Slim-fit pants
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Slim-fit pants or skinny jeans have a snug fit through the legs and end in a small leg opening that can be anywhere from 9" to 20" depending on size. Other names for this style include drainpipes, stovepipes, cigarette pants, pencil pants, skinny pants or skinnies. Skinny jeans taper completely at the bottom of the leg, whereas drainpipe jeans are skinny but then the lower leg is straight instead of tapering and so they are often slightly baggier at the bottom of the leg than skinny jeans. In some styles, zippers are needed at the bottom of the leg to facilitate pulling them over the feet. Stretch denim, with anywhere from 2% to 4% spandex, may be used to allow jeans to have a super-slim fit.[1]
History
The 1950s
The style of pants originated in the 1950s, with popular stars such as Roy Rogers, Lone Ranger, Cisco Kid, Zorro and Gene Autry, Marilyn Monroe, and Sandra Dee wearing their pants very slim to the ankle. Tapered jeans became most notable with country music stars and with the birth of rock and roll in the 1950s, when Elvis Presley donned slim-fitting jeans and shocked the country. Drainpipe jeans and rock 'n' roll were inextricably linked to create the "bad boy" image that remains today. In the early 1960s they were worn by numerous rock bands, including The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.
The 1970s
In the early 70s glam rock and rockabilly bands reviving the Teddy Boy look popularised drainpipe jeans in contrast to the flared trousers worn by hippies. Red tartan drainpipe jeans (as they were then called) were popular in the punk subculture of the late 1970s, worn by many bands and scene leaders such as The Clash, Ramones and Sex Pistols.
The 1980s
Skin-tight acid-washed jeans were also very popular in the 1980s with most heavy metal bands, and in particular those in the thrash metal scene, such as Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica and Slayer. This was the trend for those who did not wear spandex, which was popular with the dominant heavy metal scene at the time. They were often worn with white high-top sneakers or basket-ball shoes like Converse. By the late 1980s and early 1990s, many glam metal bands such as Poison, and Mötley Crüe to Kiss, Bon Jovi and Slaughter, ditched the spandex and wore the form fitted jeans. Tight fitting jeans were also worn by pop stars like Michael Jackson and Freddie Mercury. However, with the rise of grunge and hip-hop music in the early 1990s and the post thrash movement, drainpipe jeans quickly went out of favor except for a small minority of "old school" fans of metal.
The 2000s
In the early 2000s, they became favored by indie revival bands, most notably by The Strokes. Model Kate Moss has been credited with reintroducing the jeans to women. Around 2004, the fashion began to replace the baggy jeans of the 1990s and early 2000s.[2] Among women, skinny jeans are most often worn tucked into boots or scrunched up over the wearer's footwear,[3] and are also often paired with ballerina flats. The Libertines (particularly Carl Barat and Pete Doherty) used skinny jeans as part of their image. This was later adopted by more mainstream indie pop and indie rock acts such as Arctic Monkeys, Kaiser Chiefs, Kasabian, Kings of Leon, The Kooks, and The Horrors, as well as comedians Russell Brand and Noel Fielding, increasing the popularity of skinny jeans amongst men. The skinny jean became very popular in Britain when Topman started producing their own. The buzz later hit America and has now become a staple item of clothing for anyone who wants a Rock 'n' Roll look. Today a very popular and probably the most notable maker of skinny jeans is the H&M-owned Swedish alternative fashion house Cheap Monday. Some skateboarders prefer these jeans, and skinny jeans are also now very prominent in the BMX scene resulting in greater maneuverability due to their stretchiness, and fewer instances in which the pants are caught in the bike's moving parts. Skinny jeans are now common among men and especially women and come in different colors, washes, and patterns. As of late 2009, a new trend for skinny jeans had surfaced. Denim leggings, jean leggings, or "jeggings" are a synthesis of skinny jeans and leggings. This trends proves highly popular among females as it gives the look and fit of jeans but the comfort of leggings. Most major premium denim labels have hopped onto the jeggings bandwagon and produced numerous pieces that are priced at a relatively high range.
See also
References
- ^ Smith, Ray A. (6 July 2009). "Tight Squeeze: Making Room For a New Men's Fashion". The Wall Street Journal. New York.
- ^ Holloway, Karel (19 November 2009). "Odds of wearing skinny pants in Mesquite ISD: slim to none". The Dallas Morning News.
- ^ Coulson, Clare (16 November 2005). "How To Do Skinny". The Daily Telegraph. London.