We had a great weekend. We danced our butts off, sang our hearts out and probably had one too many beers at the Glow in the Dark tour in illy Philly on Saturday night. But as always, we were thinking of our dear reader's and before we went in to enjoy the likes of Rihanna, Lupe Fiasco (heart!), N.E.R.D. and the brilliant Kayne, we took a tour of tailgate heaven to see what's hot and what's not for concert gear this year.

Here is a breakdown of the ideal concert attire:

Like every other blue blooded American child, we spent the better part of our lives participating in the cruel and unusually sadistic ritual called P.E. in elementary school. While our friends excelled at indoor volleyball exercises and endurance tests, we never had it that easy. We always were the last to finish our daily mile, (but that probably had more to do with our little respiratory problem called asthma).

Anyways, all of the "athletes" wore similar attire to work out in. The key piece? A pair of knit wind shorts. They were sold at places like Target or Foot Locker for $20. So, imagine our shock when we stumbled upon these blue hot pants by Elizabeth & James that cost a whopping $225.

It's getting hot out, at least where we are, and that means our wardrobe is slowly but surely changing. We're starting to pack away our heavy clothes and bring out more summery attire, which includes ... wait for it ... shorts!

Wait, don't panic! We know that the thought of shorts sends many women into a fit -- we are actually friends with many lovely ladies who have such a complex about their thighs that they will occasionally wear a skirt, but never, ever shorts. If you fall into this category and are happy there, that's just fine. But, if you're wondering what summer might feel like in a pair of stylish, flattering shorts, check out the gallery for some helpful tips.

We're going to be honest -- there's one person we can picture wearing these, and her name rhymes with fiancee (even though she's now actually a wife). And to be honest, that's only because she actually is behind the phrase bootylicious, and is there any word these make you think of more than bootylicious?

Okay, maybe "diaper" comes to mind. We'll give you that.

If there is one thing that we love as much as fashion it's conservation and corporations that believe in it, that's why we were happy to find The Natural Store.

This is what they say about themselves:

The Natural Store is a different type of Department Store – dealing only with suppliers who operate on a Fair Trade basis, have high ethical and moral values, or who try to minimise their impact on the environment. So whether you're after individually made organic chocolates endorsed by the Soil Association, sensual underwear in organic cotton and hemp/silk or a wind-up radio so you can tune to your favourite station, we're the natural choice.

What will you wear with your short shorts this summer? We can't all pull off the Kate Moss shorts and boots look, but we also don't want to get stuck in a boring, brown flip-flop rut.

Men of the world, please listen to me: I don't want to see your upper thigh -- and, chances are, nobody else wants to gawk at your hairy, flabby man stems either.

Yet some runway designers (and even some men's fashion blogs) are advocating a return to the kind of revealing menswear that's best left to the 1970s. Now that the spring looks we saw on runways last fall are finally making their way to the street, expect to see a little more leg from your fashion-forward buddies.

But never fear: you don't have to join this trend. There's plenty of ways to look good, stay cool, and avoid dressing like some annoyingly endogenous, American-Apparel style hipster. So have some self respect, damnit, and check out five more modest options that offer a more manly amount of coverage.

Just when you thought you'd finally seen the worst of those little plastic disasters, we learn that the makers of Crocs have stooped to a new low. Soon your fashion-challenged friends can have entire wardrobes full of brightly-colored goo, as the company has revealed they'll be launching a line of "plastic-inspired" clothing.

Gross.

Apparently, they figured out how to take the same ugly-ass material that's in the shoes and spin it into yarn, making it possible to design foam resin shirts, skirts and shorts.

Please, Croc people, I'm begging you -- show some restraint! Have a little foresight -- think of how we'll be judged by future generations. Spare the world from this hideous idea!

It's hard for men to find fashionable clothes that don't cost a fortune. We can either spend $40 on a t-shirt from our local vintage boutique, or suck it up and wear something lame from TJ Maxx.

Women, on the other hand, can just go to Target. Sure, everything they sell is a designer rip-off, and it's not like the clothes are Wal-Mart cheap, but their stuff is cute, trendy, and way less than other rip-off outlets (like Urban Outfitters, for instance).

Unfortunately, men's clothing at Target has always sucked. They didn't do a very good job mimicking their designs, or they copied Old Navy's collection (which was stupid-looking in the first place).

However, things may have changed. Over the weekend I discovered that Target's summer collection for men is actually very cool. They're selling these plaid shorts for $21.99, which I've seen all over town since it started getting hot back in April (and priced at around $70 in local boutiques), and these Judo-cut shorts for $19.99. A) guys in shorts is all the rage, B) plaid has been very in ever since the 90s started coming back, and C) I've been dying to try out long shorts (the Judo-cut), in an homage to my skateboarding brethren circa 1997 -- now I can!

So dudes -- while I never could've imagined that I'd be saying this -- if you want to look cool this summer without spending all your money on a new wardrobe, head to Target.

When you live someplace that's at least 90 degrees for 4 months out of the year, you spend a lot of time trying to look like you're not a big, sweaty, uncomfortable mess. This summer I'm trying to perfect wearing flip-flops without looking like a slacker, and -- as I mentioned in a previous post -- I think I might be saved by the comeback of cool-looking shorts.

Women, however, have considerably more to worry about -- frizzy hair from summer humidity, the necessity to look tan even though we're all well-aware that sunbathing is a one-way ticket to cancer, etc. I'm afraid I won't be much help in this department, but Second City Style has some good suggestions for keep yourself looking good when the temperatures are out of control.

In a recent post, Joanne Molina recommends keeping your nails looking "naturally beautiful" with a manicure and pedicure, using a headband to control unruly hair, using self-tanner, and more.

After all, you're supposed to spend the summer having fun -- not feeling gross.

It's only April, and we've already had a couple 80-degree days down here in Texas. Plus, since I take care of my daughter in the afternoons, I can't hole myself inside air conditioned offices and apartments all day like I did last summer. Hence, therefore, and in conclusion, I figured it's about time I found myself some shorts.

Shorts? For real?

For real.

I've been avoiding shorts for years -- namely, because I thought they looked dumb on any guy over the age of 13 who wasn't playing a sport. But recently the laid-back look is calling to me, and it's coming from an unexpected place: "urban" fashion.

I don't have anything against urban fashion -- in fact, I'm not entirely sure what that means. All I know is that it's usually not to my taste, but High Snobriety, one of the best sites on the subject, recently brought two looks to my attention that are exactly how I think the casually fashionable man should be dressing during the blindingly-hot days of summer.

First, the new Madras collection from APC. It's simple, straightforward, but just sophisticated enough to make it an incredibly stylish choice. Notice the way they combine either patterned shorts with solid tops, or vice versa, to keep the outfits fun and summer-ish without being too loud.

And speaking of loud, that brings us to the Comme des Garcons x Fred Perry from Dover Street Market. This is the time of year when you can get away with something bright, colorful and comfortable, and this look is just how to do it right.

So don't fear the heat, dudes. You can now keep cool and look cool all summer long.

If you've been trolling through the after-Christmas sales at your favorite mall, you've probably noticed a veritable bounty of what folks in the fashion world call "formal shorts." (Shorts they are; formal they are not.)

Because the formal shorts are the only things that remain on the otherwise pick-over sale racks, I think we can assume that this 5-inch-inseam trend hasn't been a big seller this year.

And thank heavens for that!

Let it be said: formal shorts are not only logically fallacious, they just plain don't make any sense!

Isn't the whole point of winter to have a five-month break from the unflattering monstrosity known as the short? Shouldn't it be enough that we put up with them in the summertime when the weather justifies our willingness to see our otherwise normal-looking legs reduced to inelegant rectangles?

I know that celebrities think they're fabulous (Gwen Stefani, Posh, Kate Moss, et al.). For the rest of us mere mortals with real woman bodies and practical lives, the formal short is quite possibly the worst turn of the fashion wheel we've seen in years. (Yes, formal shorts are worse than skinny jeans AND leggings, my friends. In fact, not since big shoulder pads has the female body been so assaulted by one single style!)

So, as the Oprah show theme song tells us, "Get with the program!" Formal shorts are for the birds! If my pleading alone doesn't convince you, hopefully your measly retail profits will.

Winter shorts are one of those things people impulse-buy because they're adorable but then never wear because they're not quite sure how to. It's very easy to look awkward in winter shorts if something's not quite right about the overall outfit. That's why I recommend buying a whole outfit at once, so you're confident that all the pieces will work together. The outfit on the right, from Banana Republic, is a good template to work with if you're starting from scratch.

Here are some of the biggest things to remember when wearing winter shorts. First, obviously, don't ever go bare-legged. That's just never attractive in cold weather, no matter how nice your legs are. Matching your tights to your shoes is a good move because it elongates your legs and simplifies the look. Personally, I think knee-high boots look best with winter shorts, since flats and pumps can look a little too lightweight when there's snow on the ground and shorts are more casual than a dress or skirt. Also make sure to choose a top that doesn't show much skin (this isn't summer and the shorts are skimpy enough).

Want some second opinions? Handbag.com and Topbutton.com also have advice on this topic.