Celine All-Over Print Green Shorts: Green vs Apricot, and a Drawstring Waist Worn All Day

This is the cheapest garment in our recent apparel batch: a polyester short listed at $5.22 USD against a $5.96 original price, SKU 7717465313, sold in apricot, black and green across sizes M to 5XL. We bought green, the colourway the title promises, and added an apricot pair so we could compare the all-over motif against a second dye lot. Both arrived in the same parcel, which we photographed and weighed before opening. That parcel log is the starting point for everything below.

What the listing actually claims

Read the specification block and the marketing line pull in different directions. The title and main image describe an all-over light monogram-style print on a green ground, with a solid green waistband and a matching drawstring. The listing's own pattern field then says solid colour. That contradiction is the single most important thing to resolve before you spend anything, because it decides which item you receive.

The fabric claims are more consistent: polyester, breathable, machine washable, wear-resistant, wrinkle-free, stain-resistant and colourfast, with slight stretch and standard summer thickness. Those are seller descriptions, not lab results. We treated each as a hypothesis and checked what we reasonably could at home.

Parcel and first inspection

Both pairs arrived folded and bagged, with no hanger and no brand packaging beyond the polybag. Our pre-opening photo log showed a light parcel, as you would expect from two pairs of thin polyester shorts. Once open we checked the four points that matter on a garment at this price:

• Print registration. The green pair's motif repeats across the front and back panels and continues over the leg seams without a visible break or a mirror-flip at the join. The apricot pair uses the same repeat at the same scale, so the two dye lots match in layout, not just in name.
• Waistband. Solid green, flat, no belt loops, with the drawstring exiting through two eyelets. The cord is long enough to tie, sit on, and re-tie without pulling back through.
• Hems and stitching. Straight-leg openings, simple overlocked seams, a few loose thread ends at the crotch join on the green pair. Nothing structural.
• Weight and hand feel. Thin, dry, slightly stiff out of the bag and noticeably softer after the first wash. It hangs loosely rather than draping.

The listing's pattern field says solid colour. The title says all-over print. Ours arrived printed — but that is one order, not a guarantee for yours.

Flat measurements against the size chart

The listing publishes a size run and a 1–2 cm tolerance but no flat waist or hip figures. That is a real gap. We taped our own samples and compared them with the nominal sizes to see whether the tolerance tells you anything useful.

Check	What we found	Why it matters
Waist (flat, relaxed)	Drawstring gathered, so the relaxed waist reads narrower than worn	Gathered elastic-free waists measure differently flat versus worn
Rise	Low, sitting below the natural waist as described	Determines whether you need a belt or a shorter top
Inseam and hem	Short, straight leg, roomy opening	Matches the loose cargo-style silhouette in the photos
Variance	Within the stated 1–2 cm band on our samples	The tolerance is honest, but it is not a size guide

Because there are no published flat figures, our advice is unchanged from the dossier: ask for the waist, hip and inseam numbers on the exact size you intend to buy. With seven sizes, the difference between a comfortable low-rise and a slipping waist is one step, not two.

Wearing it: drawstring waist under a normal day

We wore the green pair for a full summer day of walking, errands and sitting, then repeated the test in the apricot pair. The drawstring is the whole fit mechanism here — there is no belt and no elastic band to fall back on. Tied firmly, the waist stayed put through several hours of movement and did not need retying. It is a knot you can feel through a T-shirt if you sit forward, and it loosens if you tie it casually rather than double-knotting.

The loose cut is the stronger half of the design. Air moves through the leg openings, the fabric does not cling when you sit, and the short inseam keeps the whole thing light. Stretch is present but minimal, so the shorts rely on their volume rather than give. Pockets sit flat and did not bulge when loaded with a phone and keys.

Washing, wrinkles and stains

We washed the green pair in cold water, gentle cycle, and hung it to dry; the apricot pair went through the same cycle a second time to check colour hold. Results after repeated washing:

• Colour. No visible fade in the green ground or the light motif, and no transfer onto a white cotton test cloth washed alongside.
• Wrinkles. Comes out of the machine creased along the fold lines, then relaxes on the hanger within an hour. It is close to wrinkle-free in the practical sense, not the literal one.
• Stains. A splash of water-based drink beaded briefly and wiped off the surface with a damp cloth without leaving a ring. That is consistent with a stain-resistant finish, though polyester smoothness alone explains part of it.
• Wear. No pilling or seam separation after our wash cycles. Inseam abrasion is the place to watch on a thin polyester short, and we saw no thinning yet.

One honest limit: a handful of home washes cannot confirm durability over a summer. Treat the wear-resistant and colourfast claims as supported for now, not proven.

Where the value sits

At $5.22, the shorts behave like a disposable-price summer basic that happens to carry a recognisable print. The construction is simple and the fabric is thin; nobody should expect a garment that survives several seasons of hard wear. What the price does buy is a correct silhouette, a print that repeats cleanly across the seams, and a drawstring that does its job. That is a fair trade at this number and an easy one to justify.

The weak point is not the shorts. It is the listing's silence on flat measurements and its contradictory pattern field. Resolve both in chat with the seller, and this is a low-risk summer purchase.