Ask the Editor: Vol. VI, No. Eleven

I’m sicker today than I’ve been all week. So I’m grumpy. Super grumpy. Like, “Why are you even in here, don’t you have somewhere else to be, Kyle?” grumpy.

So let’s mail bag.

Hi. It’s shorts season again. I don’t like shorts and I don’t want to wear them but I have a kid and I need them and I need them to look good on a body that has had two sets of twins. Yes. Twins. Can you just pick out two to three pairs of shorts that I can just buy and put in my closet? I don’t mean to turn you into my personal shopper but maybe other women who read CHS can relate.

Sincerely, Cel

I got you, girl.

For my own shorts needs, I always want a 5″ inseam. 4″ is fine if you really like the shorts, but I prefer five. I don’t want 7″ because I have shorter legs than torso and it makes me look shorter and stockier.

My favorite pairs are as follows: 1) Spanx shorts (runs to 3X), 2) J.Crew Factory Chambray Shorts, and 3) Madewell’s mid-length jean shorts.

If you need lounging shorts, I wear Varley’s Atrium short. If you need workout shorts, I wear North Face’s Aphrodite short, which is the best short ever made, ever. And I am test running these smooth-front G4Free shorts that look like nicer, twill shorts, but feel like a workout short.

Good luck to you. Let me know if you need anything else. Two sets of twins. Wow.

DM: What as the name of the foundation you said felt like wearing nothing on your face?

Chantecaille’s Future Skin. It’s $95 a jar, and it’s in the most useless, spillable packaging ever, so I do not recommend this lightly. But I adore it. For summer, however, when I do not go to the office every day, I am wearing the No Makeup foundation, which is as close as you can get for about half the price.

Abra, Can you help me find a bra? I see so many “new” companies being promoted, but I don’t know if they’re any good. I prefer not to wear an underwire every day, but I need support. I know my size but I need some guidance on where to start.

For context, I’ve been wearing sports bras because they’re just easier. So there’s that. Tracy

If you gravitated to sports bras, let me introduce you to Harper Wilde. They sent me a PR bra (aka free bra) back in October or November and I loved it enough to buy two more for weekend and after work bras. In the snugger fit category, I like the Bliss bralette. For a bralette that looks more like a bra, try their wireless t-shirt bra. They’re also having a big sale this weekend.

If you want something very freewheeling, the Eby Weightless Sheer Bralette is one I reach for when I don’t want to wear a bra at all, but I’m 43 so that’s not an option. I have both purchased and been gifted this bra, FWIW. But the thing I buy from them that I really love is the high waist underwear. Big sale at EBY this weekend too.

Beyond that, if you want an underwire, I think the best bra on the market, and I buy a new one every six months as they stretch out (I have three and rotate out the oldest one), is the Natori feathers bra.

DM: What are you doing for work right now?

I left my law firm last fall. My firm was incredible, and I still have regrets, but I am happily working as a counsel for the Washington State Legislature. It’s weird being back in policy, but also easy.

{this post contains affiliate links that may generate commission for the author; this blog is an Eby partner, meaning they send me free items 2-3 times a year, but I buy things as well}