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
The easy, summery vibe of thong sandals is the perfect match for shorts.
Shop our picks:
Sophisticated Slides
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.)
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Platforms
While not every heel style works perfectly with shorts, platforms actually do—especially with longer shorts.
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Retro Sneakers
Retro sneakers go with pretty much everything, but especially casual shorts.
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Minimal Mules
If you want to dress your shorts up a bit but still want to be comfortable, opt for a pair of simple flat mules.
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Chunky Sandals
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Chunky sandals work beautifully with any shorts length, so stock up.
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Loafers
Is there anything loafers don't go with? We think not. (Bonus points for adding white crew socks.)
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Knee boots
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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Everyone With Good Taste Is Already Wearing These 7 Chic Summer PiecesThese instantly elevate any look.
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Adam Sandler–Coded Outfits Are Still Going Strong—5 Ways to Style Baggy Shorts This SummerFashion icon first. Comedian second.
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Believe It or Not, This Is the It-Girl Shorts Trend of Summer 2025Confirmed by Emily Ratajkowski and Hailey Bieber.
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Linen Pants! Full Skirts! Long Shorts! Zara Has Every Single Chic Bottoms Trend—40 Picks That Are Worth Your AttentionGood luck picking just one.
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The Controversial Shorts Trend Every Cool Girl Is Wearing This SummerI'm on board. Are you?
