At $98, this is the kind of short that makes you wonder why you spent more money elsewhere. Taylor Stitch's Pleated Short won't announce itself, which is the point.
The Verdict
A well-built, quietly considered summer short at a fair price. The single pleat does real work for fit, and the 9-oz. twill is heavy enough to hold its shape without cooking your legs. Worth the money.
The Make
The fabric is 100% organic cotton twill at 9 oz., garment dyed and washed before it ships. That process matters: the color has already settled, the hand is already soft, and the short won't spend its first season fighting you. The khaki reads closer to field green than sand, which gives it more range than a standard chino short.
Construction is considered throughout. A single pleat at the front, slash pockets, two back welt pockets with button-flap closures, and a button fly with a double-button waistband closure. The bound fly and outseam are finishing touches you notice when you look, but not before. The pocket bags are organic cotton herringbone, a small detail that most brands skip entirely at this price. Made in Vietnam.
At $98, the construction holds up to scrutiny. Taylor Stitch isn't cutting corners to hit this number; they're cutting overproduction instead, using their Workshop pre-order model to keep inventory lean.
The Fit
Regular cut, true to size across a 28-40 waist range. The pleat gives enough room through the thigh that this works on most builds without reading baggy from behind. The rise is mid, high enough to work with a tucked shirt. Nothing architectural, nothing fitted in a way that dates the short in two seasons. Wash cold, tumble dry low, and it comes back the same shape it left.
The Context
The Pleated Short sits in a specific category: not a camp short, not a performance short, not a resort short. It's a town short, the thing you wear to a Saturday lunch or a barbecue where you don't want to think too hard about what you put on. At $98, the closest competition is Outerknown's Seventyseven Short (similar price, similar organic cotton credentials, no pleat) and Corridor's pleated offerings, which are better constructed but $50 more. Taylor Stitch wins on price-to-construction ratio. The Workshop discount brings it lower still, if you're willing to wait.
The Personal Note
I haven't owned this one. The scores here are based on research and fabric specs rather than a year in the rotation. That said, a 9-oz. garment-dyed twill with a single pleat and honest construction at $98 is not a product I'd tell you to avoid. The founder score of 2 out of 10 on loudness is the most useful data point: if you want something nobody will notice, in the best possible way, this is it.
