Given growing concerns about the heating up of our planet and the the circuitious ways a whole industry is going about solving the developed world’s health crisis, a good pair of shorts might provide part of the solution. Compared with pants (trousers), shorts offer tremendous venting while keeping the wearer on the brink of exercise. In other words, a reduced need for air conditioning slides up nicely to a more active lifestyle where skinny jeans are abandoned so stairways can be taken.

The trouble is, the history of shorts is one of specialisation. Traditionally, shorts have either been designed as smart-casual wear or high performance sports or beachwear, which neglible crossover between functions and aesthetics. The fancier (smarter), chino variety might be worn by golf spectators or off-duty military personel, but they weren’t designed for running or a trip to the gym. Those that are designed for performance can be dangerously revealing, or else too synthetic for the full gamut of social life.

San Francisco’s Myles Apparel present a solution in the form of a versatile short that will get you kudos from your fashionable friends, while also allowing a seamless escapism as you repurpose the same pair for runs. Merging these two perspectives isn’t easy, especially given the range of body types that fill shorts in different ways. Configuring shorts to work for a range of uses in a pair of settings presents a design task that Myles have relished.

Myles have identified the need for two lines of shorts: the Momentum and the Everyday. The Momentum leans towards being a running-first short, with a signature “bounce-proof” backward-set side zipper to prevent smaller items launching out of your pocket mid-stride. Meanwhile the Everyday has deeper pockets and is made in San Francisco (the Momentum has a Hong Kong heritage).

Colorways for both lines are outstanding with the Momentum’s “Heather Marine” pipping the Everyday’s “Oxblood” for the prize as the most creative. Myles’ copywrighting flare extends beyond this, with the assurance that the Everday is relevant whether you’re “running laps, or running errands.”

Have a glance at mylesapparel.com to see for yourself.