There are certain telltale signs that summer is right around the corner: Hemlines start going up. Dua Lipa starts posting vacation photos on Instagram, and hot men start wearing itty-bitty gym shorts. Would it even be a proper summer if we didn’t catch a glimpse of Paul Mescal and Harry Styles walking around London in a pair of tiny Adidas striped shorts? Earlier today in London, Styles emerged flashing a lot of leg—meaning summer 2025 is officially kicking off.

The singer was spotted running solo errands in his short red gym shorts. Styles is no stranger to rocking the style, of course; they long been an essential part of his summer wardrobe. This time around, though, he paired the athletic shorts with a classic black crewneck sweater, and then leaned into quirkier accessories—including a vintage purple beer hat, a David Hockney-themed tote bag, and mustard-yellow Prada sneakers.

Paul Mescal and his famous gym shorts

Photo: Splash News

In recent years, the micro gym short has become a celebrity off-duty staple. While Princess Diana made athleisure dressing a thing with her love of bike shorts, for men, the look appears to be all about the retro-style gym short. Mescal is a well-noted lover of them, and the masses have found the shorts alluring. In writing about why we go so feral for the exposed bare legs of men, Vogue contributor Raven Smith noted, “Male thighs are a bit like female cleavage: both sexually suggestive and dormantly benign, at times inviting, at others innocent.”

The real question is: Will these humble shorts become a trend this summer outside of just Mescal and Styles? Will we see fellow A-list hunks like Austin Butler, A$AP Rocky, and Pedro Pascal start rocking them, too? Will we see them on a red carpet? We’re certainly not opposed to all of the above.