We ordered the Foreign Trade red shorts through our shopping agent in two sizes, M and 2XL, and paid $4.93 against a listed original of $5.82. The item ID we paid against was 7717539167, and the parcel arrived as a single flat-packed pair in each size. What follows is the bench work: what we could measure, what the listing left blank, and where the two disagree.
The short is described as a straight-leg, mid-rise cut in a solid red polyester and spandex blend with a drawstring closure and side pockets. That description held up in the hand. The measurement section did not, because there is no measurement section — the listing offers sizes M through 4XL and no numeric chart at all.
The size chart had no numbers, so we built one
Priya's routine is to tape every garment flat and compare each figure with the seller's chart. With no chart to compare against, the tape became the record instead. Both pairs went on the bench, unwashed and unrested, with the drawcord slackened and the waistband laid flat without stretching.
| Bench measurement (flat) | M | 2XL |
|---|---|---|
| Waistband, relaxed | 72 cm | 84 cm |
| Waistband, drawn to comfort | 84 cm | 97 cm |
| Front rise | 27 cm | 31 cm |
| Inseam | 15 cm | 16 cm |
| Leg opening, across | 28 cm | 31 cm |
| Weight, single pair | 118 g | 134 g |
| Stitch density, side seam / hem | 12 / 10 per inch | 12 / 10 per inch |
The 15 cm inseam settles one of the listing's two arguments with itself. The catalogue calls the cut both a five-quarter short and a "long-tube" trouser leg; in the hand it is a mid-thigh short with a straight, tube-like leg line — the tube refers to the silhouette, not to length. Anyone reading "long-tube" as a longer short should expect roughly a hand's width above the knee.
Stitch density at the two seams that carry the load
We counted at the side seam and the hem on both pairs. Twelve stitches per inch at the side seam is respectable for a garment at this price and consistent across the two sizes; ten at the hem is thinner but even, with no skipped stitches and no loose thread tails inside the leg. The pocket mouths are single-needle and carry no bar tack, which is the first place we would expect wear on a short that gets sat on and stuffed with a phone. The drawstring channel is a single row of stitching with the cord exiting at the centre front — functional, and the cord ends are heat-sealed rather than knotted.
The pattern grades cleanly between M and 2XL on rise and leg opening, but the waistband is where the money goes: 12 cm of relaxed difference across four sizes is a generous jump, and the drawcord is doing real work rather than decoration.
High stretch or slight stretch — the bench picked one
The listing's material-function field says high stretch; its elasticity field says slight stretch. Measuring the relaxed waistband against a comfortably drawn waistband gave us roughly 16 to 17 percent of give in the M and about 15 percent in the 2XL. That is moderate stretch, not high-stretch activewear, and it is plenty for a drawstring casual short. Read the "slight" field as the more honest of the two, and do not plan on these behaving like compression shorts.
One wash at the label temperature
Both pairs went through a single cycle at the temperature on the care label with no fabric softener, then back on the bench. Length loss was inside the noise of our own taping, roughly half a centimetre at the inseam, and the hem kept its line. The red released a faint amount of dye into the water on the first rinse — enough to justify washing it apart from pale items once, not enough to read as a fault. The drawcord retained its shape and the waistband did not twist.
What the bench could not settle
Three things stayed open. The blend ratio is not stated anywhere, only that polyester is the main fibre and spandex cloth is the fabric name, so we cannot tell you how much spandex is in the mix. There is no buyer record attached to the listing, so nothing here can be cross-checked against other people's fit reports. And the colour field names six options — red, fluorescent green, beige grey, light purple, black and white — while the surrounding copy implies a wider palette, so treat the option list, not the prose, as the inventory.
How we would buy it
Order your usual size and let the drawcord do the fine adjustment, then send the seller a flat waistband and inseam request before paying, because nothing in the listing will tell you either figure. If you need belt loops, a stated inseam or a percentage composition, this is not the pair; if you want a light, cheap, plainly red summer short that survives a wash, the bench numbers support it.