What is the Point of Crops/capris Really?

Why don’t were just call these pointless pants, that’s how I feel about it if I’m being honest. Do I own some? Yes. Do I wear them? Sometimes, but not all that often. Usually I would do a point/counterpoint post about a topic like this but there is no point really! Obviously this is a super duper important topic that you just can’t miss. I know a lot of you are going to be upset about this hot topic but I’m here to argue that capris or crops as their sometimes known have literally no point ever. 

In all seriousness I thought it was time for a frivolous post to lighten the mood but I actually don’t see the specific point of these short pants. To show you just how seriously I take this all of the pictures in this post are of me wearing the very piece of kit I’m raging against. If you’re wondering (I was so I counted) I have three pairs two of which were gifts. The last pair was brand name, brand new, super cheap and super lightweight at the thrift store. So I bought them! Are they your favorite or do you also consider them pointless pants? Maybe if I think of something nice to say we’ll do that too, but don’t count on it! PS: you’ve been warned there are an obnoxious number of exclamation points in this post!

When is your bottom leg warm but your top leg too cold?

This is in fact the crux of the issue with these pants. What exactly are the conditions you are running in where your top leg is too cold for shorts but your bottom calf is fiery hot? Never that’s when! If anything the most extreme regions of your extremities are the coldest so why leave them uncovered? Winter pants often have an extra layer where crops don’t exist just for this reason. Why not just wear pants or shorts? We don’t need this middle ground! They skip the warmth and protection of proper pants and the free and easy range of motion of shorts. Why do we even make these then? In case you’re wondering I do feel the same way about t-shirts and don’t even get me started on 7/8 pants!

They have an unflattering cut

If you read the last section and thought it must be all about style then well you are wrong and this is why. While the length of capris can vary from knee length to mid calf none of the lengths are a flattering option. Classically a flattering length for a garment to stop is at your smallest point or at least where your body is thinning out rather than getting thicker. Your calf is never the thinnest part of your leg and it shouldn’t be! That’s also why very tight, very short shorts never look the greatest either. No matter what length of capris you’re going for, like skirts calf length is really never the best. Since they are tight they don’t hide any flaws but all tight pants are like that too.

The next issue with how great capris look is the very fact that they are not full length. When dressing to flatter your body long lines are the way to go. Crops are not that. Unless they are exactly flesh colored then you are creating this weird skin square when you could be all long lean pants. Shorts admittedly also don’t give you that long line but at that point it’s just too hot right? I do take pictures of most workouts for the gram and you know what it is WAY harder to find a super flattering picture when wearing capris. Really the way you look doesn’t matter to anyone as long as it doesn’t matter to you but with no other clear advantages to crops why bother?

Worst tan lines ever!

Tan lines really shouldn’t happen because a tan is really just a more aesthetic version of skin damage. You should be properly protecting your self from the sun got it? That said they do tend to happen to runners. Hours in the sun on long runs and sweating off your sunscreen does happen. Let’s just accept that tan lines are a given and move on then. Obviously pants lead to no tan lines and that’s ideal but in the summer hyperthermia and unconsciousness isn’t. Either way you’ll be getting that ankle tan that is oh so cute, so that’s a given. Hot tip opt for flip flops when you can otherwise to minimize that ankle tan. But in the summer there will be a second line that’s harder to deal with from either shorts or capris. Obviously the tan line that comes from shorts is preferred over the one you get from capris. The shorts tan line only makes you look like a tool in bathings suits while the one you get from capris makes you look silly later in shorts, skirts AND bathing suits! Who wants that? So just go for shorts (or a running skirt), the shorter the better!

You still have to shave

You don’t have to shave anything, ever if you don’t want to. But if you are a dedicated shaver then you still gotta do it for the crops! I shave all the bits that ladies usually do but no matter how unkempt an area is at the time I’m gonna do what I want and wear what I want regardless of the hair situation. Truthfully though there are a few other arguments about exposing that area when you could keep it covered by pants. If you do self tanner that’s a thing, ditto for exfoliation and moisturizing. I tape my knee and even though it’s a struggle to get pants over the tape without rolling it once there they hold the tape in place. Not true of capris though, the bottom of the tape still has an opportunity to lift. Finally you gotta wear matching socks if you wear capris not true if you opt for pants. So no votes for me here either!

While there isn’t really anything wrong with cropped pants for workouts there’s not really anything right with them either. When I do wear them, even for races, they do perform fine. That’s the biggest issue for me there just isn’t a lot of days where it’s too warm for pants and too cool for shorts in my world. As I was going back through pictures I only wear capris for about 4 runs each spring and fall and that’s it. Pretty soon into the summer it’s all shorts and in the fall it’s all pants. A pair of longer shorts or thinner pants basically does the same thing. While this post is largely a joke about something frivolous you might want to think again about pouring a lot of cash into cropped pants for your fitness gear collection. That is especially true if you’re just starting out or have a really limited budget. You might not get the wear out of them you were expecting. What are your feelings on short pants? Yeah or Nay? Let us know in the comments below!