What we ordered
Our parcel contained one pair of Palm Angels Capri Shorts, SKU 7720603668, in the Cool K344 Blue-Black colourway. The reference price on the listing is $3.73 USD against a stated original of $4.40 USD, before agent service fees and international shipping, and the item is listed as in stock. The seller describes a loose, straight-leg five-point short with a mid-rise elastic waist, a drawstring closure and an allover illustrated face motif printed over a solid base, in a thin polyester with a wrinkle-free finish. Sizes run M to 5XL.
Material and construction
The shell is 100% polyester, clearly the lightest tier of short in our shelf — no fleece backing, no lining, and a dry, slightly papery hand that softens after the first wash. The finish is genuinely wrinkle-resistant: the pair came out of a folded shelf position with only faint fold lines that dropped out on the hanger.
Inside, the side seams are single-needle and the raw edges are overlocked, which is normal at this level. The print is applied across the centre front and back seams, and on our pair the illustrated face motif lined up across those joins without visible misregistration. There are two side-seam pockets; our sample has no back pocket and no side stripes.
If print alignment matters to you, ask your agent for a close-up of the centre seam and the leg hem before the parcel ships.
Flat measurements and fit
We laid our size L sample flat and measured at three points along the leg before comparing against the size information on the listing. The listing does not publish a flat measurement chart, so the figures below are our own record and the basis on which we judge the cut.
| Measurement (size L sample) | Flat figure | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Waist, relaxed | 37 cm | Elastic band, no fabric stretch beyond the band |
| Waist, extended | 44 cm | Recovers fully when released |
| Outseam | 47 cm | Includes the mid-rise waistband |
| Inseam | 20 cm | Five-point length, sits above the knee |
| Leg opening | 30 cm | Straight, no taper |
The result is a true loose cut. Palm Angels sizing guidance describes the house silhouette as deliberately skatewear-loose, with your usual waist size giving the signature baggy shape and one size down landing closer to fitted. Our sample supports that reading, although community reports on Palm Angels shorts split on leg length — some buyers say their normal letter size fits perfectly, others find the legs run long even in a short cut. Because the material has no stretch, the drawstring does all the work at the waist, so a flat waist and outseam measurement from your agent is more useful than the letter on the label.
The colourway question
This is the one point in the listing we would not ignore. The product title says black shorts, while the colour field offers Cool K344 Yellow and Cool K344 Blue-Black — there is no plain black option listed. Our pair is the blue-black variant: in daylight it reads as a deep navy-black, and under indoor lighting it looks close to black, which is probably where the title comes from. If you specifically want a neutral black short, ask the agent to photograph the variant before shipping rather than assuming from the listing copy.
Two washes and three wear sessions
The pair went through two 30 °C washes and a second fitting afterwards, plus three wear sessions of two hours or more, split between indoor wear and a walk outside. Waist measurement moved by less than half a centimetre, the print showed no visible fade or cracking, and the wrinkle-free finish still held after a day folded on the shelf. Comfort was uneventful in the good sense: light, airy, nothing pulling at the waistband, no seam rub on the inner thigh over the outdoor sessions.
Palm Angels care guidance for printed pieces is hand washing at low temperature and ironing inside out to slow motif fading. Our machine cycle at 30 °C caused no harm, but hand washing remains the safer long-term habit for a printed short.
Where the value sits
The listing price is very low, and at that number the sensible frame is not "brand-quality for less" but "cheap summer short that behaves". Two things keep us measured. First, brand-level Palm Angels customer reviews sit around 1.4 / 5 on Trustpilot, with complaints about quality for the price and unresponsive support — a reminder that the retail badge is not a durability guarantee at any price point. Second, community QC threads on budget Palm Angels shorts regularly flag stripe and logo placement relative to the pocket, and question colour tone against retail. This style has no side stripes, so the placement risk is narrower here, but the colour-tone caveat applies.
Against that, the arithmetic is hard to argue with. Add agent fees and international freight and the delivered cost still lands well below mainstream retail for a printed short, and for a warm-weather item worn a few months a year that is a defensible buy. What we would not do is order a size up or down on guesswork, or treat the word "black" in the title as a specification.