Carly Rae Jepsen, Padma Lakshmi and More Give Us a Foolproof Guide to Leather Short-Shorts

Celebs are giving new meaning to the term “a little bit rock n’ roll” with itty bitty leather shorts appearing everywhere from the red carpet to the arena stage.

As Shakespeare famously wrote, a short-short by any other fabric is not quite the same. These stars help their gams look gorge by following a few simple rules.

Rule No. 1: Play With Color: Padma Lakshmi's scalloped edge shorts leave a bit to be desired (ruffled leather?!), but the rust red color is a fun alternative to classic black that works beautifully with her skin tone.

Rule No. 2: Mix & Match Materials: If you're going to go leather on top and bottom (and if you're Carly Rae Jepsen, go right ahead!) best to pair it with something sparkly, silky or colorful to break up that hard rock look. The pink bow placed right at the waistline here is perfection.

Rule No. 3: Have Insanely Long Legs: Wildly unfair, but true. The best way to fake gams that go-on-for-miles, like Whitney Port's, is with a high-heeled pump or bootie.

Rule No. 4: Three Words—Opaque Black Tights: Jennifer Hudson proves that they're a life-saving or, perhaps, leg-saving addition to any leg in need of a little slimming to make those leather minis pop.

Tell us your rules of the leather shorts road in the comments below!