Palm Angels Capri Shorts Review: A $3.73 Summer Short, Tested Hands-On

Our testing team ordered the Palm Angels capri shorts — SKU 7720603668 — in Cool K344 Blue-Black, size 2XL, through the ACBuy shopping agent flow we use for every featured product. The listed price at the time of ordering was $3.73, down from $4.40, and the variant showed as in stock. The parcel was unpacked and photographed on our Rotterdam bench, then weighed and measured before the first wear.

What we checked

• Flat waist, outseam and hem opening with digital calipers, before and after washing
• Parcel weight against the warehouse QC photos the agent sent
• Drawstring hardware, side seams and print placement relative to the pocket
• Two 30 °C washes, air dried, then re-measured at the same points

Fabric, cut and measurements

The shorts are a thin, non-stretch polyester with the wrinkle-free finish the listing describes, no fleece lining, a mid-rise elastic waist with a drawstring and a straight hem. Five-point leg length, sizes M–5XL. Here is what our bench recorded on the pair we received.

Wash test

We washed the pair twice at 30 °C on a gentle cycle, inside out, and air dried it both times. The illustrated face motif came through with no visible cracking, lifting or colour bleed at the edges, and the print stayed registered against the pocket line. The flat waist and outseam were unchanged after washing; the shell needed no ironing, which matches the anti-iron claim.

That is a short test, not a durability verdict. Care guidance for printed Palm Angels pieces is to hand wash at low temperature and iron inside out to slow motif fading, so we would treat machine washing as a risk we took rather than a routine. Do not tumble dry these.

Colourway and QC caveats

The listing is inconsistent with itself. The title says black, while the colour field offers Cool K344 Yellow and Cool K344 Blue-Black. Our blue-black pair read as a deep blue-black under the lightbox rather than a flat black, which is consistent with the listed colour name but not with the title.

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

That QC comment comes from an r/FashionReps thread on budget Palm Angels shorts, not from our pair, and it concerns stripe placement on a different style. We raise it because QC posters on this brand at this price point also question colour tone against retail, and the same thread notes the shade can look off depending on lighting. Confirm the exact variant you are sent against warehouse photos before the parcel leaves the warehouse.

Fit notes

The waist is mid-rise with a drawstring and no stretch in the fabric, so all of the adjustment comes from the tie. Our 2XL sat loosely through the leg and above the knee on a 178 cm tester, with room through the seat. Buyer reports on Palm Angels shorts split: one reviewer said their normal letter size fitted perfectly, another said the waist fitted while the leg ran exaggeratedly long even in a five-point cut — which is roughly what we found.

Sizing guidance for the brand describes a deliberately loose, skatewear cut, so your usual size keeps the baggy look and sizing down gives a closer fit. Because the M–5XL run is graded widely, ask your agent for a flat waist and outseam measurement in your chosen size rather than trusting the letter on the label.

What $3.73 actually buys

The sticker price is not the price you pay. Agent fees, domestic shipping inside China and international line charges apply on top, so the per-pair cost only becomes sensible when you consolidate several items into one parcel. On construction alone, our pair cost less than a coffee and held up better than that number suggests: even stitching, clean hem, working drawstring, no loose threads at the print border.

Keep expectations calibrated. Brand-level customer reviews for Palm Angels sit near 1.4 / 5 on Trustpilot, with complaints that quality does not match the price and that support is unresponsive. That is sentiment about the brand's retail operation and its own pricing, not an assessment of this item, and it does not change what we measured in the parcel. It does mean you should not buy a budget version expecting retail finishing.

What we still cannot confirm

• How the print behaves past a handful of washes, since we tested two
• Whether the yellow variant photographs the way the listing suggests
• Whether grading stays consistent across the full M–5XL run

All three are worth a question to your agent before you commit, and all three sit inside the score rather than being waved away by it.