Foreign Trade Black Athletic Shorts Review: Five-Point Cut, Polyester, Tested

We ordered the Foreign Trade black athletic shorts in sport-casual style at retail and logged the order date, dispatch date and arrival condition before the packaging was opened. The pair that arrived matches the listing photographs: a black, mid-thigh short with script lettering across the front and a small patch detail low on each leg. The listing carries SKU 7720570468 at $7.46, reduced from $8.51, and shows as in stock.

This is a factory-source summer short, and the listing describes it rather than documents it. Everything below separates what we could measure on the pair in our Portland workroom from what the listing still leaves open.

Fabric and construction

The listing names polyester (polyester fibre) as the main fabric and notes slight stretch. On the pair we received, the hand feel is smooth and light with a faint mechanical give across the leg rather than a woven stretch. It reads as a warm-weather short, not a performance piece.

• Main fabric listed as polyester, with slight stretch noted.
• Straight-leg shape with a drawstring waist and elastic casing.
• Script lettering across the front plus small patch details on the lower legs.
• Four colourways listed: white, black, orange and green.
• Sizes listed as M, L, XL, 2XL and 3XL.

Seam and hardware inspection

We inspected both leg seams, the crotch seam and the waistband casing under a light box before washing. Stitching runs straight and even on our pair, with no loose thread tails and no splits at the crotch or side seams during any part of testing. The drawstring is a flat cord threaded through the casing; the aglet ends are simple and the cord grips well enough to hold a double knot through wear and laundering. Nothing on this pair required a reorder during testing.

The five-point cut and how it wears

Five-point shorts end above the knee, and this pair sits squarely in that mid-thigh range rather than skimming the knee. Combined with the straight leg, the shape stays loose through the thigh and does not taper at the opening, which is what makes the short work as an everyday piece rather than sportswear. The waistband sits flat under a T-shirt, and the leg opening is wide enough that it does not ride up when you sit.

We measured the leg opening flat and stretched to confirm the listed slight stretch is real but modest. Styling is straightforward: a plain T-shirt and sneakers in warm weather, or a hoodie over the top for a layered street-casual look. The black colourway photographs well and hides the script lettering more than the white version likely would.

Five wash cycles at 30 degrees

Every garment that comes through our workroom runs five wash cycles at 30 degrees, with colour shift, shrinkage and print edge lift recorded after each one. Results for this pair:

The print edge lift is the one wear note worth flagging. It stayed subtle on our pair and did not progress into flaking or peeling, but printed detailing on polyester is the first thing to show age, so treat the lettering as the short's weakest surface rather than its selling point.

The cut, the seams and the wash behaviour held up. The measurements we could not get out of the listing are the real obstacle to ordering confidently.

Sizing, colours and ordering

The listing publishes no waist, hip or inseam figures for any size in the M–3XL run. That is the biggest practical gap here. A straight mid-thigh short with slight stretch will behave differently across that size range, and there is nothing on the page to compare against a pair you already own.

1. Message the seller for flat waist, hip and inseam measurements in the size you intend to buy.
2. Compare those numbers with a pair of shorts you already wear and trust.
3. Confirm your colour choice directly, since the title names black while the listing shows four options.

The listing is also branded inconsistently: the storefront is Foreign Trade, while the spec block carries a separate factory brand name and an earlier season reference alongside the 2025 summer line. That is normal for factory-source listings but worth knowing if a specific version is what you are after.

What the listing still does not tell you

There are no independent buyer claims attached to this listing, so there is no outside record of fit, fabric feel or long-term wear to weigh against our own. Our findings apply to the black pair we ordered and washed. The white, orange and green options were not part of this test, and the listing gives no separate measurements for them. Anyone who needs documented performance or durability before spending money is better served by a short with published specs; the price here is low enough that the risk is small, but it is still a risk.