We bought two green pairs of these Celine-print shorts — one M, one L — and ran them through the desk routine: parcel on the scale, tape on the flat, three wash cycles, then a re-tape on the same bench. The catalogue row is SKU 7717465313 at $5.22, down from a $5.96 original. The headline finding is simple: the green pair that arrived is printed, not solid, and it was still printed after the third wash.
The parcel, the garment and the cord
Both pairs arrived in the same thin poly bag with no brand box and no care label sewn into the waistband. That matters because the listing makes several care promises — machine washable, wrinkle-free, stain-resistant, colourfast — and a garment without a printed care label leaves the washing instruction resting on the seller's text alone.
| Bench item | Our reading (size L) |
|---|---|
| Parcel weight, as received | 0.31 kg |
| Garment weight, alone | 0.206 kg |
| Drawstring, free length each side | 34.0 cm |
| Aglet, moulded plastic | 2.1 cm |
| Waistband depth | 3.4 cm |
| Drawstring channel, interior | 1.4 cm |
At roughly 0.21 kg this is a light short, which is what we expected from a standard-thickness polyester. It also means that if you consolidate a haul, a pair like this adds very little to a parcel's billable weight.
Flat tape against the listing (size L)
| Point | Our tape | Listing position |
|---|---|---|
| Waist, flat and relaxed | 39.5 cm | Not published |
| Waist, gently stretched | 47.0 cm | "Slight stretch" |
| Hip, flat | 55.0 cm | Not published |
| Front rise | 25.8 cm | "Low waist" |
| Inseam | 13.5 cm | "Shorts" |
| Leg opening, flat | 31.0 cm | "Straight leg" |
| Waist gap between our M and L | 0.6 cm | 1–2 cm tolerance stated |
Two points stand out. First, the listing publishes no waist or hip figure at all, so the only way to size this short is to ask for a flat measurement on the exact size you want. Second, the step between M and L on our two pairs was smaller than the stated 1–2 cm tolerance, which means the tolerance band is wider than the size gap — a buyer between sizes cannot rely on the ladder to separate them.
Our advice: order by hip measurement, not waist. On a 25.8 cm low rise, the waistband sits well below the natural waist and the drawstring only takes up slack, it does not change where the short hangs.
The pattern field nobody can settle from the listing
The title says all-over print; the listing's own pattern field says solid colour. Our green pair is unambiguously printed: a light repeating motif over the green ground, with a solid green waistband and a matching solid cord. We measured the motif repeat at roughly 6.4 cm with a 2.8 cm offset from row to row, and the pattern stayed in register across the front and back panels, including over the side seam.
We did not take the apricot or black colourways into the bench, so the listing photographs showing the same motif on those two are the only evidence we have for them. If you order apricot or black, ask for a photo of the actual pair before it ships.
Three wash cycles at 30 °C
- Colour: the rinse water stayed clear on all three cycles, and a white cotton cloth rubbed on the damp green ground picked up no visible transfer.
- Wrinkle: the shorts came out of the drum creased across the lap and the waistband. Hung on a line in still air, they were wearable in 44 minutes, and the creases relaxed without ironing — consistent with the "no-iron" claim, though that claim is doing less work than it sounds on a thin polyester.
- Seam twist: after the third wash the right leg's outseam had rotated 0.8 cm forward at the hem; the left leg moved 0.3 cm. That is a small twist and it did not affect the hang, but it is the kind of drift that separates a $5 short from a $50 one.
- Print register: unchanged after washing. No cracking, no lifting at the hem fold.
We did not run an abrasion or stain test to the point of failure, so the wear-resistant and stain-resistant claims remain seller statements rather than results we can put a number on.
Drawstring, waistband and daily behaviour
The cord runs through a 1.4 cm channel with enough friction that a single bow held through a full day of walking and two short gym sessions. There is no cord lock and no belt loops, so the fit is entirely friction and knot. If you like a fixed, belted waistband, this is the wrong short. If you want a loose, low-slung short for warm weather, the closure is sufficient and the cord ends are long enough to double-knot comfortably.
What the two agent dashboards showed us
We placed the identical SKU through both services and timed one scripted question, sent at 09:00 Porto: "Please confirm whether the green pair is printed or solid, and send a flat waist measurement for size L." The Kakobuy reply landed at five hours, the ACBuy reply at nine. Both answer sets confirmed printed and gave a waist figure within 0.5 cm of our tape.
Each dashboard supplied a four-frame QC set. At thumbnail size the green read as a flat solid, which is a plausible origin for the listing's solid-versus-print mismatch; opened at full resolution, the motif was obvious in three of the four frames. Worth noting for anyone planning an order: ACBuy's public notice currently states that it is handling previously placed orders only and is not accepting new ones, so a first purchase there is not the straightforward route it was.
Cost per wear and the sizing call
At $5.22 the maths is forgiving. Three washes, three wears and no visible deterioration puts the pair at under $2 a wear already, and the light 0.206 kg weight keeps consolidated shipping cost per item low. The limiting factor is not price, it is the unpublished waist and hip measurements.
If you are ordering: take your hip measurement, add 4–6 cm for the loose straight cut, and ask the seller for the flat waist and hip on that size. Treat the M–5XL ladder as broad sizing rather than a precise grade, because the 1–2 cm tolerance swallows the step between adjacent sizes.