It’s not easy to find good shorts. To be honest, I only own a few pairs of running shorts, one of which I’ve clung to for over a decade now. I get rid of a lot of most shorts fairly quickly because they don’t meet my minimum requirements: comfort while working out and comfort while not working out. Recently, Buck Mason’s running shorts made it into my rotation.
Let’s talk about how that rotation works. There’s an unspoken law of going out in New York that the hip, cool bar isn’t going to let you in wearing shorts. Between bars at night, my office during the day, and the fact that only a third of the year constitutes “shorts season” anyway, there’s no need to have a ton of options and, frankly, little need for anything structured. Heavier cargo shorts or even the cotton dock shorts made from thicker fabrics that require a belt, aren’t particularly convenient or comfortable and they also aren’t acceptable (to me anyway) in a work or drinking setting. Conversely, the running shorts and swim trunks that come with liners tend to be well designed for their purposes, but aren’t ideal to just throw on.
When I saw Buck Mason was making running shorts, I thought it was worth trying. The brand has been a go-to for most of my other wardrobe needs. I wear their Carry-On Suit all the time, and their slub cotton polos have been in regular rotation for the summer. The brand’s Trail Roam Shorts solve all the problems I had in the other pairs. They are separate from any liner, so I wear them with the same boxer briefs anyone can get from Uniqlo, and they work perfectly well on anything from a Citibike to jumping in the ocean on a beach trip. They have an ample pocket for a phone—a bit of a rarity in nylon-strech shorts, I’ve found—and have a hidden pocket too for it you’re actually running in them and need to store a key or credit card. Admittedly, mine are more used for the former than the latter, or, more likely, to run to the bodega with my keys and credit card to get a Gatorade after a night out rather than an early workout.
From a fashion perspective, they don’t try for all the trappings of exercise wear, which is great. There’s no angled stripes or zig zags. They’re black shorts. With pockets. The seams are straight along the cut of the short, falling a few inches above the knee. The inner pocket even has a divider for a phone and other (sharp) things like keys. I don’t golf, but I’m told that these sorts of dividers are helpful in golf.
In short, these are the perfect shorts for people who aren’t normally in the shorts lifestyle.
Buck Mason Trail Roam Shorts
Buck Mason did a brave thing: They made a pair of black athletic shorts completely unadorned with iconography or graphics. These shorts are perfectly engineered for a run… to the grocery. And there’s a lot to be said for that.