What is How To Make a Cute Dress Out of Shorts?

It's a 2013 photo fad where people turn gym shorts into a one-shoulder dress by putting both legs through one leg hole and pulling the waistband up to the shoulder[4].

Where did How To Make a Cute Dress Out of Shorts come from?

Tumblr user chronicallylate posted the original photo tutorial on September 6, 2013[4]. It then spread to Reddit and mainstream media within days[1].

What does How To Make a Cute Dress Out of Shorts mean?

The joke is that a simple pair of athletic shorts can be repurposed into a surprisingly convincing dress. Much of the humor came from men enthusiastically participating in the trend[4].

How do you use the shorts dress meme?

Put both legs in one leg hole of oversized gym shorts, pull up to the shoulder, take a selfie, and post it online[3].

Is How To Make a Cute Dress Out of Shorts still popular?

No. The trend peaked in September 2013 and largely died out within weeks, though the images still circulate on Tumblr[2].

Who started the shorts dress trend?

Tumblr user chronicallylate created the original three-step photo tutorial on September 6, 2013[4].

Did the shorts dress trend spawn any spinoffs?

Yes. On September 18, 2013, Redditor SarahPanda posted a turtleneck dress variation that generated over 3,500 comments on r/pics[4].

Why did men participate in the shorts dress trend?

The trend was presented as a female fashion hack, which made it inherently funny when men adopted it. Male Tumblr users like glitterweave were among the first to join in, and Reddit users followed[5].

How To Make A Cute Dress Out Of Shorts

2013Photo faddead

Also known as: Shorts Dress · Gym Shorts Dress

How To Make A Cute Dress Out Of Shorts is a 2013 photo fad where people pull both legs through one leg hole of gym shorts to create a one-shoulder dress, originating on Tumblr before becoming a viral Reddit phenomenon.

How To Make a Cute Dress Out of Shorts is a 2013 photo fad where people put both legs through one leg hole of a pair of gym shorts and pull them up to create a makeshift one-shoulder dress. The trend started on Tumblr in September 2013 and quickly jumped to Reddit, where it blew up with thousands of participants, many of them men gleefully modeling their new "dresses."

photo fad memes tumblr memes early 2010s memes gender stereotype memes fashion aesthetic memes

Overview

The concept is dead simple: take a pair of oversized gym shorts, stick both legs into one leg hole, pull the waistband up over one shoulder, and you've got yourself a one-sleeved dress. The resulting garment looks surprisingly like a form-fitting minidress, which is exactly what made it funny. The humor came largely from male participants who co-opted what was originally framed as a female fashion hack, posing in their new outfits with exaggerated model confidence4.

The fad drew comparisons to the earlier "How To Wear a Men's Shirt" trend, which similarly played with gendered clothing expectations4.

On September 6, 2013, Tumblr user chronicallylate posted a photo set titled "How To Make a Cute Dress Out of Shorts"4. The post laid out the process in three steps: put on shorts, put both legs in one leg hole, pull up and onto your shoulder3. Tumblr's staff picked it up for the site's curated LOL tag, and the post racked up more than 343,000 notes within its first 72 hours4.

Origin & Background

Platform

Tumblr (original post), Reddit (viral spread)

Key People

chronicallylate

Date

2013

On September 6, 2013, Tumblr user chronicallylate posted a photo set titled "How To Make a Cute Dress Out of Shorts". The post laid out the process in three steps: put on shorts, put both legs in one leg hole, pull up and onto your shoulder. Tumblr's staff picked it up for the site's curated LOL tag, and the post racked up more than 343,000 notes within its first 72 hours.

How It Spread

The post took off fast on Tumblr. Male bloggers including glitterweave and silversora jumped in with their own selfies rocking the shorts dress look. Glitterweave's version was described by other users as "a beautiful Sunset Yellow," and the comments section filled with people marveling at how "fabulous" and well-fitted the dresses actually looked.

On September 8, someone compiled the photos into an Imgur album and posted it to Reddit's r/funny, but it flopped with mostly negative comments. Three hours later, Redditor Jooord reposted the same compilation to r/funny, where it took off immediately, pulling in 43,674 upvotes, 2,425 points, and 1,928 comments in under 24 hours. Male and female Redditors alike started trying the look and posting their results in the comments.

The Daily Dot covered the trend on September 9, noting that "more than two dozen Reddit users were busy transforming oversized gym shorts into form-fitting dresses" while the rest of America watched football and Breaking Bad. BuzzFeed ran their own piece with styling tips, including the pro move of wearing two shorts-dresses at once for a "fantastic looking double sleeve". Gawker also picked up the story the same day.

The humor blog Tastefully Offensive reposted chronicallylate's original images and pulled in over 11,000 notes within 17 hours.

How to Use This Meme

The original instructions are straightforward:

Put on a pair of oversized gym shorts (athletic shorts work best)

Put both legs through one leg hole

Pull the waistband up and over one shoulder

You now have a one-sleeved dress

Cultural Impact

The trend was a brief but memorable moment in 2013 internet culture. It crossed from Tumblr to Reddit to mainstream media outlets within about 48 hours, with the Daily Dot, BuzzFeed, and Gawker all running stories. Reddit user citizenshame captured the spirit of the whole thing perfectly: "I just had to explain to my wife that the reason I ripped my new shorts was because I was trying to turn them into a dress".

Fun Facts

The original Tumblr post hit 343,000 notes in just three days, making it one of the faster-spreading Tumblr posts of 2013.

The first Reddit post of the compiled images flopped. The repost three hours later by a different user exploded, proving that timing and luck matter as much as content.

The trend was partly inspired by an earlier Tumblr post by Sol Solomon.

Derivatives & Variations

Turtleneck Dress:

On September 18, 2013, Redditor SarahPanda posted a step-by-step guide for "making a dress out of a turtleneck" to r/pics[4]. The post generated over 3,500 comments in less than 10 hours and inspired male Redditors to try the turtleneck version too. The Daily Dot dubbed the offshoot trend "Reddit's Fashion Week"[1].

Double Sleeve:

BuzzFeed documented the technique of wearing two shorts-dresses simultaneously to create a double-sleeved look[3].

Frequently Asked Questions

References (7)