Brown & Dotted: Madewell Emmett Patch Pocket Shorts Review

I’m a sucker for dots. Smalls dots, big dots, perfect dots, smudgy dots – I love them all. So when I saw these rust brown Madewell Emmett Patch Pocket Shorts with white dots on Nordstrom, I was immediately smitten.

I’ve never purchased anything from Madewell, but was immediately drawn in by their aesthetic. On their site, they have a petite section, but it seems rather limited, so I was open to trying their regular sizing for my first purchase.

For reference, I’m 4’11”, and wear a size 23 or 24 waist, depending on the item. I ordered the Emmett shorts in size 23.

According to the description on Nordstrom’s site, these shorts are intended to be high-waisted. On the model, it seems to hit at her lower waist, not her high waist. On me, even a size 23 sits on my hip.

I think these shorts are best when they sit at the high waist, like the description says. When I hoist the shorts up to my high waist and pinch the back, the fabric doesn’t bunch at the crotch and the overall silhouette is much more flattering.

Side by side, the difference is much more noticeable. The pictures on the left side are where the shorts naturally sit on me, and in the pictures to the right, I’m pinching off the waist to where I’d like it to be.

I really love the color and pattern on these shorts, so I plan to keep them shorts and have the waist taken in. In order for the shorts to sit where I want them to, on my high waist, I would need to take in this big of a waist gap: