The best short suits to power walk your way through spring

short suits
(Image credit: 2020 Claudio Lavenia)

If you're after a summer trend that's work-appropriate, then short suits are for you. Once considered a mum-sy trend best left to the 90s (although it did always look great on Julia in Pretty Woman), it started having a bit of a renaissance last year, thanks to designers such as Tibi, Versace, Saint Laurent and Off-White.

SS19 saw more of a shift towards athleisure, thanks in no small part to the rise of the cycling short, which you might be pleased to hear isn't as present this season. For SS20, shorts are also getting longer, with labels such as Frankie Shop, ACNE STUDIOS and Gauchere putting a fresh twist on bermuda shorts.

Though if you're still into short shorts, fret not, there are still plenty of those around. I'm particularly loving the classic tailoring of Veronica Beard and the safari-inspired two-piece by Alexa Chung. There's no escaping leather in all its guises either, and Peter Do has a great vegan leather brown ensemble.

Shades are a bit more subdued this season, with bold colours giving way to watered down greens and pinks, and earthy shades of khaki, brown and beige.

short suits

(Image credit: 2020 Edward Berthelot)

Over on the cobbles, Janelle Monae, Leonie Hanne and Kaia Gerber were amongst the many fashion influencers and celebrities that gave the trend their seal of approval during fashion month. The beauty of short suits is that they're not only perfect for work, there is literally a style to suit every taste and mood.

For a dressed-down take on a classic, team a tan linen suit with a Gucci t-shirt and Tevas or your ugly sandal of choice, for a fancier take, try a satin suit with a minimal heeled sandal - influencer-fave STAUD has a great one right now. Or, go with a floaty floral blouse for an eccentric 70s spin a la Gucci.

For the high street, look to & Other Stories and Zara, but if you've got a bigger budget, then you can't go wrong with a bit of TIBI, ACNE or Max Mara.

Shop my edit of the best short suits below.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.