If you are a fan of shorts and olives, this blog post isn’t for you.

The two go hand-in-hand in my brain because there aren’t many things in either the fashion or culinary world that I hate, but those two top the list.

In fact eating olives while wearing shorts would probably be my personal hell (especially if I paid full price for the shorts…stop. Just stop).

I’m not very hot natured. I was pregnant throughout summer and was never really uncomfortably hot (if that doesn’t prove it to you, I don’t know what will). But this past weekend I got really hot and didn’t feel like reaching for any of my jeans. Which made me realize I’m going to need some good alternatives to shorts for the summer.

Especially if I’m going to be chasing down a one-year-old – I don’t know where the one-year-old will come from, as my child is still a baby baby. But I’ll go along with everyone else and pretend like he’s growing up ;)

Here are some chic and most importantly, cooler options to wearing short shorts, all found at West Town Mall!

JCP: Wide Leg Pants

The goal with shorts is to keep you cool, wide leg pants in a light material can keep you cool and are arguably more comfortable when sitting down.

These striped wide leg pants from JCP are a great alternative in that they’ve got all the neutral colors so they’ll go with so much!

Banana Republic: Shorts that aren’t.

These are so long, they aren’t even worthy of the name, “shorts” and won’t give you all the bad parts of shorts.

For example, they’ll give you good coverage, they won’t make your legs pooch out when you sit down, they won’t leave you stuck to a plastic chair and they won’t ride up into your crotch when you walk!

Plus the window pane pattern immediately elevates them so that you could wear them with heels or wedges if you’d like.

Charlotte Russe: Stretchy Skirt

If the pencil skirt is long and stretchy enough, it could be my favorite thing to wear in the summer. Sure it made my thighs rub together when I was pregnant, but it kept me cool.

Plus, this style of skirt could go a lot farther than you think. You could wear it with fancy nude gladiators, white sneakers and a cute t-shirt or wedges and a flowy top.

GAP: Girfriend Chino’s

These Girlfriend Chino’s are something I’ll be reaching for all summer long. The “girlfriend” means they’re wider in the hips and slimmer through the leg. They’re light but give you coverage.

I wore these over the weekend and was perfectly comfortable outside the whole time.

Not pictured but something I’m still trying to track down, is a banded maxi skirt. Not the kind of maxi skirt with the loose waist that makes you feel as if you’re going to step on it and WHA-LA your underwear. The kind I want has a definite waist-band you can tuck into. Giving your more options than a maxi dress, but still all the comfort.