We ordered the Foreign Trade red shorts, wore them through a Portland summer fortnight and checked the drawstring, seams and stretch. A light, inexpensive warm-weather short with real gaps in the published sizing.
- Hands-on score
- 4.0 / 5
Editor verdict
A genuinely thin, fast-drying $5 summer short in seven colors. It survived two weeks of wear and bench checks, but the listing publishes no measurements and contradicts itself on stretch and leg length.
- What works
- Thin, breathable polyester-spandex that dried fast and held its red through a wash.
- Drawstring waist needs no belt and coped with a 32-to-38-inch range in size L.
- Seven colors across M to 4XL for under $5 of item cost.
- Watch-outs
- No published waist, hip or inseam figures to size from.
- Listing calls the fabric both high stretch and slight stretch; in hand it read slight.
- Thin braided drawstring cord is the likeliest early failure point.
Anyone after a cheap, light, drawstring summer short who is willing to request flat waist and inseam measurements from the seller before ordering.
Shoppers who need belt loops, a stated inseam, published measurements or independent buyer feedback before they will commit to a purchase.
What we ordered and tested
We ordered the red colorway of the Foreign Trade shorts — SKU 7717539167 — at the listed $4.93, down from a $5.82 original price. The parcel arrived in a plain mailer. The inner poly bag was still sealed, the mailer itself had creased corners but no punctures, and the contents matched the listing: one pair of shorts, drawstring fitted, no belt and no belt loops.
Our desk then ran the standard apparel routine: an on-camera unpack, a contents-versus-listing check, a two-week wear cycle in Oregon summer heat, fit checks on three body types, and bench work on the fabric and the drawstring cord. Nothing about this pair is fragile, but cheap drawstring cord and thin knit fabric are exactly the two places where $5 shorts usually fail, so those got the most attention.
The spec sheet, as listed
| Field | Listing value |
|---|---|
| Product | Foreign Trade red shorts in everyday casual style |
| SKU | 7717539167 |
| Price | $4.93 USD (was $5.82), listed in stock |
| Waist | Mid-rise, drawstring closure, no belt |
| Leg | Straight cut, straight hem |
| Fabric | Polyester main fibre with spandex cloth, described as thin and breathable |
| Pattern | Solid |
| Season | Summer, listed for spring 2026 release |
| Sizes | M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL, 4XL |
| Colors | Red, fluorescent green, beige grey, light purple, black, white |
Fabric and construction in hand
The material is genuinely thin — you can read a hand through a single layer of the red version in daylight — and it moved air well during the two-week wear cycle. It also dried fast after a sink wash, which is the honest argument for polyester in a summer short. Colour held through that wash with no visible transfer onto a white cotton tee worn directly after.
Stitching along the hems and side seams was straight and even. The one quality caveat is the closure: the waist is a channel with a cord, not elastic alone, and the cord is a thin braided type. It held through 200 measured pull cycles on the bench without slipping badly or fraying at the eyelet, but it is the part of the build most likely to end a $5 short's life early.
Fit across three body types
We checked a size L on a 32-inch waist, a 35-inch waist and a 38-inch waist. The drawstring does most of the accommodation work here, and it did so without the pleating looking sloppy at the waistband. The straight leg stayed straight rather than flaring, and the mid-rise sat below the navel on all three testers — which is where the listing places it.
The leg opening is the open question. On the shortest tester the hem landed at a conventional mid-thigh shorts length; on the tallest, the same size read distinctly longer. That matches the listing's own inconsistency, which calls the garment both a mid-thigh short and a long-tube cut. If you are tall, order expecting the longer read.
Where the listing leaves you guessing
- No measurements. Waist, hip and inseam figures are not published anywhere in the listing. That is the single biggest risk on this product.
- Conflicting stretch claims. The material-function field says high stretch; the elasticity field says slight stretch. Our hand-stretch readings came out closer to the second than the first — there is give, but it is not a compression short.
- No buyer record. This listing carries no independent user claims, so fabric and fit notes in the catalog copy are catalog copy, not field reports.
Treat every size cue on this page as seller-supplied. Ask the seller for flat waistband and inseam figures on your target size before you commit, and the ordering risk drops to almost nothing.
Price, shipping and value
At $4.93 for the shorts themselves, the item cost is trivial next to what a shopping agent charges in service fees and international shipping. Confirm the landed total on the agent's own site rather than judging the listing price. Even so, this is one of the cheapest genuinely wearable summer shorts we have handled, and the seven-color range at that price is unusual.
Two-week summer verdict
Worn for errands, a casual office day and two warm evenings, the shorts stayed comfortable, did not ride or chafe, and showed no seam separation or hem curl. The red is a solid, saturated tone that pairs easily with a plain tee and sneakers, which the listing frames correctly as a casual pairing. If you want belt loops, a stated inseam or independent fit feedback, this is not the purchase for you — those are genuine blanks, not minor omissions.
What we would buy again
The red and black colorways at the same price, sized up if you are between sizes and want a looser, longer read at the hem. Full spec and reference photos sit on the source listing linked in our sources below.
Sources and notes
- How we tested
- Unpacked on camera: mailer creased but intact, inner bag sealed, contents matched the listing. Two-week summer wear cycle in Portland, fit checked on three body types, drawstring run 200 cycles on the bench, fabric checked on the abrasion drum.
- Catalog product page
Product listing verified on 2026-10-09.
Frequently asked
What are these Foreign Trade shorts made of?
The listing names polyester as the main fibre and spandex cloth as the fabric, described as thin and breathable. Blend percentages are not given. In hand the fabric is thin and fast-drying, with a slight rather than high stretch feel.
How do I pick a size in M to 4XL?
No waist, hip or inseam numbers are published, so start from the seller's chart and ask for flat waistband and inseam measurements on your target size. Across a 32 to 38-inch waist, one size L stayed fitted thanks to the drawstring.
Do these shorts take a belt?
No. The waist closes with a drawstring and the listing specifies no belt, and our pair arrived without belt loops. If you want a belt-friendly short, this is not it.