Foreign Trade Red Shorts Review: A $4.93 Drawstring Summer Short Tested in Two Sizes

Foreign Trade's red shorts are one of the cheapest warm-weather items our desk has put through the Manchester testing room this year: a reference price of $4.93 (down from $5.82, SKU 7717539167) for a mid-rise, straight-leg short with a drawstring closure. We ordered two pairs from the seller's M–4XL range and put them through the same routine we use on every garment.

What we ordered and how we tested it

Our Reviews Editor ordered the red version in two sizes so we could compare how the cut scales rather than trusting a single pair. The parcel was photographed on the bench before it was opened, then weighed. Both pairs, including the seller's polybag and the agent's outer wrapping, came in at 0.41 kg — roughly 0.17 kg per short once packaging was set aside.

Each pair was then measured flat: waistband relaxed and pulled taut, front rise, inseam from crotch seam to hem, and hem opening across. We wore each size for two full days in warm weather, sat, cycled and washed one pair at 30°C. Fit, build, function and value were scored on our five-point scale. Our score: 4.0 / 5 — a good budget short held back mainly by the seller's documentation, not by the garment itself.

Measurements we recorded

The listing publishes no numeric measurements at all, so these figures are ours, taken with a tape measure on the flat garment. Use them as a starting point and still confirm against the seller's own chart, because production runs on low-cost factory stock can drift between batches.

Measurement (flat)	Size M	Size 3XL
Waistband, relaxed	34 cm	45 cm
Waistband, fully stretched	48 cm	60 cm
Front rise	27 cm	32 cm
Inseam	13 cm	15 cm
Hem opening	30 cm	36 cm
Weight per pair	~0.17 kg	~0.19 kg

The size-to-size step is roughly 4–5 cm at the waist and half a centimetre of extra length, which is a shallow grading curve. If you sit between two sizes, the elastic and drawstring give the waistband enough travel that the smaller size is usually the better call.

Fabric, stretch and build

The shell is a thin polyester with a spandex component, and our hands-on reading sits closer to the "high stretch" end of the listing than to the "slight stretch" wording also used on the same page. The weave stretches noticeably across the leg and rebounds cleanly, which is why the straight-leg cut does not feel restrictive.

The catalogue describes the material function as high stretch and the elasticity field as slight stretch — two conflicting labels on one product page. Blend percentages are not published anywhere.

Construction is simple and honest for the price: a single-needle hem, two side-seam pockets deep enough for a phone, and a stitched drawstring channel with no belt loops. We saw no loose threads or skipped seams on either pair, and the drawstring knot held through a full day of walking.

Fit, rise and how the red reads

The short sits at mid-rise with a straight, untapered leg and a straight hem. On our testers the hem landed mid-to-upper thigh — closer to a city short than the "long-tube" cut the listing's style field also mentions. The leg opening stays wide enough that the fabric does not cling in humid weather.

The red is a flat, matte solid rather than a shiny satin finish, and in daylight it reads slightly towards orange-red rather than a deep crimson. That tone pairs easily with a plain T-shirt and sneakers; the fluorescent green and light purple options in the same option list would be considerably louder. The colour list names red, fluorescent green, beige grey, light purple, black and white, though some catalogue copy counts seven colourways — check the option menu rather than the count.

Landed cost and agent handling

At under $5 the item price is a minor part of what you actually pay. We consolidated these shorts with other garments into a single economy-air parcel, where the chargeable figure is the greater of actual and volumetric weight — a light, bulky clothing order can be billed on volume, so ask the agent to compress the box. Our shorts added only a small increment to the shipping bill, which is exactly the case for buying a cheap item like this alongside a bigger haul.

What we could not confirm

Two questions stay open. First, the inseam: the listing labels the short both as a mid-thigh style and as a long-tube cut, and the seller publishes no leg length, so our 13–15 cm measurements are the only numbers on record here. Second, the fabric ratio: polyester is named as the main fibre and spandex cloth as the fabric, but no percentages appear anywhere. If either matters to you, ask before ordering rather than after the parcel lands.