What Are Baggy Jeans?

For some, baggy jeans are about a cut or a style, with a more relaxed fit around the waist and the thigh. For others, baggy jeans are about sizing, with people intentionally choosing jeans one or two sizes larger and then belting them so that they stay on. Baggy jeans can also mean the type of super baggy, saggy jeans that signified an allegiance with hip-hop music and, eventually, street fashion.

History

There are a few different explanations for the origin of the baggy jeans style, which took off in the 1990s. Skateboarders and snowboarders were already wearing baggy athletic wear, sometimes with padding appropriate for their sports. Then, there was the influence of prisoners who were required to wear their uniform pants without belts, which made their pants hang low. At the same time, basketball star Michael Jordan and other athletes were resisting the very short, close-fitting shorts they wore in team sports, and started wearing baggier and baggier cuts.

Features

Adolescents in the inner city tuned into the trend of sporting a baggier style and started buying jeans in larger sizes. But the look was still an underground trend until hip-hop gained a mainstream audience in the late 1990s. When baggy jeans finally hit the suburban malls, the style exploded and became extreme. Some teens wore their jeans so baggy and low that their entire posterior was visible, typically clad in boxer shorts.

Types

While the early adopters of baggy jeans wore them in a typical medium blue wash, later versions featured more embellishments. Stone washing was popular, resulting in a softer denim. Brands like JNCO and Guess created expensive designer versions of the baggy jean. Vintage washes and distressed finishes gave baggy jeans an aged look.

Effects

While baggy jeans can be proof of a generation gap, others have used baggy jeans in an attempt to reach out to youth, particularly at-risk youth. Recently, a British church unveiled a seven-foot bronze statue of Jesus in baggy jeans. The 35,000-pound artwork is part of the church's goal to depict Jesus as dynamic, as opposed to suffering, in hopes to appeal to contemporary churchgoers.

Warning

The adolescent proclivity for baggy jeans has resulted in some issues. Many middle schools and high schools are attempting to ban the wearing of extremely baggy jeans on the grounds that they create indecent public exposure. In Delcambre, Louisiana, city officials have managed to make the wearing of baggy jeans an offense that can earn the wearer up to six months in jail.