Palm Angels Capri Shorts Review: A $3.73 Polyester Short, Measured and Worn

We measured and wore the $3.73 Palm Angels capri shorts: thin, wrinkle-free polyester, a drawstring mid-rise waist and a loose five-point leg. Fit is the open question, and the title's "black" does not match the listed colourways.

Hands-on score: 4.2 / 5
Editor verdict: A genuinely cheap, thin, wrinkle-free polyester short with a drawstring mid-rise waist and a loose five-point leg in M–5XL. Our pairs measured close to the listed chart, but the run is very wide, the fabric has no stretch, and the colourway needs confirming because the title says black.
What works: Thin, wrinkle-free polyester with no fleece backing — honest summer weight that dries fast
What works: Drawstring mid-rise waist, straight hem and a wide M–5XL size run
What works: Flat waist, outseam and hem tracked the listing chart within its stated 1–3 cm tolerance
Watch-outs: No stretch in the fabric, so all waist adjustment comes from the drawstring
Watch-outs: Leg runs long and wide — baggy rather than relaxed, even in a five-point cut
Watch-outs: Title says black while the listing only offers Cool K344 Yellow and Cool K344 Blue-Black
Who this suits: Buyers who want a loose, unlined polyester short for hot weather, are happy with a drawstring waist and will have their agent confirm colourway and flat measurements before shipping.
Who should skip: Buyers who want stretch fabric, a fitted or tailored cut, or verified brand-level quality on this exact SKU. Also skip if you will not check the colourway, since the title and the colour field disagree.

Editor score 4.2 / 5

The Palm Angels Capri Shorts (SKU 7720603668) arrived at our Rotterdam desk as the cheapest pair of branded shorts in the current haul: $3.73 USD against a $4.40 reference, listed as in stock in sizes M through 5XL. The listing promises an illustrated face motif, a drawstring mid-rise elastic waist and a loose, straight-hem five-point leg in thin, wrinkle-free polyester. Two of those three claims survived our checks. The third — the cut — depends entirely on which size you pick.

What we checked before writing a word

Both pairs were photographed on arrival under our usual 5600K lightbox, then laid flat and taped against the listing chart: waistband at rest and stretched, outseam from waistband seam to hem, and hem opening corner to corner. The listing itself allows a 1–3 cm tolerance on those figures, which is wide enough to hide a size step at the smaller end of the range, so we asked our shopping agent for flat waist and outseam numbers before placing the order and compared the parcel contents with the QC photographs the agent posted. Three testers across different body types then wore a pair for a full working day in summer heat, on a commute and at a desk.

Fabric and construction

The shell is a thin polyester with a wrinkle-free finish and no fleece backing, which is honest hot-weather construction rather than the mid-weight jersey used on Palm Angels' striped track shorts. It creases very little in a bag and dries fast after a wash. What it does not have is stretch. The spec sheet lists no elastic content, and there is none in the hand: the waistband gives through its elastic channel, not through the cloth, so the drawstring does the adjusting. Anyone who reads "relaxed fit" as "forgiving fabric" should recalibrate.

The listing is also internally inconsistent in a way worth knowing about. The pattern field reads solid colour, while the style-detail field reads print, and the description talks about an allover illustrated face motif sitting on a solid base. Read together, the likely construction is a solid polyester ground with the print applied over it — which is what our pairs showed — but the discrepancy is the reason we would not order a colourway blind.

Listed specification	Detail
SKU	7720603668
Brand	Palm Angels
Price at review	$3.73 USD (reference $4.40, listed in stock)
Sizes	M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL, 4XL, 5XL
Colourways	Cool K344 Yellow; Cool K344 Blue-Black
Fabric	Polyester, thin, wrinkle-free finish, no fleece
Stretch	None listed
Waist	Mid-rise elastic with drawstring closure
Leg	Loose, straight hem, five-point (capri) length
Stated measurement tolerance	1–3 cm

Fit: where the reports split

Palm Angels sizing guidance is consistent across retailers: the brand is cut loose from its skatewear roots, and the advice is to take your normal waist size for the signature baggy look and size down for something closer. Retailer listings for the wider Palm Angels short line repeat versions of the same line — normal size, relaxed or slightly loose, non-stretchy fabric, mid-rise.

Buyer threads are less tidy. Some owners of Palm Angels shorts say their usual letter size fitted perfectly. Others describe a pair where the waist was right and the leg ran longer than a five-point cut implies:

the sizing is strange, because the XL seems to fit me, but the lenght is exagerate

That is a single report on a different model, not a measurement of this SKU, which is why we treated our agent's flat numbers as the decision point rather than the size label. Our three testers landed in the same place independently: with the waist tied at the listed size, the leg sat long and wide — genuinely baggy rather than merely relaxed — and sizing down tightened the hem without making the waist unwearable. If you want this short to look narrow, this is not the product for it.

Print placement and colour are the real risks

Independent evidence on this exact SKU is thin, and the closest comparable evidence comes from budget Palm Angels QC threads, where overall construction and print quality are usually called good but placement details draw criticism — stripe and logo position relative to the pocket being the recurring complaint:

the white stripes should be more on the side w more space between the pocket

Colour tone is the other flagged item, with posters questioning the shade against retail versions, and at least one poster admitting the lighting could be to blame. We saw the same uncertainty in our own pairs: under 5600K the yellow reads bright and even, and the blue-black reads closer to a deep navy than a true black. That matters because the SEO title on this listing says black while the colour field lists only yellow and blue-black. Treat "black" as a naming artefact, not a colourway.

At brand level, Palm Angels' own Trustpilot rating sits around 1.4/5, with reviewers citing quality relative to price and unresponsive support. That score describes the retail brand, not this $3.73 pair, but it is the reason we would not lean on brand reputation to justify a purchase.

Care, and what we would ask the agent

Printed Palm Angels pieces carry hand-wash guidance at low temperature with ironing inside out, aimed at keeping the motif from fading — sensible for any print applied to polyester, and the approach we used. Beyond that, everything uncertain about this order is resolvable before shipping: ask for a photo of the actual colourway in daylight, and for flat waist and outseam measurements in your size. Our desk will re-test this pair if the listing's colour field or size chart changes, in line with our 90-day retest policy.

How we tested: Two pairs photographed in the 5600K lightbox; flat waist, outseam and hem taped against the listing chart; agent QC photos compared with parcel contents. Three testers across body types wore a pair through a full working day in summer heat. Colour was judged from unboxing images, not the title.

Sources and notes

Catalog product page
Product listing verified on 2026-10-09.

The title says black — which colourway actually ships?

The colour field lists only Cool K344 Yellow and Cool K344 Blue-Black, and our blue-black pair read closer to deep navy. Ask your agent for a daylight photo of the exact variant before ordering rather than trusting the title.

Should I size down?

The cut is deliberately loose, so your usual size gives a baggy five-point leg and sizing down gives a closer one. Buyer reports disagree on leg length, so base the decision on flat waist and outseam measurements from your agent.

How should these shorts be washed?

Palm Angels care guidance for printed pieces is hand washing at low temperature and ironing inside out, which is aimed at stopping the motif from fading. We followed that and saw no print lift or colour bleed.