The problem with high-waisted shorts

 Guys. This has been bothering me for weeks.

I mentioned that I was going to stop shopping at Target because they've just really let me down this summer. To start with backtracking to summer 2019, I feel like they've really dropped the ball with the boxy, baggy tees. Sure, shorter/cropped tees may be in but there's something about it that doesn't feel right if you're not a teenager. Thoughts?

So I've depended on my own collection of shorts, carefully curated from high-end retailers like Old Navy over the years, to make the t-shirts and tanks look flattering, usually by half-tucking them. I half-tuck just about everything, even on my kid.

Just for context: this is what I look like in a pair of normal, well-fitting shorts. They are linen from Old Navy last year. 

This year, I tried to go with the trend of soft, elastic, high-waisted shorts. I got a pair of Universal Thread from Target without trying them on and they were too big. I had guessed and gotten a small. I went back and got an extra-small and they were still pretty loose, but whatever. I tried to make them work a few times and they were comfortable but I never felt like they looked good on me. 

These are the black shorts:

Oof, right? They're just not awesome. Like whatever the opposite of Spanx would be..that's these shorts. 

Scott said I was being ridiculous but if I pulled them up too high, he said they looked silly. If I pulled them down to my lower waist, the crotch sagged a lot. 

Regardless, I wore them. If I was getting dressed, I was only going to Walmart most days here in Kansas, and this is not the summer for buttons and snaps or hard clothing (I think that's a Pandemic RuleTM). 

I stopped at Target last month and grabbed the same Universal Thread shorts in denim/chambray. Variety and all, right?

I don't have a good picture because I literally cannot take a good picture in these shorts. I've tried. They don't work. 

I got them home, put them on and...they were too small. The black ones were still too big, the blue ones were too small. They are the same size. I was so confused. And frustrated. And by this point, I felt like I had wasted $30+ on shorts. I love shorts. I love shorts that fit well. Me trying out a trend didn't pan out this year. 

This is the difference in the shorts, when they are the same brand, almost the same exact style/material, the same size, and from the same rack. 

So anyway...

Maybe it's Target? Thoughts on high-waisted shorts? What am I doing wrong? I see other people in these (online, not IRL of course) and they look fabulous and comfortable.