Way way earlier than the '80's.
Ok, pay that one.
I didn't realise you were that old...
[h=3]The early 19th century[/h]
Regency era Dandy wearing
tailcoat and tight fitting pantaloons
Tight fitting trousers were fashionable from 1805 until 1850, being descended from the loose work trousers worn as a political statement by
Sans-Culottes during the
French Revolution.[SUP]
[5][/SUP] These "
pantaloons," popularised by
Regency era Englishmen like
Beau Brummel, were worn high on the waist and tailored to accentuate the leg like the
breeches previously fashionable among the upper class.[SUP]
[6][/SUP] Pantaloons were tied (or buttoned) around the ankle and commonly put into boots.
[h=3]Decline 1890-1940[/h] Pants, which had come to mean tight-fitting trousers, but now just a synonym, fitted more loosely from the 1840s onwards as mass-production replaced tailoring. Beginning in the
Edwardian era and continuing into the 1920s,
baggy "Oxford" or "collegiate" trousers and
plus fours were fashionable among the younger generation. As the name suggests,
Oxford bags originated at the UK's elite universities, where young upper class men pursued an active, sports-centred lifestyle.[SUP]
[7][/SUP]
[h=3]The 1950s[/h]
Elvis Presley wearing drainpipe jeans. In the 1950s, the waist was higher than on modern skinny jeans
Drainpipe trousers re-emerged in the 1950s, with popular stars such as the
singing cowboy Roy Rogers,
Lone Ranger,
Cisco Kid,
Zorro and
Gene Autry, actress
Marilyn Monroe, and
Sandra Dee wearing their pants very slim to the ankle. Tapered jeans became most notable with country music stars and with the birth of
rock and roll in the 1950s, when
Elvis Presley donned slim-fitting jeans and shocked the country. Drainpipe jeans and rock 'n' roll were inextricably linked to create the "bad boy" image that remains today.
[h=3]The 1960s[/h] In the early 1960s, they were worn by numerous rock bands and musicians, including
The Beatles,
The Rolling Stones and
Bob Dylan. Fashion icon
Audrey Hepburn also raised the popularity of drainpipe jeans. Slim fitting pants and jeans where essentially worn not just by people who where associated with the Mods or Rockers but also ordinary people. The trend lasted until the end of the 1960s when Hippie Culture gave rise to flared pants and bell bottom jeans.
[h=3]The 1970s[/h] In the early 1970s,
glam rock and
rockabilly bands reviving the
Teddy Boy look popularised drainpipe jeans in contrast to the
flared trousers worn by
hippies. Red
tartan drainpipe jeans (as they were then called) were popular in the
punk subculture of the late 1970s, worn by many bands and scene leaders such as
Ramones,
The Clash and
Sex Pistols.
[h=3]The 1980s[/h]
80s
glam metal band
Poison wearing stonewashed drainpipe jeans
Skin-tight
acid-washed jeans were also very popular in the 1980s with most
heavy metal bands, and in particular those in the
thrash metal scene, such as
Anthrax,
Megadeth,
Metallica and
Slayer. This was the trend for those who did not wear
spandex, which was popular with the dominant
heavy metal scene at the time. They were often worn with white
high-top sneakers or basketball shoes like
Converse. By the late 1980s, drainpipe pants were largely superseded by
straight leg jeans like
Levi 501s, but remained popular among fans of
hard rock until the 1990s.
[h=3]The 1990s[/h] By the early 1990s, many glam metal bands such as
Poison,
Mötley Crüe,
Kiss,
Bon Jovi, and
Slaughter, ditched the spandex and wore the form fitted jeans. Tight fitting jeans were also worn by pop stars like
Michael Jackson and
Freddie Mercury. However, with the rise of
grunge and
hip-hop music in the early 1990s and the
post thrash movement, drainpipe jeans quickly went out of fashion in favor of baggy
carpenter jeans, as worn by hip-hop/rap acts such as
Kris Kross,
Another Bad Creation,
Snoop Dogg and other rap artists.
[h=3]2000s[/h]
Scene kids wearing "skinny jeans"
The 2000s saw the continued rejection of slim-fitting pants and jeans throughout the early and middle years in mainstream fashion. However, in 2005, fitted pants were reintroduced to the mainstream market for women. This new pant style was called "skinny jeans". During its first year, skinny jeans were only sold online, and they were not available in stores. Initially, it was not well received by the public, though there were some early adapters. It would not be until 2006 that skinny jeans would gain more steam in fashion world, and by this time skinny jeans were being sold at shopping malls.[SUP]
[8][/SUP] Throughout 2007[SUP]
[9][/SUP] skinny jeans received more mainstream exposure as fashion trends started moving away from the
bell bottoms and
baggy pants which had been dominant for the past 10 years.[SUP]
[10][/SUP] Men's skinny jeans were introduced in 2008 and became the norm by 2009.[SUP]
[11][/SUP][SUP]
[12][/SUP]
:shock::mrgreen:
