There is something to be said for them as undergarments for warmth in winter, or in situations where you want to show off your ass; but their conventional use as outer garments with pockets where you put valuable things seems to me rather awkward. There are too many purposes for which you have to pull them down or take them off. Pockets with things in them are uncomfortable in many lying & sitting positions. Also, wallets IMO might well have been designed for the convenience of pickpockets.
When I lived in a rural commune & had complete freedom to experiment, I made miniskirts by ripping the inseams of shorts from Community Clothes & sewing them across the front & back. I attached loops at the top to accept various containers I made out of cloth & tubing to hold pencils, pens, papers, a comb, etc. Underneath I wore garments appropriate to the season, from a jockstrap in the summer to thermal underwear in the winter.
I judged that Boston wasn't ready for that, so I compromised by making the outer garment a regular pair of shorts, and attaching walletlike things I got at Eastern Mountain Sports, by means of snaprings thru the beltloops. (One has to sew the beltloops to the waistband about 1/4 in. from the bottom to keep them from sagging under the weight.) My keys (I didn't need any of those in the commune) are tied to them as well. When it is time to wash the pants, I can move the pockety things over with the contents, instead of emptying pockets.
It has occurred to me that I could continue to do miniskirts but install a hook & eye or button & buttonhole that would allow me to fasten them fore & aft under the crotch & thus simulate shorts -- instant respectability for public places. I haven't tried it, tho, and it might look weird. With longjohns under regular shorts I just look like a bicyclist.