Flared Pants are Fire
Flared, bell-bottoms, and boot cut are all terms that describe the style of pants that seem to keep weaving their ways in and out of the fashion culture. Yet, the origin of these pants are quite different than what you may think. Flare origins come from early 19th century American sailors, and their reason was because they thought it would make it easier to roll their pants, or to save other sailors falling off boats. The idea was to be able to grab the “bell-bottom” of their pants. As you can see, this was the main reason that these sailors would wear this uniform. For them, it was just an effective way to do their jobs. They did not realize that as time went on, they would be inspiring a major fashion trend.
Image courtesy of SMU Look
Flares had their rebirth during the 60s and 70s which was the hipster era for fashion. Hippies and others like them absolutely loved the look of these flared pants. The bell-bottom look that the early sailors created was reincarnated into something even bigger. This look was different from the norm as it created a new look for people in this era to express themselves in a way other clothing pieces could not. Flared pants were big and loud! They made these hipsters feel cool and different which was the main goal all along.
Image Courtesy of Who What Wear
After this era, flares would leave and come back again. Each time they came back, it was even stronger than before. We are currently in the era of flares being a popular fashion trend, except they are a bit different than the classic hipster look, or even the sailor look from centuries ago. Our current era provides many different types of flares, giving the option to be retro or futuristic.
A very popular form of these flares that I have seen by many is the elastic flare pants.
They are a mix of leggings and the boot-cut style that makes them a comfy alternative while still being very fashionable. Yet this is only one of the many new ways of wearing these highly fashionable pants.
A ridiculous creation was made that incorporated the baggy look of flared pants, but it goes a bit extreme.
I'm of course talking about JNCO Jeans. These are a mix of flared pants and jeans that create a new look for people to show out in!
Image Courtesy of PBS
Ultimately flared pants seem to always make their way back into relevance in the fashion world, the reason being because of their versatility! They can be worn for comfort, professionalism, a grunge look, hipster aesthetic, and any other vibe you can think of! Flared is here to stay forever.
Strike Out.
Writer: Matt McAllister
Copy Editor: Sarah Singleton
Chattanooga
Further Reading:
https://smulook.com/2022/02/11/the-history-of-bell-bottoms/
https://artsandculture.google.com/story/five-facts-about-the-fashion-for-flares/1wXxni1iClf3og?hl=en
