I'm 5'5'' and 179 and got these in a XL (bottom curvy). The shorts are really nice in that the material doesn't look like the cheap faux (shinny) leather. They fit really good in the waist and because of the stretchy band, the shorts do not cut into my stomach which is a BIG PLUS. The only complaints about this is that the shorts came wrinkled (hopefully I can find a way to iron this out without it burning) and lastly, they have somewhat awkward fit at the bottom where it flairs out like a triangle shape. I am already curvy at the bottom and it makes me look a little wider than desired. I may try to tailor this down a little, but other than that I really do like these shorts.