On the heels of “White Hot,” Netflix’s recent documentary, clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch is all over the internet. From its start as an outdoors sporting goods store back in 1892 to its notorious role in perpetuating unrealistic body standards throughout the 2000s, Abercrombie has had many iterations.
The most current version of the brand, we’re surprised to say, is making comfortable, versatile and high-quality denim shorts from size 000-24. The shorts come in a wide variety of cuts, colors and styles, all of which seem to look and feel amazing on different body shapes and sizes. From parenting blogs to mid-sized fashion influencers (around sizes 12-16), people are citing the amazing fit and wearability of the shorts, not to mention the plethora of fits and styles.
“Abercrombie’s range of rises is pretty genius, we love it,” Shana Draugelis, founder of fashion and lifestyle parenting site The Mom Edit, told HuffPost. “There are very few denim brands that are so loved by our whole team, we have editors who range from size 2 to plus-size, and are 5′2″ to 5′10,″ but Abercrombie is a pretty solid team favorite.”
Funnily enough, Draugelis said The Mom Edit team loves Abercrombie’s “mom” and “dad” style shorts.
″[The mom shorts] come in different lengths (so our tall editors are happy), as well as different rises. Especially in summer’s heat, we all get really picky over how much of a high rise we do (or do not) want,” Draugelis said. ”[The dad shorts] have a slouchier, casual feel and, frankly, a slight 90′s vibe.”
If you’re hesitant to try Abercrombie for yourself, you’re not alone. While mid-size model and self-love influencer Alex Michael May now loves her Abercrombie jean shorts, she said she initially felt hesitant, even a little nervous, about trying them.
“I held out for a long time, and I think it was more of a subconscious thing,” May said. “But I realized now in hindsight, that I was actually scared because of my past experiences with the brand, especially as a young adult, and actually even as a child.”
But as other curvy influencers posted their try-on videos and reviews of the shorts, May says she felt safer giving them a try ― a risk she says completely paid off. “I have to say that these are the first jean shorts I’m completely comfortable wearing in a really, really long time. I haven’t worn jean shorts in years,” she said.
May said Abercrombie’s excellent fit on curvy bodies isn’t a random coincidence. After connecting on Instagram with a fit model for the brand, May learned Abercrombie specially fits their larger-sized clothes to larger bodies, instead of just grading up from smaller “sample” sizes.
“Other brands have called certain jean selections ‘curvy’ or tried to cater to curvy and plus-size bodies, and I just don’t know if anyone’s done that great of a job before,” May said. “Abercrombie actually fit [their shorts] on a curvy, plus-size woman. They allowed for the difference in hips and to be loose around the thigh.”
As Abercrombie shorts only currently run to a waist size 37 (a women’s size 24), May says they still have room to grow before they have a truly inclusive size range. Yet, she hopes that even expanding their jean shorts up to a 24 can be a signal to other brands to start better serving their customers by producing wider size ranges.
“That’s a bigger question, whether people are OK with supporting brands that have had a patchy history. But I think if we call for change, we have to allow space for change,” May said. “I think Abercrombie is a great example for a brand changing with the times and making important changes and being able to win back a customer that they once alienated.”
We’ve rounded up a selection of the best Abercrombie jean shorts, all of which come in sizes 000-24. Note the “Curve Love” style is designed to have a little more room in the hips, with the same size waist.
HuffPost may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Every item is independently selected by the HuffPost Shopping team. Prices and availability are subject to change.
These also come in eight other colors that don't feature the diagonal zipper.
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