A hopscotch through the history of pants
Almost everyone wears them on the daily: pants. In our modern day, trends tend to override a clothing’s function. But originally speaking, pants had a greater purpose than to just cover our bodies: they were used to spark change and inspire creation, on the basis of necessity.
This point is most exemplified by jeans, which tend to stick out as the most common everyday wear. But before there were rips at our knees and stretch in our denim, jeans were invented as pants for the average laborer, especially coal miners. Soon after, jeans were in high demand across the country. According to Stephanie Hegarty, a writer for BBC.com, what made jeans unique was the quality of the canvas, how it could shrink to become more comfortable and weather over time—it would tell a story of its own.
photo by bella alimenti
Up until the 1950s, jeans were viewed as what you would see a cowboy wearing or a laborer’s uniform, but after the war there was a sense of rebellion in America. Therefore, jeans became very desirable to the average rebellious teen. Soon, they would become popular across the U.S. and spread across Europe, and eventually, all over the world. No one could’ve predicted the popularity of them, but the constant ebb and flow of fashion demands change. Today, jeans are a fashion staple, and developed a mold for how other pants styles would henceforth be born.
Most would agree with the sentiment.
“Pants are the most important part of an outfit,” Silas Lorenz, 11, said. Afterall, you can’t leave the house without them.
When we closely observe the evolution of pants, we have to evaluate how women changed the tide for pants, and the way jeans specifically made social classes look more alike. In roughly the 1850s, bloomers were the pants made for women. They would traditionally go under skirts and dresses, and were essentially pants that ballooned at the knee. According to Julia Brucculieri, a writer for huffpost.com, describes that the fashion was less a statement and more a feminist action. When the pant-looking bloomers were worn by women, it became scandalous, and some areas of the country made them illegal. Additionally, going as far as suggesting that a woman wearing them was indecent.
Fast forward to the 1900s, where in each decade, women’s pants styles expanded. In the 1920s, beach pants’ popularity rose. During World War II, pants came into fashion as husbands went off to war, and women had to work for their families. Finally, in the 1970s, pants were no longer considered edgy for women to wear, and that’s when many styles evolved. For example, leggings—as we know them today—were a result of dance-wear that was popular at the time.
Continuing, it’s important to recognize that creativity usually is sparked by conflict. Take khakis, usually worn by men, and tan in color. According to editors at docckershoes.com, khakis were originally made for British soldiers who wanted to blend into the sandy terrain of India—the conflict that sparked the invention. According to the November Wind-Up Survey, when students were asked what pants they most liked and why, multiple comments considered the comfortability of khakis.
In short, pants run our world and are widely accepted among most populations. Like most attributions that led us to life as we know it today, different styles of pants were a result of revolution, renaissance, and necessity. So the next time you pull on your ripped Levi’s or your favorite sweats, remember where they came from.