When I was a kid I wore stubbies shorts. We all wore y-fronts back then and it's a good thing, boxers would stick out the legs. Skin tight too.

Little long but if you wanna cover up that's fine

Its not about them being “new”, but the title staring they are comfy. My sister used to wear em while i felt like i was in hell trying to find a pair that didn't sufficate my legs.

I just took it as pure fashion, same with high heels. Perceived beauty over common sense.

Probably relevant is that i am also the type of autist who buys 10x the same “good” clothes and has to remove all the itchy labels.