Molly Bloom knows style

Short women with great legs are perfect for formal shorts. It’s about proportion — we also look less slutty in short skirts and dresses. Hot pants are scary on skeletor six-footers who waltz the runways. Formal shorts show too much skin on spray-tanned starlets with stylists. But put a short chick in short shorts and get out of the way, it’s her turn.

These days lots of people are wearing formal shorts and lots of people are dissing formal shorts. I’m coming out as sort-of in favor of the look. It all depends on who’s wearing them and where.

Today’s super-trendy evening shorts, with the complicated ribbons and the blousy fit and the drapey fabrics and the akward length, they are giving hot pants a bad name. Evening shorts are best in simple, clean designs. They are best short. To keep things this side of Florida hotel hooker, keep things sleek — this is not a time to accessorize. Hot pants say enough.

Consider the black satin glamour of le smoking in abbreviated proportions with hot pants, slick hair, simple heels, sans shirt. Be wary of a tux with tails and hot pants, a look reserved for Rockettes only.

Pinup types can go 1940s Vargas with a short-sleeved blouse, wedge shoes and finger-waved hair. Back off the matte lipstick, rockabilly girl — this is a kinder, gentler midcentury throwback.

I adored Michael Knight’s formal shorts on Project Runway. Diane Von Furstenberg was guest judge on that episode and said “I wore a lot of hot pants in my time, and those are hot pants.”

Shortened hemlines make for shorter trends and I think this one will soon flog itself to death. The omen: I saw a pair of tweed shorts at a Reno Wal-Mart last month. Cute for a teenager, very Junior’s department. But on a grown woman, no I am not feeling it. Once a style gets that diluted, it’s over.