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Short trunks suit active swimming and surfing, mid-length trunks work for everyday beach and pool days, board shorts fit long sessions in the water, hybrid 2-in-1 shorts cover travel and lounging, and women’s high-rise drawstring shorts pair beach comfort with a tailored look. For shoppers who want elevated versions of any of these, L’ANIMAL designs drawstring swim shorts for men and women with that extra styling detail built in.
TL;DR:
- Choose a five to seven inch inseam for swimming or surfing, seven to nine for everyday coverage, and nine to eleven for paddling.
- Elastic waists with internal drawcords stay secure during sport; fixed waists with exposed cords hold their shape for beach to bar wear.
- Lined shorts provide mesh support for swimming; unlined pairs feel softer for lounging but require a swim brief for support in water.
- Rinse shorts after every swim and air dry them to extend their life, because chlorine and saltwater weaken elastic faster than fresh water.
Each drawstring swim short style solves a different problem, and the differences come down to length, cut, and the details stitched into the waistband.
Short trunks sit above the knee, usually five to seven inches, with a close, athletic cut. They work for lap swimming, surfing, and any activity where fabric drag matters. Mid-length trunks fall at or just above the knee and offer the most balanced silhouette for everyday beach days, pool parties, and casual lounging. Board shorts extend to the knee or below with a looser leg and a longer rise, built for paddling out or standing in waves for hours. Hybrid 2-in-1 shorts combine a quick-dry outer shell with a built-in liner, designed for travelers who want one pair that works from the plane to the pool deck. Women’s high-rise drawstring shorts sit at or above the natural waist, often with a tailored taper through the hip, and work equally well over a swimsuit or as a standalone beach-to-bar piece.
When scanning product descriptions, look for words like “tailored fit,” “relaxed fit,” or “athletic cut” next to the inseam measurement. Those two details together tell you more about how a pair will actually sit than a photo alone.
Getting the fit right starts with the inseam. A shorter inseam changes the proportion of your whole outfit, while a longer one changes how the shorts perform in the water.
For bigger thighs, a mid-length or board short cut with a slightly relaxed leg avoids a tight, riding-up fit that shorter trunks can create. A narrow waist pairs well with a fixed waistband and drawstring, since the structure holds the shorts in place without needing a tight elastic pull. Our guide to lined versus unlined trunks breaks down which construction suits which body type and activity in more detail.
The fabric and hardware on a pair of swim shorts determine how they perform after repeated wear, not just how they look on the hanger.
Quick-dry polyester and nylon blends remain the standard for swim-specific shorts, since they resist water absorption and dry fast between pool sessions. Recycled fiber blends are showing up more often in 2026 collections, offering the same performance with a lower environmental footprint. Silk-like finishes, borrowed from ready-to-wear, are appearing on more elevated styles for shoppers who want their shorts to look dressed up on dry land too, a trend Forbes ties to swimwear blurring into everyday ready-to-wear this year.
Chlorine and saltwater break down elastic faster than fresh water, so rinsing shorts after each swim and air-drying rather than machine-drying extends their life.
Pro Tip: Zoom into product photos and look at the stitching around the waistband and pocket seams: tight, even stitching with no visible fraying is the clearest sign of swim-specific construction rather than a fashion-only short.
The fastest way to narrow down a style is to match it to your body shape first, then confirm it against what you’ll actually be doing in it.
For activity, lap swimmers and surfers do best in short trunks or board shorts with a secure internal drawcord. Lounging by the pool calls for a relaxed mid-length or hybrid pair since comfort matters more than hydrodynamics. Beach-to-bar days favor a tailored, fixed-waistband style that holds its shape when paired with a linen shirt.
Mid-length trunks have become the most consistently stocked length across current swimwear collections, balancing mobility with coverage in a way that also packs well for travel, a pattern that shows up repeatedly in how retailers structure their size and length offerings. Before buying, run through a quick try-on checklist: sit down and check for pulling at the waist, raise your knee to check the leg opening doesn’t ride up, and walk a few steps to confirm the drawstring stays put without constant adjusting.
The same pair of shorts can read as beach-casual or beach-to-bar depending entirely on what you pair with them.
For a beach basics look, stick to a solid-colored quick-dry pair with a plain white or neutral tee and slides. For an elevated pool-party look, a printed short in a bold tropical or abstract pattern paired with a solid linen shirt keeps the outfit from feeling busy. The reverse rule works too: a solid-colored short lets you layer on a printed shirt or a statement accessory without the outfit competing with itself.
Forbes points to gold-tone hardware and silk-inspired finishes as two of the details designers are leaning on in 2026 to make swimwear transition from beach to bar without a full outfit change. A drawstring with a small metal tip or a subtle sheen on the fabric can do the same work on a pair of shorts you already own. For a full outfit breakdown, our guide to styling swim trunks walks through more pairings season by season.
We built L’ANIMAL around the eye of designer and stylist Lital Simel-Rhedrick, who focuses on original swimwear pieces for women and men alongside collaboration collections with online fashion influencers.
Our approach to proportion starts with the waistband: a fixed waistband with a visible drawstring reads more tailored than a fully elastic one, which is why we reach for that construction on pieces meant to go from sand to dinner. Fabric choice follows the same logic. A fabric with a slight sheen photographs better and holds its shape longer than a flat matte finish. For readers building out a full resort capsule, our posts on men’s lined versus unlined trunks and building a swimwear capsule go deeper into both.
We designed every piece in our collections around one idea: a swim short should work as hard off the sand as it does in the water. That’s why we build in the fixed waistband and finish details that let a pair move from a pool afternoon to a beach-to-bar dinner without a wardrobe change in between.
A capsule built around one or two versatile lengths, a mid-length trunk and a tailored high-rise short, covers nearly every trip without overpacking. If you’re narrowing down your own shortlist, start with the style category that matches your most frequent activity, then let the fabric and hardware details decide the rest.
— Lital
Drawstring swim shorts for both men and women are designed and built around the fit rules and fabric details covered above.
Our Mens Shorts collection covers tailored mid-length and board short styles for everything from pool lounging to beach-to-bar dinners. For readers who want a full resort look, our Cover-Ups line pairs easily with any short in the lineup. Travelers putting together a custom printed pair for a group trip can also check Tekton LA’s custom beach shorts, a separate service for personalized printing and branding.
Browse the Mens Shorts collection to find the length and waist construction that fits your next trip.
The main categories are short trunks, mid-length trunks, board shorts, hybrid 2-in-1 shorts, and women’s high-rise drawstring shorts. Each differs mainly in inseam length and waistband construction, which changes both fit and best use.
Mid-length trunks with a fixed waistband and visible drawstring remain a consistent favorite across current collections for their versatility between pool and travel wear. Elevated details like gold-tone hardware and silk-inspired fabric finishes are also showing up more in 2026 swimwear trends.
Designers are leaning into elevated prints alongside metallic and gold-tone hardware to create looks that move easily from beach to bar, according to Forbes’ coverage of 2026 swimwear trends. Solid neutrals paired with one printed or embellished piece remain a reliable way to style these trends.
Swimwear spans swim trunks and shorts for men, bikinis and one-piece suits for women, plus cover-ups and resortwear that extend a swim look into daywear. Within swim shorts specifically, the styles range from short athletic trunks to longer board shorts and tailored high-rise cuts.
Match the inseam to your activity: shorter lengths for swimming and surfing, longer lengths for lounging or standing in waves. Check the waistband type next: an elastic drawstring suits active wear, while a fixed waistband with an exposed drawstring gives a more tailored look for beach-to-bar days.
