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The switch occurred for women in many parts of Canada some time last week. (Sorry, Edmonton.) Opaque tights and woollen trousers gave way to bare legs. Forget the tulips; gams are the surest sign that spring has sprung.

They're universal crowd-pleasers – less provocative than cleavage or midriffs but liberating to expose and lovely to look at.

This spring, take stock of your warm-weather wardrobe; you'll probably find that shorts play a supporting role to dresses and skirts.

Fears that they're unflattering, unfeminine and informal mean that few women go out on a limb to don what could otherwise be an easy, comfortable and summery look. And, unlike dresses, which are all-in-one outfits, wearing shorts outside a cottage or camp context requires careful consideration of shirts and shoes.

“Automatically, when we think of shorts, we think of casual,” says Peter Papapetrou, the newly appointed fashion director for Hazelton Lanes in Toronto who also appears on the Slice network show Renovate My Wardrobe. “But I think women are slowly starting to understand that it's about picking the right short.”

You don't need a doctorate in fashion to figure out which outfits shown here represent day, night and weekend. (No one wears black satin short shorts and hot pink peep-toe Louboutins to the office unless the office is a nightclub.) That's intentional. But what it all proves is that shorts can be as flirty or sophisticated as any skirt or dress.

“Designers are taking shorts and making them into evening wear thanks to dressier fabrications,” says Anat Lowe, co-owner of the boutique UPC in Toronto, citing metallic colour schemes, high-sheen materials and intricate pleat detailing as examples.

Of course, in daylight hours, the look is less flashy. For a summer office uniform that's polished and perfect for maintaining your personal thermostat, look no further than a trouser-style short worn with a white shirt. Papapetrou would much prefer this knee-grazing length to a capri pant, but notes that body type is the primary factor in selecting shorts.

His idiot-proof strategy: Consider the qualities that you look for in a pant (slim or wide leg, high or low waist) and the qualities you look for in a skirt (length, fullness) and then combine those together to create your ideal style. A voluminous blouse will balance a tight tush style, she says, while shorts that sit away from the body can help conceal problem areas, especially when paired with a lightweight cardigan or men's-wear-inspired vest.

As Lowe acknowledges, microshorts may be unrealistic for those not blessed with gazelle-like gams.

Once you've found the perfect pair, it's time to think about footwear – the easiest way to update your look for a new season. Stuart Rice, marketing and merchandising specialist for shoe retailer Browns, says flat sandals have usurped ballerinas and flip-flops, especially now that women are less obsessed with height.

But to make a real statement, “the only thing that feels fresh and new are gladiators.”

This does not mean high heels should be put in storage: The magic of pumps is that they instantly transform shorts from dressed-down to dressed-up – to say nothing of defining the calves.

And even though It bags have lost their relevance, a pop of colour from a purse is the ideal finishing touch to any summer short ensemble.

This is sexiness at its PG-rated best. As Papapetrou says: “You have a better chance of looking up somebody's skirt than you do up their shorts.”