Trapstar Short Sets

Why the Set Beats Buying Two Pieces

It sounds like a small thing until you try it the other way. Trapstar dyes and prints a set as one production run, so the grey on the top is the exact grey on the shorts. Buy the two separately, from different drops, and they will be close but not the same. In daylight you see it.

There is a practical side too. Popular colourways sell through at different rates, so the top you want is often available in your size when the matching short is not, or the other way round. Buying the set removes that gamble entirely.

Sets also split. Worn together you get the co-ord look. Worn apart, the top works with jeans and the shorts work with any plain tee, so a set gives you three outfits rather than one.

Most Popular Trapstar Short Sets

Seven lines run through the range, in both tee and hooded formats.

Trapstar Shooters Short Set

The most asked-for set in the range. The Shooters Airbrush Short Set in black uses an airbrushed gradient behind the block lettering, which gives it depth that flat print cannot match on a summer weight. A white version reverses it for something lighter. The Arch Shooters sets curve the wordmark instead, in black and in white grey. If you already own the Shooters tracksuit, this is how the graphic carries through to July without the fleece.

Trapstar Irongate Arch 2.0 Shorts Set

The gate mark curved across the chest, matched on the leg. The Irongate Arch 2.0 Shorts Set in black is the safe pick and the closest thing here to a default. White grey lightens it for summer without going fully pale. The black candy version is the one that gets noticed, running a pink accent through both pieces. There is also an Irongate Arch set in a grey Ice edition, which is the coolest-toned set in the collection.

Trapstar Chenille Decoded Short Set

Chenille on a summer set is unusual, and that is the appeal. The Chenille Decoded Short Set in grey brings the tufted lettering you would normally find on a tracksuit onto lighter jersey, so it reads as a step up from a printed set. Black and blue versions run the same build. One thing to know: chenille on a garment you wash weekly needs the softener kept away from it, or the nap flattens by the end of the season.

Trapstar TRP Short Set

TRP strips the name down to three letters, which makes this the most understated set here. The TRP Short Set in black reads as a plain co-ord until someone recognises the mark. The white grey version is the lighter option and works better in heat. Pick TRP if you like the idea of a matching set but would rather not wear a full wordmark across your chest in public.

Trapstar T Logo Shorts Set

The single T mark, matched across both pieces. The T Logo Shorts Set in grey is the most wearable set in the range for anyone who does not want a graphic doing the talking. Grey marl gives the logo just enough contrast to register. Black does the same in a darker key. This is the set that works for the gym, the shop and a garden in August without changing.

Trapstar Oversized Decoded Shorts Set

Cut deliberately wider than the rest. The Oversized Decoded Shorts Set in black runs a longer body, a dropped shoulder well down the arm and a fuller leg, which is the proportion a lot of people size up to get anyway. Here it is built in. A white grey version does the same. Take your normal size rather than going up, since the extra room is already in the pattern.

Trapstar Decoded Hooded Short Set

Not every set uses a tee. The Decoded Hooded Short Set pairs shorts with a lightweight hooded top instead, which covers the British summer problem of a warm afternoon turning into a cold evening. It is the set to take to a festival or wear late, when a tee alone stops being enough. The hood also changes the silhouette entirely, so it reads less like a co-ord and more like an outfit.

Tee and Shorts or Hoodie and Shorts?

Most sets here pair shorts with a tee, and that is the version people usually picture. It is cooler, packs smaller and works from morning through the hottest part of the day.

A hooded set earns its place either side of that. Early summer, late evenings, festivals where the temperature drops after dark. You get the same matched colour with a layer that actually holds warmth.

If you are buying one set, take the tee version. If you already own one and want a second that does something different, the hooded set is the more useful addition.

Which Colour Set Should You Buy?

Black is the set that goes anywhere and hides a summer of wear. It also keeps the graphic as the only thing anyone reads, which suits the Shooters and Arch lines where the lettering is doing the work.

Grey is the better summer choice and the one people search for most after black. Marl grey gives chenille and print far more contrast than black does, and a matching grey co-ord reads lighter in heat without the upkeep white demands.

White grey versions exist across the Shooters, Irongate Arch, TRP and Oversized Decoded sets for anyone who wants genuinely pale. Black candy is the brightest thing here. Blue runs through the Chenille Decoded line.

Sizing a Set Across Two Pieces

Sets are sold in a single size covering both pieces, so the top and shorts arrive matched. That works because both follow the same relaxed pattern, with a boxy body up top and a drawcord waist below.

Take your usual size for the intended fit. The drawcord gives the shorts room to adjust, which is what makes one size across two garments practical in the first place.

The Oversized Decoded set is the exception, since the extra room is already built into the pattern. Sizing up there gives you something considerably larger than intended. Sets are cut unisex, so a mens Trapstar shorts set and a womens Trapstar short set are the same garment in different sizes.

Keeping a Set Matched

The whole value of a co-ord is that the two pieces match. Wash them badly and they stop matching, which is the one failure mode specific to sets.

• Always wash both pieces together: This is the rule that matters most. Washing the shorts twice as often as the top is how a matched set drifts out of tone within a season.
• Inside out at 30 degrees: Protects the print and chenille on both halves at once, and cold water holds colour far better than warm.
• No fabric softener: On the Chenille Decoded sets it mats the tufting. On printed sets it dulls the finish over a summer of frequent washing.
• Air dry both together: Tumble heat shrinks the two pieces at different rates, since they use different amounts of fabric. Dry them the same way and they stay proportionate.
• Keep white grey sets away from dark loads: Pale co-ords pick up colour quickly, and once one piece dulls the match is gone.
• Store the set folded together: Obvious, but it keeps the pair ready to wear rather than leaving you hunting for the matching half.