With the sun (hopefully) still shining, our winter wardrobes have been bundled to the back of the wardrobe ready to make way for some brand spanking new summer numbers, and that, boys and girls, means shorts!

The humble short has been around for centuries, although in the early 1900s they were very much the attire of young school boys who, when they hit puberty, graduated into long trousers and no longer suffered the indignity of having (gasp) their legs on show! Post World War II, adult men began to embrace the free-wheeling nature of the short trouser, until the 1950s when, bored of Bermuda’s and embracing all things fashion and rock ‘n’ roll, the short short was born.

‘History of Costume’ author Rachel Kemper, noted that ‘short shorts left a girls ass hanging out.’ Well we’ve come a long way baby, and summer 2010 has conjured up a smouldering melting pot of all the shorts that have gone before. So if you do want your ass to hang out, or you prefer a high waist and a floaty fabric, this season’s shorts offering has something for you.

With festival season upon us, the style staple that is the denim cut-off cannot go unmentioned, or as the Americans call them, Daisy Dukes. Originally an economical solution to jeans with worn out knees, denim cut-offs are the grand daddy of the short world. Of course, the classic frayed look will always be in style, but this summer denim shorts come in floral patterns, deck chair inspired stripes or, as seen in Topshop, splashed with actual daisies.

If your look is more feminine than just-thrown-on, the high street is packed with shorts masquerading as their breezier friend, the skirt. Known in some circles as ‘skorts’, the often high waisted style is a flirty but modest wave to the shorts trend. Look out for polka dot styles in Urban Outfitters, or paint splatter prints on ASOS. With 2010 being a year when many style rules seem to have been broken (return of the bum-bag anyone?) there’s no need to worry about what to pair your bum huggers with. Make like Whitney Port and team tribal print shorts with an equally stand out, but somewhat mismatched, tee. No matter how long it’s taken you to get ready, you should never look like you’ve tried too hard, and a simple pair of shorts matched with a contrasting top, makes for perfect, lazy chic.

For a more understated look, a plain white vest is a perfect partner for most shorts styles, while a crisp white shirt takes city shorts from weekend break to Monday morning in the office. Come Friday, however, and there are far more frivolous thigh grazers to take you into town. With fringing, sparkles, lace and suede all adorning shorts this summer, there’s no excuse to not try something new. Even leather has hit the catwalk. Models at Chloé were laden with lederhosen, except rather than looking like they were heading off hiking, they looked, dare I say it, sexy. Unfortunately though, we are not all Chloe models and this trend is not for the faint hearted or the sweaty of thigh. Instead, us mere mortals can make do with gorgeous floral cut-offs and comeback kid culottes. We won’t even bother mentioning the return of the cycling short, because, Chloé model or not, that is one shorts trend that should be given short shrift.

Words by Emma Grainger.

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