Welcome to the latest edition of Ask CF! Every two weeks, we select a reader fashion question and answer it here on the site. Do you have a specific fashion question for us? Scroll to the bottom of this post to learn how to send it our way!

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Ask CF Question

Hi CF,

I’m a student doing an internship in a nanoscience lab. My area has a really hot and humid climate (we’re having 95 degrees right now, I can’t imagine how August is going to be…), and the internship takes all of summer.

I’m a pear-shaped girl, and I cannot wear skirts or dresses as they are really impractical under the mandatory Breaking Bad-esque lab suit, nor full-length pants because I might melt in the heat.

The best option is to choose shorts, but how can I wear them in a way that is both internship-appropriate (there is a lot of office work too, and weekly meetings) and flattering?

Thank you very much,

Heat-wave Squint.

Our Response

Dear Heat-Wave Squint,

While styling shorts in a professional way might seem hard at first (after all, shorts aren’t really what we normally think of when we think “work/internship-appropriate”), it’s actually not so different from styling a skirt.  

As long as you’re willing to put the time into finding shorts that are more polished than your average pair of cut-offs, you’ll see that finding the right shorts for your situation can be a breeze.

Having said that, there are a couple of things that you should keep in mind while on the hunt for professional-looking shorts:

• Pay attention to fabric: This is one of the most important things to consider when looking for shorts to wear to work, as you don’t want to choose a pair of shorts that’ll make you look like you’re headed for the beach! Stick with dressier materials such as cotton, flowy crêpe, linen, or even chambray. Also, this is probably obvious, but holes and distressing are a big “no” when it comes to choosing work-appropriate shorts. 
• When in doubt, go looser: Many pairs of shorts today are made to fit rather tightly, so, when in doubt, it’s always a good idea to choose a pair that skim your legs rather than cling to them. Not only will they keep you cooler than their skin-tight counterparts, but shorts that flow away from the body slightly tend to be flattering and appropriate.
• Consider length: Another important point to keep in mind is the length of the shorts that you’re wearing. It’s a good idea to think in terms of the length of skirts you’d wear in a professional setting, and then apply that guideline to the shorts you’re considering. Personally, I’d recommend going no shorter than mid-thigh length in a business-casual or casual work environment. 

Now that that’s out of the way, keep scrolling to see some professional outfits featuring shorts that I have put together for you: