Here We Go Again: The Best Shoes to Wear With Shorts This Summer

There are certain topics we cover every single summer, and what shoe trends to wear with shorts is undoubtedly one of them. Let's face it—shorts can be a little tricky to style, and we know (from personal experience) that advice on the subject is appreciated. So as we do pretty much each and every summer, we scoured Instagram for examples of stylish people wearing shorts, coming to lots of shoe trend conclusions along the way.

It could be argued that it's possible to make any shoe style work with shorts. We don't disagree with this, but we do think it's safe to say that some shoe trends just work better than others with shorts, and are far more versatile. Below, you'll find the eight styles we narrowed it down to, many of which you may already have in your closet. (And if you don't, we found some excellent pairs to choose from.) Scroll on to see and shop.

Thong Sandals

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(Image credit: @claire_most)

The easy, summery vibe of thong sandals is the perfect match for shorts.

Shop our picks:

Sophisticated Slides

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(Image credit: @cassdimicco)

It may seem like a no-brainer, but chic, sophisticated slides will always look amazing with shorts. (Case in point? The Hermès sandals pictured above.)

Shop our picks:

Platforms

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(Image credit: @alyssainthecity)

While not every heel style works perfectly with shorts, platforms actually do—especially with longer shorts.

Shop our picks:

Retro Sneakers

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(Image credit: @dwfashion)

Retro sneakers go with pretty much everything, but especially casual shorts.

Shop our picks:

Minimal Mules

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(Image credit: @tylynnnguyen)

If you want to dress your shorts up a bit but still want to be comfortable, opt for a pair of simple flat mules.

Shop our picks:

Chunky Sandals

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(Image credit: @greceghanem
 )

Chunky sandals work beautifully with any shorts length, so stock up.

Shop our picks:

Loafers

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(Image credit: @slipintostyle)

Is there anything loafers don't go with? We think not. (Bonus points for adding white crew socks.)

Shop our picks:

Knee boots

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(Image credit: @monamali_)

While knee boots may not be an obvious choice for the summer, they certainly make shorts look cool.

Shop our picks:

Next up, the key summer 2021 shoe trends everyone's losing it over.

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Allyson Payer
Senior Editor

Allyson is a senior editor for Who What Wear. She joined the company in 2014 as co-founder Katherine Power's executive assistant and over the years has written hundreds of stories for Who What Wear. Prior to her career in fashion, Allyson worked in the entertainment industry at companies such as Sony Pictures Television. Allyson is now based in Raleigh, North Carolina, and is originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She holds a BFA in theater. Her path to fashion may not have been linear, but based on the number of fashion magazines she collected as a child and young adult, it was meant to be.