Would you wear a hot pant or a mini skirt?

As the summer days turn hotter, DC metro women are rediscovering some of the defining fashions of the 1960s and 1970s- mini skirts and short shorts.Fashion blogs are chattering about who should - and should not - wear them, and when and where they're appropriate. According to Lois Joy Johnson, beauty and style editor for Bettyconfidential.com, mini skirts and short shorts rule the racks this summer. Both can be dressed up with heels or dressed down with sandals or flip flops for a day in the sun. And they can be for any occasion, except perhaps church.

Most women have a preference of one over the other. For example, plus-sized shopper Latisha Morrison, 34, of Southwest DC, prefers miniskirts to shorts. Her preference was based on the all-too-common issue of the hem of the shorts heading north and bunching up in between inner thighs.

"In a skirt," she said, "I can at least hide some of my dimples with a pair of leggings or shear tights."

She pointed to a skirt in Ashley Stewart in Prince George's Mall - a plus-sized clothing store - that resembled something she would wear: a big-buckle denim skirt, a short, mid-thigh length, and dark denim wash skirt. The store's Web site carries stylish short skirts for any occasion, including dinner, club and movie outings.

National department store chain, Macy's, is exploiting the power of this sexy trend, which emerged almost four decades ago.

Cooing over her magnificent legs, 32-year-old Kayla Roach of Silver Spring, Md., welcomed the miniskirt and hot pants comeback.

"If you have nice legs, like I do, why not show them off?" the self-assured, expecting mother asked. "I am very stylish, so whatever looks tasteful is okay."

For 20-year-old petite, Brightwood resident Sarah John it's short shorts. "I just like that you don't have to worry about anything; you can sit however you want," she said. "They're just better for hanging out."

But she cautioned that the knockout shorts should be worn with balance. "If I'm wearing the shorts, I wouldn't wear a tight little tube top," said John, who was sporting one, accentuated with a Bohemian-style, tunic and gladiator sandals.

Kendrah Mingo, 20, of Chantilly, Va. is also a fan of short shorts. Miniskirts can be too cumbersome, she said, especially when faced with retrieving something that has fallen to the ground.

Mindo's mother wasn't too fond of her daughters showing so much skin in short shorts. But Mingo found incriminating photographs showing her mother in hot pants in the 1970s.

She asked her mom, "See Mom, why can't we wear them? You did." Her mother's response was priceless. "I wasn't saved then and didn't know any better," she told her daughter. "But now that I have taught you, you won't be wearing them."

Men like Bryan Jones have always had their tongues hanging out over the style modest people condemn as drawing excessive attention.

Twenty-six-year-old Jones, a DC photographer, said he relishes the sight of a woman's revealed bottom, especially if the woman has the "perfect" body and legs - and if they're young, he said. "With skirts that short, men can't help but look," Jones said.

Another Washingtonian, 23-year-old Bryan Jordan, prefers the miniskirt's sex appeal to the short-shorts casual look. It takes fearless confidence to flash legs, thighs and sometimes panties for all to see, he said. For Jordan, at first sight of a woman in a miniskirt, he immediately becomes interested. "I want to get to know that girl because she looks like she commands presence," he said.

But not everyone is on board with this fashion. Rae Rawls, 28, said the sight of women showing that much skin is enough to make her uncomfortable. "There's a problem when you can see the pockets below the hemline," she said.

Jane Yurt, 27, of Takoma Park, feels that the top-of-the-thigh scraping apparel is best left to children. For adults they're plainly just too short, she said.

"Skirts are okay, but seeing adults walking around in itty bitty shorts is weird. They look like children's clothes." She compromised by saying, "At least if you're going to wear them, be in shape.