item in my closet this year.
The genius of the fold-over waistband is that it solves a problem that bike shorts and leggings never really addressed, which is that your ideal rise changes depending on what you’re doing and how your body feels that day. Fold it up for a higher, more secure waist when you’re actually working out. Fold it down for a lower, more relaxed rise when you’re just running errands or meeting a friend for coffee and don’t want anything gripping your stomach. It’s the rare piece of clothing that actually adjusts to you instead of asking you to adjust to it, and once you’ve worn a pair that does this well, going back to a fixed-rise short feels almost old-fashioned.
They’re also just genuinely versatile in a way that surprised me. I’ve worn mine to workout classes, obviously, but also under an oversized button-down as a full outfit, paired with a simple tank for errands, and even dressed up slightly with a going-out top and sneakers for something low-key at night. The waistband detail gives them just enough visual interest that they don’t read as purely gym clothes, which is doing a lot of the styling work for you before you’ve even picked a top.
If I had one note, it’s that the fabric quality really matters here more than with a lot of trend pieces, because you’re folding and unfolding the waistband constantly, and a cheaper elastic will lose its shape fast. Worth spending slightly more for a pair that holds its structure through repeated folding.
I’d recommend these to almost anyone. Comfortable, flattering, adjustable, and somehow still stylish enough to wear outside a gym context. This is the rare trend that’s actually just a good idea.