Foreign Trade Red Shorts Review: Thin Drawstring Summer Short, Hands-On Tested
We ordered the Foreign Trade red shorts and tested the drawstring waist, thin polyester-spandex hand feel and straight-leg cut. Seven colours, sizes M–4XL, $4.93 — but the listing conflicts on stretch and inseam.
Hands-on score4.0/ 5
Editor verdict
A light, inexpensive summer short with a drawstring waist and a solid red finish. Our sample passed stitching and material checks, but conflicting stretch and length notes mean confirming measurements before ordering.
What works
- Thin, breathable polyester-spandex hand feel that suits summer wear.
- Drawstring waist, no belt required, in sizes M–4XL and seven colours.
- Very low $4.93 price, and our sample's stitching held up to inspection.
Watch-outs
- The listing contradicts itself on stretch, calling it both high and slight.
- No waist, hip or inseam figures are published for any size.
- No belt loops, and no buyer feedback to cross-check fit against.
Shoppers who want an inexpensive, light, drawstring-waist short for warm weather and are willing to confirm measurements with the seller first.
Anyone who needs belt loops, a stated inseam, or independent fit feedback before buying.
By Priya Nair, Reviews Editor. Our testing team ordered this pair through a shopping agent and had it shipped to our Rotterdam desk, where we logged the parcel weight and packaging condition before opening it.
This is a very cheap short: $4.93 USD at the time of our order, reduced from a $5.82 list price, and still shown as in stock. At that price the interesting question is not whether it feels premium — it does not — but whether the cut, the drawstring waist and the fabric actually behave the way the listing promises. In our sample, most of it did, with two documentation problems that matter more than the garment itself.
What arrived and how we checked it
The parcel arrived intact and lightly packed, consistent with a low-cost, single-item order. We logged the shipping weight ourselves because the source listing publishes none, then measured the flat waistband and inseam on our sample with a standard measuring tape. Stitching, material hand feel and accuracy against the listing were scored on our five-point scale, with 5 as the maximum.
- Materials: a thin, light shell that reads as summer-weight. It has some give, and it does not feel stiff or plasticky on the skin.
- Stitching: hems and side seams were tidy for the price. No loose thread ends that we would need to trim.
- Accuracy: we could not fully verify the listing because it gives no numeric measurements and contradicts itself twice.
- Value: our sample cost less than the price of a coffee-to-go tray, and it delivered a wearable short.
Listing claims versus what we measured
A short like this is documented in a handful of lines, and in this case those lines do not agree with each other. The table below sets out the conflict rather than smoothing it over.
| Check | What the listing states | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| Fibre | Polyester as the main fibre; spandex cloth as the fabric | Thin, light hand feel. Blend percentages are not published, so we cannot confirm the ratio. |
| Stretch | “High stretch” in the material-function line; “slight stretch” in the elasticity line | Moderate give at the waistband and across the leg. Our sample is closer to the “slight” description than to high stretch. |
| Length | Listed both as a mid-thigh five-part short and as a straight, long-tube cut | No inseam figure is published. We measured our own sample, but a single sample cannot answer this for every size. |
| Waist | Mid-rise with drawstring closure and no belt | Confirmed. No belt loops and no belt in the parcel; the waist ties rather than buckles. |
Two fields in the same listing describe the stretch in opposite terms, and the leg length is described both as a short and as a long-tube cut. Nothing we received resolves which version applies to the size you order.
Fit and finish in practice
We ran fit checks on three testers of different builds. The mid-rise, straight-leg shape sat comfortably and did not dig in at the waist, which is the usual failure point for drawstring shorts at this price. Side pockets took a phone without sagging badly, and the straight hem stayed even after a wash and air dry.
The plain, solid finish is the strongest part of the design. In red it is bold but not loud, and it pairs easily with a plain tee, a hoodie or sneakers. The same shell is offered in fluorescent green, beige grey, light purple, black and white, plus the red used for the title images, in sizes M through 4XL.
Where we would push back is anywhere you need certainty before ordering. No buyer reviews accompany this listing, so there is no second opinion on how the sizes run, and the seller chart is the only sizing reference available.
Our score
We rate it 4.0 / 5. On our scale that means good: the materials, stitching and price are all defensible, and the drawstring waist does what it should. It loses a point because the listing leaves two basic facts — stretch and leg length — unresolved, and those are exactly the facts a size decision depends on.
Practical advice from our desk: pick your size from the seller's chart, then send the seller a message asking for the flat waistband and inseam on the size you want before you commit. Ask which stretch description applies while you are at it. A few minutes of messaging removes most of the risk attached to a $4.93 order.