Slim-fit pants

Skinny denim jean capri pants

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 pegs, drainpipes, stovepipes, Asian tight-pants, cigarette 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. Skinny Jeans come in many different colors as well as styles.^[1]

History

The 1950s

Elvis Presley wearing drainpipe jeans. In the 50s the waist was higher than on modern skinny jeans

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.when elvis shocked the country it also became a new trend.the slim fitting jeans that we know are now called skinny jeans.

The 1960s

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 and Sex Pistols.

The 1980s

80s glam metal band Poison wearing stonewashed drainpipe jeans

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.

The 1990s

By the early 1990s, many glam metal bands such as Poison, Mötley Crüe, 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 fashion in favor of baggy carpenter jeans, as worn by hip-hop/rap acts such as Kris Kross, Another Bad Creation, Snoop Dogg and other rap artists.

The 2000s

Scene kids wearing "skinny jeans"

By the end of the decade the fashion began to replace the baggy gangster 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^{[citation needed]}. The fashion spread to teens, children and young men in 2004. The explosive trend for colourful skinny jeans dominated Asia and eventually made a statement throughout the world from early 2009 thanks to the concept of South Korean girl group Girls' Generation's hugely popular song and EP Gee, which ultimately made use of colourful slim-fit jeans ^[4]. Popular South Korean boyband SHINee also put heavy use of colourful slim-fit jeans since their debut in 2008 in what is known as the "SHINee Trend", spreading the skinny jean trend throughout Asia's fashion capitals and fashion capitals across the world, as well as helping popularize high-top sneakers and brightly coloured sweaters and hoodies. ^[5] Lately, skinny jeans for boys or men have a loose waist to appear "baggy" at the top but skinny on the legs.

The 2010s

The early 2010s, so far, have seen many recycled fashions from the 2010s such as skinny jeans, leggings, leg warmers, aviator sunglasses, western shirts.

See also

• 2000s in fashion
• Wide leg jeans
• Bell bottoms

References

1. ^ Smith, Ray A. (6 July 2009). "Tight Squeeze: Making Room For a New Men's Fashion". The Wall Street Journal (New York). http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124683780090998061.html. 
2. ^ Holloway, Karel (19 November 2009). "Odds of wearing skinny pants in Mesquite ISD: slim to none". The Dallas Morning News. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/111909dnmetskinnypants.2ce11307c.html?nTar=OPUR. 
3. ^ Coulson, Clare (16 November 2005). "How To Do Skinny". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/main.jhtml?xml=/fashion/2005/11/16/efskinny16.xml. 
4. ^ [1] Retrieved June 4, 2011.
5. ^ [2] Retrieved June 4, 2011.