# Can someone explain the rationale behind "low" pants? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 29, 2009, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-rationale-behind-low-pants/515630 "2009-10-29T16:58:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-rationale-behind-low-pants/515630/81 "2009-11-03T20:29:55Z")
> [@filling\_pages](#): > > Drop your outer britches down and show those boxers off. And it’s _all_ about the britches. > [@Washoe](#): > > Remember that thread a few weeks ago asking if there were anything that kids could do these days to shock their parents? I feel sorry for kids these days. Elvis Presley’s hips were enough at one time. Then it required Alice Cooper. Then Marilyn Manson. The next generation of rock stars are going to have to participate in actual human sacrifice to provide shock value. > [@BwanaBob](#): > > _So you don’t hang yourself._ > And we’re discouraging this because…? …you don’t want them hanging anyone else. I spent a night in a city jail after a protest, and had my belt and shoelaces taken away. It’s a life experience I highly recommend as an eye-opener. Spent the whole evening talking to my Mexican gang initiate cellmate who was looking at a mandatory five year sentence for using a handgun. > [@Guinastasia](#): > > Well, they were doing it when I was in junior high (about 1991), specifically with the boxers showing above the waist thing. (On days when we didn’t have to wear our uniforms, that is) But they weren’t QUITE as baggy, or as falling down. I remember a scene in a 90s movie where the lead character was going through his wardrobe, throwing out old stuff - Hammer pants, etc. And one thing was a pair of pants with boxers sewn into the waist of the pair of baggy jeans. These may have been a prop for the movie, or they may be a real product. But it would make a lot of sense - you could have baggy pants (or “Droopy Drawers” as we called them when I was a kid) and still have them held up. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-rationale-behind-low-pants/515630/82 "2009-11-14T09:41:00Z")
**GameHat** said: > [@](#): > > For what it’s worth, I think my older co-workers look absolutely ridiculous with their “high pants”. > > Men wearing jeans (yes, jeans!) pulled up so they button above the navel. > > Cuff length set so that socks are showing when they are standing upright. When they sit down, they show about three inches of sock. To be fair, there is a legitimate issue driving this “look”. Old men clothes don’t fit right, largely due to the shape of old men bodies. Typically you see this on men with a few pounds on them. Those pounds tend to stack up on the belly. The belly sags, and now there is a conflict. The waistband has to either fit on the hips under the belly, in which case it is pushed down in front and doesn’t stay on his hips, or it goes around the belly, which requires it to sit a little high. I had an uncle who was adamant about wearing suspenders. “Belts don’t hold pants up, suspenders do.” ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-rationale-behind-low-pants/515630/83 "2009-11-15T03:22:39Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I’ve moved on to being faux-appalled at the more recent and most opposite trend - [skinny jeans](http://lancedrummondsmusic.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/skinny-jeans.jpg). More recent??? I would have said that was The Beatles, circa [1964](http://anothergirl83.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/beat66.jpg) or [1965](http://anothergirl83.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/beachhelp.gif). ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-rationale-behind-low-pants/515630/84 "2009-11-16T21:44:53Z")
> [@NajaNivea](#): > > I wonder if this is related to emo, skinny-pants kids picking up the ass-display trend. Boxers don’t fit under skinny jeans. Just someone who [doesn’t like a belt, apparently](http://www.orble.com/images/zac-efron-showing-his-boxers1.jpg). There’s a lot of pics of Zac Efron with his boxers showing. ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-rationale-behind-low-pants/515630/85 "2009-11-16T21:54:36Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > More recent??? > I would have said that was The Beatles, circa [1964](http://anothergirl83.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/beat66.jpg) or [1965](http://anothergirl83.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/beachhelp.gif). No, those look like straight-leg or flared cut pants, to me. They’re “skinny” at the knee, but wider at the ankle/cuff. > [@Lionne](#): > > Just someone who [doesn’t like a belt, apparently](http://www.orble.com/images/zac-efron-showing-his-boxers1.jpg). There’s a lot of pics of Zac Efron with his boxers showing. Isn’t that the same pair of undies I was commenting on before? ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-rationale-behind-low-pants/515630/86 "2009-11-16T22:06:55Z")
Low pants are an attempt at individualism. I don’t particularly like the way they look, but am glad that some of our youth are expressing their own way of appearing, against the norm. That said, some of these low pants people are complete and unadulterated jerks! ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-rationale-behind-low-pants/515630/87 "2009-11-16T23:30:56Z")
I love “attempts at individualism” that make a person look exactly like everyone else in their social group. It is almost a funny as kids trying to buy rebellion at Hot Topic. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-rationale-behind-low-pants/515630/88 "2009-11-16T23:51:02Z")
I graduated from high school in 1994 and there were people who wore their baggy pants that exposed their boxers. I don’t recall ever seeing someone walk down the street with one hand on their waistband to keep their pants from fallowing down though. I see that almost every day in my neighborhood. ---
**Author:** ![Satchmo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/satchmo/32/4223_2.png) [@Satchmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satchmo)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-rationale-behind-low-pants/515630/89 "2009-11-17T01:47:06Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I graduated from high school in 1994 and there were people who wore their baggy pants that exposed their boxers. I don’t recall ever seeing someone walk down the street with one hand on their waistband to keep their pants from fallowing down though. I see that almost every day in my neighborhood. Well, at least here in America, more is always better. If two sizes too big is good, 4 sizes too big must be better. Right! Like some women I see with 7 pierced earrings in each ear, because 6 just didn’t make them feel pretty enough. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-rationale-behind-low-pants/515630/90 "2009-11-17T08:47:29Z")
> [@NajaNivea](#): > > Isn’t that the same pair of undies I was commenting on before? That is defintely wayyy too low. ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-rationale-behind-low-pants/515630/91 "2009-11-17T18:06:45Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > I love “attempts at individualism” that make a person look exactly like everyone else in their social group. > > It is almost a funny as kids trying to buy rebellion at Hot Topic. Don’t you remember being a teenager? That’s the point - to show membership in your subculture/social group while, at the same time, rejecting mainstream culture. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-rationale-behind-low-pants/515630/92 "2009-11-17T21:19:51Z")
I enjoy this “low pants” look because I find it very amusing. There is something hilarious about watching guys in ridiculously-low-hanging pants, particularly if they are in a hurry, and have to run with one hand holding the pants up. I have seen this on numerous occasions, but I never get tired of seeing some “cool, bad-ass” dude in this comical situation. (I guess I am just easily amused…) But, I must admit, I am amazed at the longevity of this fashion trend. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-rationale-behind-low-pants/515630/93 "2009-11-18T07:09:58Z")
Oh boy. Now [this](http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/epic-fail-baggy-shirt-fail.jpg)look is just hilariously awful. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-rationale-behind-low-pants/515630/94 "2009-11-18T08:46:35Z")
> [@NajaNivea](#): > > The poseur preppy belted-below-the-ass look, though, I can’t say that prompts much more than helpless fits of giggles from the ladies I know. I have met a couple of women who have said to me “guys who can make me laugh can quite likely get me into bed”. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-rationale-behind-low-pants/515630/95 "2009-11-18T16:10:09Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Oh boy. Now [this](http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/epic-fail-baggy-shirt-fail.jpg)look is just hilariously awful. Oh, that is funny! Now, what would be even funnier – a video showing them attempting to ambulate (especially if they needed to be somewhere in a hurry). ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-rationale-behind-low-pants/515630/96 "2009-11-18T16:17:18Z")
> [@filling\_pages](#): > > Don’t you remember being a teenager? That’s the point - to show membership in your subculture/social group while, at the same time, rejecting mainstream culture. Back in my day we would tie an onion to our belt, which was the style at the time… ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-rationale-behind-low-pants/515630/97 "2009-11-18T17:40:22Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I got over saggy pants eons ago. They seem pretty normal to me now. I’ve moved on to being faux-appalled at the more recent and most opposite trend - [skinny jeans](http://lancedrummondsmusic.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/skinny-jeans.jpg). It’s the shoes that get me, not the jeans. Those look awful. I’ve seen skaters wearing skinny jeans lately. Presumably they’ve realized that they can skate better if they don’t have to hold up their pants with one hand. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-rationale-behind-low-pants/515630/98 "2009-11-18T22:17:24Z")
**Lionne** said: > [@](#): > > Just someone who doesn’t like a belt, apparently. But he’s wearing a belt. It’s where he’s wearing it that is the problem. **Eyebrows 0f Doom** said: > [@](#): > > Oh boy. Now this look is just hilariously awful. Do they waddle like penquins? Do they expect to play b-ball like that? ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-rationale-behind-low-pants/515630/99 "2009-11-19T23:05:42Z")
> [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/518218/3): > > uh believe it or not–back in the day when you were in jail and you would sag your pants that would mean you are GAY–hello easy access. Uh, has that ever actually been proven? That has always just sounded like an urban legend to me. It makes much more sense that pants sagged in jail because inmates did not have a belt/clothing probably didn’t fit correctly. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2009, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-rationale-behind-low-pants/515630/100 "2009-11-20T00:18:55Z")
> [@PatriotGrrrl](#): > > I think they’re ridiculous too, but bear in mind - there are women who wear shoes they can’t run in, And men have been wearing for quite a long time now one of the most inconvenient and useless piece of attire ever invented, namely the tie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-rationale-behind-low-pants/515630.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-rationale-behind-low-pants/515630.md?page=6)