Could YOU pull off the jorts look this summer? They’re the long jeans every It girl wears… But, says FARRAH STORR, more coverage isn’t always more flattering

‘Jort’ or not ‘jort’, that is the question for women in their fifties this summer.

In case you missed the style memo, or even the footage of every 20-something fashion darling sweeping through Europe, the jort du jour (“jort” is a portmanteau of jeans and shorts) is a pair of mid-length jeans that reach just above the or able to do.

Think of it like a denim Bermuda short, but without the elastic waistband or ‘snazzy’ print.

Jorts is very hot right now. The model Bella Hadid wears jorts. So is Hailey Bieber, model and wife of singer Justin — and pretty much every fashion influencer on Instagram.

Cool girls hanging out on the sidewalks in Brooklyn, New York wear jorts; and Glastonbury was overrun with them.

Hailey Bieber (pictured), model and wife of singer Justin, also wears jorts — and pretty much every fashion influencer on Instagram

But when does the “jort” go from scorching hot garment to the most ridiculous – and most outdated – piece of clothing in your summer wardrobe?

First, it’s a generally recognized style rule that jeans of any length are a pain to navigate.

They cling to thighs and grip buttocks. They should also be lovingly frayed along the hem, as if you just cut up your favorite pair of Levi’s in a hurry.

The goal of most people’s denim short fantasies is to look like a 1970s Jane Birkin in St Tropez, although few of us achieve this.

However, the new kind of jort looks promising, especially for women of a certain age who have reservations about looking like Daisy Duke on vacation.

Jorts are looser around the thighs to begin with. They have roomy pockets, reassuringly high waistbands and are ‘softer’ around the derrière.

Their longer length, meanwhile, means you no longer have to worry about exposing acres of mid- or even upper-thigh lengths. Basically, they look like the shorts every midlife woman dreams of.

The goal of most people’s denim short fantasies is to look like a 1970s Jane Birkin (pictured) in St Tropez, though few of us achieve this

Good old-fashioned jeans are still on trend, as model Kendall Jenner (left) and actress Halle Berry (right) demonstrate. In fact, if they’re a little worn, with a touch of distress, and worn with a slightly oversized T-shirt, they can be rather timeless

But believe me – they are far from it. I say this as a 44-year-old former editor of Elle, who experimented with jorts last month.

I decided to take a pair of scissors to an old cream Cos jeans and create the perfect summer vacation.

(A crucial word of warning: You can only make jorts out of wide-leg jeans. Trying to create a jort by hacking into skinny jeans will result in denim pedal pushers, a look no one is eager to recreate in 2023.)

I wore them with heels to dinner. Finally I thought! A pair of jeans that offers comfort and coverage. Only when I saw my reflection in the restaurant window did I see the error of my ways.

Jorts are great in theory, but a disaster in practice. They are the most unflattering lengths.

When they’re just getting the hang of it, they shorten the calf, making you look like an extra from a ’90s hip-hop video; above the knee and they emphasize these most delicate areas – and the knee is not pretty at any age, let alone middle age. Mine look like a pair of harmonica potatoes.

All that textured denim across the expanse of your thighs adds extra bulk, meaning you can end up looking unintentionally bum-heavy.

And then, of course, there’s what to wear with them. The shoe of summer is still the leather fisherman sandal.

These can look great — and ironically cool — on a 21-year-old blogger wearing sweatpants. But a 51-year-old in light jeans? Well, you soon look like the lost member of a Cornish fishing crew.

What we forget is that those who look really great in shorts are also those who have two things on their side: youth and height. (I’ve seen the petite and young in jorts and the truth is they’re doing them no favors either. Sorry!)

For the rest of us, good, old-fashioned jeans, like those Holly Willoughby (pictured) that paraded in Portugal this summer, are still our top choice for middle-aged rocking jeans

Sixty-three-year-old Nancy Shevell (pictured), wife of Paul McCartney, is another woman who understands the beauty of the shorter short film

For the rest of us, good old-fashioned jeans, like Holly Willoughby paraded in Portugal this summer, are still our best bet for rocking middle-aged jeans. Sixty-three-year-old Nancy Shevell, wife of Paul McCartney, is another woman who understands the beauty of the shorter short film.

In fact, if they’re a little worn, with a hint of distress, and worn with a slightly oversized T-shirt, they can be rather timeless.

That reminds me of a very famous celebrity stylist who once told me that it was a misconception that full coverage bikinis looked better on middle aged people with bigger bodies.

In fact, the smaller the bikini, the better it looked, she explained, because more material not only adds volume, but can also age you.

So I chopped a good three inches off my cream jorts with longer lines to create something much more flattering.