Bell-bottoms

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bell-bottoms are trousers that become wider from the knees downwards. Related styles include flare and boot-cut pants. Hip-huggers are bell-bottomed, flare, or boot-cut pants that are fitted tightly around the hips and thighs.

Contents 1 Naval origins 2 Bell-bottoms in the 1960s and 1970s 3 Flare and boot-cut jeans in the 1990s 4 References

[edit] Naval origins

Bell-bottoms' precise origins are uncertain. In the early nineteenth century, very wide pants ending in a bell began to be worn in the U.S. Navy.^[1][2] (It is to be noted, however, that the skipper of each ship decided what clothing to buy for his men in the early days of the U.S. Navy, so clothing varied between ships.^[3]) 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."^[3] Though the British Royal Navy usually was the leader in nautical fashion, bell-bottoms did not become regulation wear for the Royal Navy until the mid-1800s.^[1] These "bell-bottoms" were often just very wide-legged pants, unlike modern versions cut with a distinct bell.^[1] While many reasons to explain sailors' wearing of this style have been cited over the years, most theories have little credibility because reliable documentation is lacking.^[1][2]

[edit] Bell-bottoms in the 1960s and 1970s

Bell-bottoms became very fashionable in the late 1960s and early 1970s, both for men and women.^[4] They began as part of the hippie counterculture movement in the 1960s, together with love beads, granny glasses, and tie-dye shirts; in the 1970s, they moved into the mainstream.^[4] Sonny and Cher helped popularize bell-bottoms by wearing them on their popular television show.^[4]

Loon pants (shortened from "balloon pants") were one type of bell-bottomed trousers. They flared more from the knee than typical bell-bottoms, in which more of the the entire leg was flared. They were a 1970's fashion, and could initially only be bought via catalog from a company in Britain which advertised in the back of the New Musical Express.^{[citation needed]} They were usually worn with a Led Zeppelin T-shirt and Jesus boots (sandals) and were very popular during the birth of punk rock.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Flare and boot-cut jeans in the 1990s

In the mid 1990s they became popular again in women's and men's fashion in Europe spreading to the Americas. They were initially reintroduced as boot-cut (also spelled "boot cut" or "bootcut"), tapering to the knee and flaring out to accommodate a boot. The style appeared in the 1990s and were worn by both men and women. Over time the width of the hem grew wider and the term "flare-leg" was favored in marketing over the term "bell-bottom". As with boot-cut hems, the trend began in Europe and spread rapidly around the world. Today both 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 officewear, the same as what has happened in womenswear. 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 all the way from crotch to hem. The bell-bottoms of the 60s and 70s can be generally be distinguished from the flare or boot-cut pants of the 90s by the tightness of the knee. Jeans in the 1990s also tended to ride lower than those of the 1960s and 1970s.

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Dervis, Peter A. "Bell Bottom Blues." Made to Measure Magazine (Mar. 23, 2000).
2. ^ ^{a b} United States. Department of the Navy. Bureau of Naval Personnel. "History of U.S. Navy Uniforms." Appendix 2. United States Navy Uniform Regulations. NavPers 15665D. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1981. Available at http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/uniform_history.htm.
3. ^ ^{a b} Ohl, Bob. "Have Bell Bottoms … Will Travel." All Hands. 460 (June 1955): 28-30. Available in part at http://history.navy.mil/library/online/uniform_bell.htm.
4. ^ ^{a b c} Cobb, Nathan. "Bell-bottoms back, but the thrill is gone." The Boston Globe (July 19, 1993).