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Bell-bottoms (or flares) are a style of pants that become wider from the knees downward, thus forming a bell-like shape of the pant leg.

Naval origins

Illustration of sailors in uniform, 1854

In the early 19th century, when there did not yet exist a standardized uniform in the U.S Navy, some sailors adopted a style of wide trousers ending in bell-shaped cuts. In one of the first recorded descriptions of sailors' uniforms, Commodore Stephen Decatur wrote in 1813 that the men on the frigates United States and Macedonia were wearing "glazed canvas hats with stiff brims, decked with streamers of ribbon, blue jackets buttoned loosely over waistcoats, and blue trousers with bell bottoms." Though the British Royal Navy had elsewhere been a leader in nautical fashion, bell-bottoms did not become part of the standard uniform for the Royal Navy until the mid-19th century. These "bell-bottoms" were often just very wide-legged trousers, rather than shaped leg trousers that flared below the knee. The pants of the current uniform of the United States Navy are still referred to as 'bell-bottomed' although they are large straight legs. The thigh fills the upper trouser leg thus making the bottom of the pants leg to appear flared. This style of pants has been popular for many years because it allows them to be rolled up easily allowing the sailor to work bare foot while working the rigging or swabbing the deck for example. Though many theories purporting to explain the popularity of this style among sailors have been put forward over the years, there is no reliable documentation that could prove any one theory correct.

Bell-bottoms in the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s

The style of bell-bottoms popular in the 1970s

Bell-bottoms became fashionable for both men and women in Europe and North America in the mid-1960s. By 1967, the bell-bottom had transitioned from high fashion to become a part of the hippie counter-culture movement, a style exemplified by love beads, granny glasses, and tie-dye shirts. The trouser cut was even mentioned in popular music, such as the single "Bell Bottom Blues" by blues-rock group Derek and the Dominos. In the 1970s, bell-bottoms moved into mainstream fashion; Sonny and Cher helped to popularize bell-bottoms in the USA by wearing them on their popular television show. However, the trouser style can be spotted as early as 1964, in the concert film The T.A.M.I. Show, worn with a baby doll blouse by a young Toni Basil, who at the time was a go-go dancer.

In the 1960s, bell-bottoms were often made of denim, flared out from the bottom of the calf, with slightly curved hems. They were usually worn with Cuban-heeled shoes, clogs, or Chelsea boots. The jeans typically flared to a hem circumference of eighteen inches at the bottom of each leg-opening.

Loon pants (shortened from "balloon pants") were a variant on bell-bottomed trousers, with an increased flare. They were worn occasionally by go-go dancers on the British TV music variety show Ready Steady Go! in 1966. In the 1970s, bell-bottoms were typically cut to flare out from the knee down, with bottom leg openings of up to twenty-six inches. Made from denim, bright cotton and satin polyester, the trousers were so popular that they became a symbol of the outlandish and colorful style of the decade.

Elephant bells, popular in the mid-to-late 1970s, were similar to loon pants but typically made of denim. Elephant bells had a marked flare below the knee, often covering the wearer's shoes. A preferred style of shoe with the larger flares was platform shoes, having soles at least two inches thick and heels four to five inches high to keep the hems off the ground. (See Platform shoe.)

Today, original bell-bottoms from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s are collectible vintage clothing.

Flare and boot-cut jeans in the late 1980s, and 1990s

In the late 1980s, during the rise of acid house and the Second Summer of Love, bell-bottoms became popular again in women's and men's fashion in Europe spreading to the Americas, South Africa, Japan and Australia. They were initially reintroduced as boot-cut (also spelled "boot cut" or "bootcut"), which meant tapering to the knee and loosening around the ankle to accommodate a boot. Over time, the width of the hem grew wider and the term "flare-leg" was favored over the term "bell-bottom" in marketing. Similar to boot-cut hems, the trend began in Europe and spread rapidly around the world. Today, both the boot-cut and flare-leg pants remain popular both in denim and higher quality office wear. In menswear straight-leg also gave way to boot-cut looks, again initially in Europe, and has made its leap into flare-leg for office wear. This trend in menswear is similar to what has happened in women's wear. In most cases men's boot-cut and women's boot-cuts differ. Women's jeans are tight to the knee and then flare out slightly to the hem, while men's styles are usually flared/loose from crotch to hem. The bell-bottoms of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s can generally be distinguished from the flare or boot-cut pants of the 1990s by the tightness of the fabric around the knee.

See also

• Palazzo trousers
• Jeans