Those Nike shorts in the pictures look very attractive. I see teenage girls and women wearing them often. I wouldn’t assume Nike shorts are baggy men’s basketball shorts.
Bus, those Nike shorts are not designed for comfort. I would not even run a marathon in them because the built in brief would impair my circulation after 2 hours, and there is no way I can run a marathon that fast! 
Anyway, cute or not, athletic wear is not casual wear.
Old Navy quality has declined. I doubt many would get “years” of wear out of anything in the store these days.
sseamom- I think you are being overly dramatic. I know a few of the posters on this thread IRL or at least through other social media and I can assure you that the ones I know are quite down to earth and very willing to mix bargain finds, off-brand items and comfort clothes with their nicer, more sophisticated options.
Also, there is a difference in what a career person in their 40s, 50s or 60s posting on this thread might be interested in wearing and purchasing than what a 28 year old person who only wears Tevas might want. Because some of us enjoy nice things and better quality doesn’t make us snobs or frivolous.
Apologies if it’s already been mentioned, but remember when the Northwestern womens lacrosse team were invited to the Whitehouse, and half of them came in flipflops? One gal argued, “but they were $16 flipflops.”
http://media3.s-nbcnews.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/050722/050722_flipFlop_hmed_2p.grid-6x2.jpg
Just because your boxershorts cost a lot of money, that’s not a reason to display it at a dignified event.
“s I shopped today, I was thinking, if I met up with some here, I’d be nervous the entire time. Would I be judged for wearing “throwaway” clothes to the wrong place?”
You know something? I wouldn’t really pay all that much attention unless you had on something that was super out of the ordinary. Really. I’m driving home from a casual BBQ (ok, H is driving) and I saw 3 good friends there. One had a pink t shirt and denim shorts, one had a black casual cotton dress, one had a blue patterned top and I don’t even know what she had on the bottom I’m not noticing brands or taking stock. I wanted to wear something that made me feel good but I’m really not paying attention to others unless it’s really notable. I wore a hot pink Kate Spade t shirt that was a great find (paid $29), khaki shorts and metallic ballet flats. My hair was in a ponytail and I had sunglasses perched on my head and forgot to take them off. So really, that’s casual. Not dressy. At all. I was glad to see my friends. My desires / standards are for me and mine, not others.
I went to a family funeral a couple of months ago. There was one adult pair that showed up in jeans and crappy T-shirts.
Was it ever stated that the “Nike shorts” in the first post were Nike Tempo shorts (3" or 3.5" inseam)?
It does, however, appear that most currently offered Nike shorts for women (as listed on Nike’s web site) are very short. Except for a few golf and basketball shorts, the longest they get seems to be similar in length to that of the shortest shorts that men commonly wear.
So is it the fact that the shorts are “gym shorts”, or is it the likelihood that they are short enough for many to see them as insufficiently covering? I.e. would the people who object to “gym shorts” object more to non-gym shorts of similar length (3" inseam) or significantly longer “gym shorts”?
Now that the confederate flag has mothballed and the ‘Dukes of Hazard’ has been taken off the air, is it PC to use the sartorial term “daisy dukes”?
“Bus, those Nike shorts are not designed for comfort. I would not even run a marathon in them because the built in brief would impair my circulation after 2 hours, and there is no way I can run a marathon that fast! Anyway, cute or not, athletic wear is not casual wear”
Plenty of those shorts look like they’d be pretty cute on a skinny teenage girl. I’d wear them nonstop if I had skinny legs and a small butt again!
Nah, bus, you would not. For refernce, I’m fairly athletic and can fit my butt into size 26-27 jeans comfortably. I would not want to wear those Nikes for longer than 2 hours. And definitely not on a plane! There are more comfortable athletic shorts out there, but again - athletic wear is a uniform and not “casual wear”.
@ucbalumnus From what has been posted in the thread so far, I’d say the objection is the fact that they were athletic shorts. There hasn’t been much talk on how short the shorts are.
While the Nike shorts aren’t designed for maximum comfort, I can see why people wear them during the day and to work out. They are cute, non restricting, and comfortable. At time I don’t prefer the lining, but other times it doesn’t bother me to not wear them. They may be uncomfortable for you, Bunsen, but I’ve had a different experience. I think I even wore Nike shorts to this year’s Relay for Life and I did quite a bit of running during the event and physical activity and my shorts were never a problem. Yes, there are more comfortable shorts, but if comfort isn’t a problem there is not need to find something better.
I travel a lot in the “casual” WA-CA-HI area, and the only Nike shorts on the planes I see are the gangsta shorts. There’s a reason for that.
I believe it varies. From what I’ve noticed, I haven’t seen girls opting for guys’ basketball shorts in the airport. 
I have worn guys’ basketball shorts, although that was during training season. They were great for the time when I needed them, but now there’s just so much material just hanging about my legs slipping and sliding when I want to lounge on the couch, I opt for shorts or something tighter fitting.
In the end, this may have been a memorable moment for this incoming frosh. Sometimes you don’t learn/remember until you experience something.
When traveling, you never know what may come up, so bring something “less ultra casual” …just in case.
I don’t agree with the sentiment that this was just a trip for a 2 day college orientation so her wardrobe was fine. What if while at the Orientation she found out that the school or her major-department was hosting something “nicer” for that evening. A pair of nice capri pants or jeans and cute sandals can go a lot of places. No need to bring a bunch of extra stuff…just a little something that can “go anywhere.”
“So is it the fact that the shorts are “gym shorts”, or is it the likelihood that they are short enough for many to see them as insufficiently covering? I.e. would the people who object to “gym shorts” object more to non-gym shorts of similar length (3” inseam) or significantly longer “gym shorts”?"
It’s the fact that they are gym shorts, not so much the length.
It’s beyond me how anyone can sit on grimy airplane seats in shorts-- yuck!
Not to mention the safety hazard of all that exposed skin while trying to evacuate a burning airplane. Negotiating your way thru burning, twisted metal in flipflops is also a bad call.
BB-my SIL works in an office with people who are not contagious. I will pass on your concerns to her, though, in the event her office has not taught her properly.
My dinner observations: Neighborhood gastropub with about 30 adults, all couples, no kids, though it is a family-friendly place where we usually see kids. Every male save one was wearing cargo shorts. The one outlier was an older man in long pants and a polo, but I think his socks with sandals probably put him in the badly dressed category some people have. Shirts ranged from “beerfest” tee shirts (that is currently going on at Seattle Center) to casual button downs, to polos. Several flip flops, several sneakers and a few slip-ons, like Toms. Women were in jeans, capris and shorts, except for one in a dress. Today’s customers were the very definition of “really casual”. Anyone in nice pants, anything silk or dressy anything would have stood out like a sore thumb.
I’m sure everyone on CC is wonderful. I would not want to meet anyone for the first time knowing that they are as concerned with clothing as some here appear to be. I’m not a slob, but if you’re going get all bothered by what I have on, we’re probably not very compatible. For my part, I promise not to care what anyone I meet wears, but that’s probably because I don’t go out to see and be seen, nor do I consider it my god-given right not to be offended by people who don’t dress to my made-up standards. There. I think I hit all the gripes I’ve seen here about how people dress and why it irritates some people.
The Tempos are what girls that age tend to wear. I’ve seen them on planes and in restaurants. My money is on the Tempos. I’m sure the OP has run from this forum in horror and disbelief, or else she could clarify.
OP needs t throw us a bone, let us know more.
To be honest, I think “people” are WAY too concerned about the clothing on the outside and not the person’s behavior, communication skills, table manners, etc. at a dinner out!!!