# Important Rules for Sagging Your Pants **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 24, 2004, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-rules-for-sagging-your-pants/276432 "2004-11-24T06:39:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-rules-for-sagging-your-pants/276432/21 "2004-11-24T17:03:37Z")
> [@Kerrigan](#): > > Well, it would only take a few pairs for us to all fit in, right? It’s like one of those potato-bag races… ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-rules-for-sagging-your-pants/276432/22 "2004-11-24T17:09:39Z")
Actually, I came in here to mention your thread, **Happy**. It was great. ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-rules-for-sagging-your-pants/276432/23 "2004-11-24T17:40:00Z")
> [@Missy2U](#): > > As an aside, **Exgineer** , I may quite possibly be in love with you. 😃 It’s enough that you share my sentiments. Makes me feel all warm inside. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-rules-for-sagging-your-pants/276432/24 "2004-11-24T18:01:56Z")
I pass by my old high school often around 3:00ish, when they get out. I _love_ watching the boys (they all look so young!) running across the street in their baggy low pants. They pick them up just like young ladies in hoop skirts! It’s so dainty! ---
**Author:** ![GraphicsGal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e0b2c6/32.png) [@GraphicsGal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GraphicsGal)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-rules-for-sagging-your-pants/276432/25 "2004-11-24T19:21:05Z")
What I want to know is: what about chafing? We have a fellow here at work who is seriously into the baggy pants thing. He is also a fellow of substance…every time I see him walk by, I always wonder what he does for chafing. I hear Gold Bond Powder is good. ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-rules-for-sagging-your-pants/276432/26 "2004-11-24T19:59:38Z")
> [@velvetjones](#): > > Maybe part of his sentance should be wearing super tight disco jeans from the 80s. That would be the best punishment ever. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-rules-for-sagging-your-pants/276432/27 "2004-11-24T20:04:50Z")
Hey **Happy** , in regards to your Pit thread … you weren’t outside the Loews Wayne theaters, were you? 🙂 'Cause I see that every damn time I go to the movies. ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-rules-for-sagging-your-pants/276432/28 "2004-11-24T22:09:03Z")
> [@Wile E](#): > > You sure it won’t be “make sure your weiner is all the way in”? I doubt it for some reason. Oh yeah… the reason is that I’ve seen the phrase _Rock Out With Your Cock Out_ like four different times in four different places this past week. I first read the phrase in a porn mag several years ago. But I believe it’s about to claim its hundredth monkey and achieve its 15 minutes of fame. And then be stuck in the modern collective subconscious along with _Where’s the Beef_ and _Who let the dogs out?_. ---
**Author:** ![SusanStoHelit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@SusanStoHelit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SusanStoHelit)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-rules-for-sagging-your-pants/276432/29 "2004-11-24T22:44:13Z")
I believe “Rock out with your cock out” was recently given new life by Mr Spears (aka Kevin Federline). Every time I see a picture of him, he’s wearing a fugly hat with that slogan on it. ---
**Author:** ![START](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@START](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/START)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-rules-for-sagging-your-pants/276432/30 "2004-11-24T23:26:57Z")
The reason why some people think that sagged jeans don’t look good is because of people that don’t follow the simple rules or take sagging to the extreme. You gotta do it right or don’t do it at all. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-rules-for-sagging-your-pants/276432/31 "2004-11-24T23:41:45Z")
I’m sorry to break this to you, kid, but there’s no right way. It’s just stupid. Are you rolling your eyes at me? You better not be giving me a stare, because I _will_ beat you down. Punks these days. They think us old-school bastards don’t know what to do with a tire chain. ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2004, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-rules-for-sagging-your-pants/276432/32 "2004-11-25T00:01:24Z")
I’m not _that_ old, but my instinctive reaction to guys dressed like this is irreparably based on the fact that if I had seen someone dressed like this when I was growing up ('60s and early’70s), I would have known with 100% certainty that they were severely mentally handicapped and had dressed themself without supervision that morning. Ditto with the backwards baseball cap. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2004, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-rules-for-sagging-your-pants/276432/33 "2004-11-25T01:01:19Z")
**Draelin** : It was Clifton Commons, actually. But I’m not surprised about Wayne. And **START** , I’m really, REALLY sorry, but the only way to look good in sagged jeans is to take them off and put on pants that fit. **Exgineer** , I beg to differ. The correct old-school way is to put your combat boot in his chest, then drag the heel down the body so that the pants are stuck at the knees. Then he’s hurting and hobbled and you can effectively pick and choose impact points for your “hurt-you” knuckles and your feet. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2004, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-rules-for-sagging-your-pants/276432/34 "2004-11-25T02:23:31Z")
I’d like to show these kids video of “hard” kids from the eighties wearing fluorescent pink parachute pants. _swish swish __swish swish__ swish swish_ “Hey, look at this guy. Pretty cool, eh? Tough look, right?” “That’s totally lame!” “Yeah, well, he thought he looked pretty cool, because cynical marketing bastards in reasonable looking suits that dictate fashion for the mentally challenged have a cruel sense of humour, and never get tired of making really stupid people easy to make out a distance. Say, where you get _those_ pants? Nice.” ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2004, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-rules-for-sagging-your-pants/276432/35 "2004-11-25T02:33:46Z")
> [@Bookkeeper](#): > > I’m not _that_ old, but my instinctive reaction to guys dressed like this is irreparably based on the fact that if I had seen someone dressed like this when I was growing up ('60s and early’70s), I would have known with 100% certainty that they were severely mentally handicapped and had dressed themself without supervision that morning. Ditto with the backwards baseball cap. You got to give the kids credit. It was incredibly hard to come up with a more stupid way to dress than the way we dressed in the '60s and early '70s. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2004, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-rules-for-sagging-your-pants/276432/36 "2004-11-25T02:57:06Z")
I was born in 1959. When I went to high school, tight-fitting pants were the style. Some of us carried it to extremes, and would no doubt be embarrassed if someone today has photos. So I try not to be too judgemental to kids today. Peer pressure can be lethal. Today, I still favor _good_-fitting pants (Levi 501 jeans for the last 10+ years), but comfortable: e.g., this morning, I crawled behind a printer to fish a wire out. I was one of the older persons present, for the record. Why do people wear the clothes they do? Well, the answer certainly varies with age. In high school, the primary goal was to get girls to think you were cool (at least for me). To reiterate, peer pressure played a big role in this. For me today, the answer is a combination of comfort, simplicity, durability, image at work, and a little bit of image away from work. (I’m single, I play music in bars at night, and I chase women. There’s some peer pressure in the mix, but not like in 1977). That said… I cannot, for the life of me, understand why anyone would want to wear pants that they couldn’t run up a flight of stairs if they had to, too tight or too loose. But I just don’t see why anyone would wear ridiculously-baggy pants, unless it’s pure peer pressure – you _don’t_ look good in them, you look like an overgrown toddler who’s had an accident. I have wondered if it’s a phenomenon that actor Michael Caine mentioned in describing his work in _Zulu_ – his character was an aristocratic British army officer, who spoke slowly and walked around with his hands clasped behind his back. Caine’s reasoning was that high-station people can do these things: they can talk slowly because people will listen to them; and they don’t use their hands when they talk because people are already paying enough attention to them. Possibly, someone wearing pants too baggy to run in is trying to look like they’re too tough (or cool) to _have_ to run? Or maybe not. In closing, I don’t think anyone has ever topped P.J. O’Rourke’s comment on the subject: _“Pull your pants up, turn your hat around and get a job”_ ---
**Author:** ![SusanStoHelit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@SusanStoHelit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SusanStoHelit)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2004, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-rules-for-sagging-your-pants/276432/37 "2004-11-25T16:30:49Z")
> [@](#): > > Possibly, someone wearing pants too baggy to run in is trying to look like they’re too tough (or cool) to have to run? that is close to my theory: male birds have such bright colors and huge plumage because it attracts females, right? Well, the reason these things are attractive is that it makes them more visible to predators. If they can survive being a target, they are worthy to mate with. I see the baggy pants as a kind of peacock’s tail- “I can’t run away from a fight! Do me!” ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2004, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-rules-for-sagging-your-pants/276432/38 "2004-11-25T16:54:31Z")
> [@START](#): > > If your going to sag your pants then please don’t wear briefs and please wear clean underwear. > Also make sure that your weiner is all the way in. Also, “_Don’t ever do it. Ever. No matter what._” Christ do you guys look stupid to everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2004, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-rules-for-sagging-your-pants/276432/39 "2004-11-25T16:58:20Z")
I agree that the saggy pants look looks ridiculous. Of course, so did poodle skirts and bell bottoms and jeans tucked into legwarmers (don’t even get me started on feathered hair) and the grunge look. Every generation goes through their own style. And a big part of the driving force is looking exactly the way the older people don’t want you to look. Eventually they’ll grow up, get jobs, take their hats off altogether and conform to more… normal appearances. But if they’re kids, and they’re not hurting anyone, who cares? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2004, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-rules-for-sagging-your-pants/276432/40 "2004-11-25T17:18:32Z")
> [@Happy Scrappy Hero Pup](#): > > I’ve even seen people wearing SUITS too big for them. And I can never keep a straight face when I see that. I take it you’re not a Talking Heads fan, then? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-rules-for-sagging-your-pants/276432.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-rules-for-sagging-your-pants/276432.md?page=3)