Gap's $27 Carpenter Shorts Are the Surprise Hit of My Summer

You guys can have The Odyssey. My summer blockbuster comes in denim and has a hammer loop.Reed Nelson; Design: Emily HanhanFor a guy who prefers to wear pants, I own a lot of shorts. After surveying my summer wardrobe, I rounded up crinkly nylon shorts, some freaky dressy ones, and enough mesh shorts to outfit a lacrosse team. I’m nothing if not a completist (or maybe it’s because I can turn literally anything into a problem, but let’s leave that debate here for now). I figured I was done with shorts, but even the strongest soldiers get tempted in the summer heat.Turns out I’m incredibly temptable. And so when I saw that Gap had a pair of 9” Carpenter Shorts for less than a burrito costs on DoorDash, it turned into a matter of when and not if. Because Gap, if you haven’t tapped in for a while, isn’t just making incredibly affordable goods; they’re making some of the most versatile, malleable, and downright wearable menswear in the entire mall brand ecosystem.Gap9" Loose Denim Carpenter ShortsGap9" Loose Denim Carpenter ShortsThese denim carpenter shorts are identical in shape, fit, and drape to a pair I got last year, just with a few more bells and whistles (for instance, that second knee and also a hammer loop). They're baggy—but not veering into 90s cosplay territory—and made from a 100% cotton canvas that’s both soft and sturdy. And these are priced almost cheaper than anything you’ll find at a vintage store.I didn’t really need them for anything, but having another pair of shorts you can kick the living shit out of for the duration of an increasingly hot summer seemed like a sound plan, and man, do I love it when a plan comes together. They’re the perfect length to wear with some loafers, sneakers, mules, my weird little slippers, or pretty much any other load-bearing footwear I’ve got at the moment. The shorts are a bit wide, which means I can scale my shirt to whatever size I please. I've slipped into some loose-fitting button-ups, tanks, and tees of various proportions.While I certainly don’t have the ability to solve all your shorts problems with a single hammer-looped pair, I also haven’t been this wowed by a pair of sub-$50 shorts—non-athletic category—in ages. So, grab ‘em while it’s hot, because with a price like this, they’ll be gone before this heat wave is.Reed Nelson is a freelance writer for GQ Recommends covering menswear and gear. Before writing full time, he spent years working retail at Unionmade Goods, Gant Rugger, J.Crew, and Nike—experience that sharpened his eye for what’s actually worth buying. He’s also worked as an in-house copywriter for brands big and ... Read More