A brand built on dense cotton weaves and brushed flannels making a 100% TENCEL lyocell short is a deliberate left turn. It's worth knowing whether that turn goes anywhere useful.
The Verdict
At $133, the Dogtown Shorts are a genuinely considered travel short, cut simply, made in Portugal, and built around a fabric that earns its keep in warm weather. The construction is not flashy. Neither is the point.
The Make
The fabric is 100% TENCEL Lyocell, which means no cotton, no linen, no blend. Lyocell has a silky hand and a natural drape that sits closer to a viscose than a twill, and on a warm day that distinction matters. It breathes without billowing, holds its shape through a transatlantic flight, and recovers quickly from a bag. The black colorway will show less of the fabric's softness than a tan or olive would, but the drape is still visible in the way the leg falls.
Construction is straightforward: elasticated waistband with a drawstring, two side pockets, one back pocket. No pleats, no cargo pockets, no design elements trying to justify the price. Made in Portugal, in the same Guimarães region where the family has been producing fabric since 1935. At this price point, that provenance is not nothing.
Care is hand wash, which is the one honest inconvenience here. Lyocell can lose its structure in a machine on a hot cycle. Worth knowing before you pack three pairs for a two-week trip.
The Fit
Regular cut, runs true to size across a generous XS-XXL range. The fit reads as straight through the leg without being relaxed to the point of shapelessness. On a standard build, it sits cleanly. The elasticated waistband means fit adjustments are built in, which matters if you're buying online without the option to try.
The Context
The Dogtown Shorts sit in a crowded bracket: $100-$160 for a simple warm-weather short with a clean profile. Alternatives include linen options from Uniqlo at a fraction of the price or Cotton-linen blends from folk brands like Corridor. What the Dogtown offers that most don't is a TENCEL construction that genuinely packs well, combined with honest provenance. If the choice is between a linen short that wrinkles in the car and this, the Dogtown wins on travel utility alone. The versatility score here is an 8 out of 10, and it's earned: these wear as well with a white button-down as with a plain tee.
The Personal Note
I haven't owned these. The rating data is research-based, not firsthand. What I can say is that Portuguese Flannel's make quality score of 9 out of 10 reflects a brand that consistently delivers at the construction level, and the travel-friendliness score of 10 reflects something real about TENCEL as a fabric choice. The Dogtown Shorts read as a practical, unfussy summer short from a brand that usually makes things for cooler weather. That's a narrow brief, and it seems to land.
