One of the hottest trends to hit the fashion world this spring was flared jeans/pants, also known as “bell-bottoms”. However, did you know that the origin of flared pants actually started during the 19th century? Who knew! Bell-bottom pants were originally created during 1817 as a part of the uniform for Navy officers on the ship deck. Apparently, they had ties on the bottom so they could become life preservers in case of an emergency. After that, the presence of flared pants was merely known for being a uniform item.
However, during the 1960s, European women started wearing them for fashion purposes. The biggest moment for bell-bottom/flare pants was during the 1970s, when the hippie movement began. Both men and women began sporting high waist, wide “bell-bottom” pants. The materials ranged from denim to corduroy to cotton to spandex. Flares were crossing over from daywear to evening wear.
However, once the 80s hit, flare jeans slowly faded back into history. It wasn’t until the 90s that there was a resurgence of a new form of bell-bottoms, one with a lower rise and even tighter fit. Soon, everyone was rocking flared jeans as opposed to bell-bottoms. As the 2000s rolled around, flare jeans took a back seat once again, only worn by those who felt they were more flattering than the new skinny jean styles.
Now, in the 2010s,the original bell-bottoms from the 60s and 70s are now making a huge comeback. Lines such as Chloé, Behnaz Sarafpour, and Rochas are all making bell-bottoms and flare pants apart of their collections. Though it may be a trend that began during the Fall/Winter 2011-2012 collections, I see this trend flowing into Spring/Summer 2012 just as well.
Are you willing to go wide and rock bell-bottoms? Or do they make you want to hold on tyour tried and true style of pants?
Sources:
1) “Navy Uniform History” About.com Retrieved September 6, 2011 at http://usmilitary.about.com/od/navy/l/bluniformhist.htm
2) “The History of Bell Bottoms” eHow.com Retrieved September 6, 2011 at http://www.ehow.com/about_5381967_history-bellbottoms.html
3) Photos from Style.com. Rep Image: Chole. Article Image: Rochas. Retrieved September 6, 2011