11 Best Linen Shorts for Men 2025, According to GQ Editors

Sometimes, it’s so damn hot that even the shortest of shorts aren’t enough to keep cool. That’s where linen—and, more, specifically, the best linen shorts for men—enters the picture. Linen is one of the oldest clothing materials in the world, prized for its durability, breeziness, and rakish rumpled texture. (Fun fact: linen fibers are actually hollow, which is why it cools so well.) These days, designers use it to summer-ize everything from suits to shirts—and shorts are no exception.

But a good pair of linen shorts does more than simply keep you cool. The natural rumpling and airy drape add all manner of visual interest to your warm-weather fits, which is key when you’re working with fewer layers and less coverage. They’re OOO essentials, sure—great when paired with a breezy linen shirt and chic sandals—but don’t limit yourself. Try them with a graphic tee and beat-up canvas sneakers for a grungy SoCal vibe, or dress them up with a polo, loafers, and snazzy linen blazer.

The point? Linen is surprisingly versatile, which is why we’ve done the heavy task of wading through a sea of linen shorts to find the only versions worth your dollars.

• The Best Linen Shorts Overall: Banana Republic 7” Linen Shorts, $80 $55
• The Best Budget Linen Shorts: Uniqlo Linen-Blend Easy Shorts, $30
• The Best Upgrade Linen Shorts: Alex Mill Pull On Field Short, $150
• The Best Linen Shorts for Most Occasions: Alex Crane Bo Shorts, $85
• The Linen Shorts for Vacation: Todd Snyder Linen Beachcomber Short, $128
• The Best Linen Shorts for Y2K Cosplay: Stone Island Diagonal Linen Cargo Shorts, $465

Banana Republic

7" Linen Short

$80 $55 (31% off)

Banana Republic

Pros & Cons

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Pros

• Classic, versatile design
• Great price
• Available in different inseam lengths

Cons

• There may be someone else wearing them at the function

What we look for in a great pair of linen shorts comes down to materials, construction, fit, versatility, and pricepoint. Banana Republic has it all. The all-linen material is silky, lightweight, and drapes elegantly. Construction is solid as a rock. Fit is roomy but classic and hits right at the mid-thigh. And while we love a free-and-easy, elastic waist for linen shorts, it can be limiting, stylistically. That’s why we prefer the fixed waist of these Banana Republic shorts. It allows them to be styled with dressier items like button-up shirts or even with a light blazer. And for well under a hundred bucks, there ain’t a better linen short.

Maybe you’ve got your wallet on a strict diet or you just don’t see the need to invest too deeply into something as seasonal as linen shorts. Whatever your reason, budget is higher on your priority list and we’ll point you straight over to Uniqlo’s Easy Shorts which are a whopping thirty bucks. They fit like a classic pair of Patagonia Baggies, which is to say perfect. They have an elastic waistband, two front pockets and a single rear pocket (everything you need, nothing you don’t). We would prefer it if these were made of 100% linen, but for such a low price point, Uniqlo makes them in a cotton-linen blend and that’s a compromise we’re willing to make.

Alex Mill

Pull On Field Short

$150

Alex Mill

Pros & Cons

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Pros

• Quality linen

Cons

• Seasonal, so won’t stick around for long

If you want an elevated, upgraded pair of linen shorts, the fabric should be a noticeable step up and Alex Mill’s Field shorts deliver in that department. The natural Flax linen is undoubtedly more substantial and, perhaps counterintuitively, rumples more than it wrinkles, which is a sign of a better linen. Patch pocket details and an interior drawstring for extra comfort lets you know that the higher quality doesn’t end with the fabric, too.

Alex Crane

Bo Shorts

$85

Alex Crane

Pros & Cons

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Pros

• Quality linen materials
• Wide variety of colors and patterns
• Great price point

Cons

• Not available in other silhouettes

Just because gym shorts are technically “casual shorts” doesn’t mean you should wear them as part of your day-to-day fits. Now, linen shorts are inherently casual, but if you don’t need your shorts to pass muster at a fancy establishment, Alex Crane’s Bo shorts are the perfect everyday linen shorts. These drawstring-waist joints are a no-frills option that does away with any extraneous details like pleats, extra pockets. They’re made of 100% French linen which has an incredible drape and lightness. They hit right at the mid-thigh and are relaxed without veering into Y2K baggy territory, so they’re right at home with a tee or a button-up in equal measure. Oh, and they come in just about every shade imaginable, which means you can find something that works with your personal style.

Todd Snyder

5” Linen Beachcomber Short

$128

Todd Snyder

Pros & Cons

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Pros

• Clean, tailored look
• Wide variety of colors
• Will make it look like leg day, every day

Cons

• Fit is slightly on the slimmer side

Holidays are meant for relaxing, not worrying, and rather than packing eight different pants for every possible situation, it’s a whole lot less stressful to bring a pair of shorts that can do as much as possible. Todd Snyder’s all linen Beachcomber shorts are the platonic ideal of a vacation short. The elastic waist let’s you know they’re made for bumming out on a beach, the belt loops let you dress them up should you need to fit in at a nice restaurant, and the luxe linen has more structure than other linens meaning they’ll actually wrinkle less. Rarely has a garment embodied the beach to bar lifestyle as well as this one does.

Stone Island

Diagonal Linen Cargo Shorts

$465

SSENSE

Pros & Cons

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Pros

• Top-notch quality
• Clean, monochromatic details
• Comfortable elastic waistband

Cons

• Not many colors available

If the whole idea of linen shorts feels a little too “boy band on the beach”, cargo shorts will change your mind. They feel sportier, hipper, and a little more down to earth than the usual vacation-ready linen shorts. And who better do make a linen cargo short than the sportswear legends at Stone Island? The British label’s cargo shorts are made from a thicker, “diagonal twill” linen, Stone Island’s Ghost cargo shorts manage to take a rustic, old-world fabric and make them feel sporty. With sleek cargo pockets at the side, a clean welt pocket at the rear, and an easy elastic waistband, these drawstring shorts can pack in your keys, wallet, and many vices in one sleek package.

COS

Elasticated Linen Shorts

$99

Cos

Balancing dress with comfort is a delicate needle to thread. You could either end up like a frumpy geriatric brand or, God-willing, like these COS shorts.

Polo Ralph Lauren

8.5-Inch Classic Fit Linen-Cotton Short

$99 $80 (19% off)

Ralph Laren

Inspired by vintage army chinos, these linen-blend shorts feature a Hollywood waistband, rear welt pockets, and an obvious need for a great white T-shirt and a flowy button-up.

Rick Owens

Geth Wide-Leg Linen-Twill Shorts

$755

Mr Porter

Fervent denim obsessives have a tough time in the summer, even for the jorts apologists. When the mercury is soaring, you'll need to bring in the big guns, which is to say a pair of denim shorts infused with the cooling power of linen. Here, Rick Owens' iconic Geth jeans get truncated into mid-thigh-length shorts and rendered in an inky black all-linen twill, resulting in linen shorts that are as hot as they are cool.

Buck Mason

Capitola Linen Carry-On Larsen Short

$138

Buck Mason

If you need a pair of linen shorts that can hang with a matching blazer for a high summer wedding, these are the joints. But don't fret, Buck Mason sells these shorts as separates so you can just as easily wear 'em with a graphic tee and beat up sneakers.

Colbo

Dress Shorts

$410 $246 (40% off)

Colbo

Most linen shorts fall into a very casual, perennially-on-vacation look. While these aren't exactly dressy, we love that these have an everyday feel that look clean.

Comme des Garçons

Linen Shorts

$520 $468 (10% off)

SSENSE

With a big plaid and an even bigger silhouette, Comme des Garcons' voluminous shorts are the perfect pairing for an avant-garde summer with a weird linen shirt and funky shoes.

Style is subjective, we know—that’s the fun of it. But we’re serious about helping our audience get dressed. Whether it’s the best white sneakers, the flyest affordable suits, or the need-to-know menswear drops of the week, GQ Recommends’ perspective is built on years of hands-on experience, an insider awareness of what’s in and what’s next, and a mission to find the best version of everything out there, at every price point.

Our staffers aren’t able to try on every single piece of clothing you read about on GQ.com (fashion moves fast these days), but we have an intimate knowledge of each brand’s strengths and know the hallmarks of quality clothing—from materials and sourcing, to craftsmanship, to sustainability efforts that aren’t just greenwashing. GQ Recommends heavily emphasizes our own editorial experience with those brands, how they make their clothes, and how those clothes have been reviewed by customers. Bottom line: GQ wouldn’t tell you to wear it if we wouldn’t.

We make every effort to cast as wide of a net as possible, with an eye on identifying the best options across three key categories: quality, fit, and price.

To kick off the process, we enlist the GQ Recommends braintrust to vote on our contenders. Some of the folks involved have worked in retail, slinging clothes to the masses; others have toiled for small-batch menswear labels; all spend way too much time thinking about what hangs in their closets.

We lean on that collective experience to guide our search, culling a mix of household names, indie favorites, and the artisanal imprints on the bleeding-edge of the genre. Then we narrow down the assortment to the picks that scored the highest across quality, fit, and price.

Across the majority of our buying guides, our team boasts firsthand experience with the bulk of our selects, but a handful are totally new to us. So after several months of intense debate, we tally the votes, collate the anecdotal evidence, and emerge with a list of what we believe to be the absolute best of the category right now, from the tried-and-true stalwarts to the modern disruptors, the affordable beaters to the wildly expensive (but wildly worth-it) designer riffs.

Whatever your preferences, whatever your style, there's bound to be a superlative version on this list for you. (Read more about GQ's testing process here.)

Production Credits
Photographs by Bowen Fernie and Natalie Piserchio
Styled by Tyler Austin
Grooming by Laramie using RéVive and Oribe