Bell-bottoms are
trousersFor the TrouSerS implementation of the TCG Software Stack, see Trusted Computing Group.Trousers are an item of clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately...
that become wider from the
kneeThe knee joint joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two articulations: one between the femur and tibia, and one between the femur and patella. It is the largest and most complicated joint in the human body. The knee is a mobile trocho-ginglymus , which permits flexion and extension as well...
s downward. Related styles include
flare,
loon pants and
boot-cut/leg trousers. Hip-huggers are bell-bottomed, flare, or boot-cut pants that are fitted tightly around the hips and thighs, worn by men and women.
Bell-bottoms' precise origins are uncertain. In the early nineteenth century, very wide pants ending in a bell began to be worn in the U.S.
Bell-bottoms are
trousersFor the TrouSerS implementation of the TCG Software Stack, see Trusted Computing Group.Trousers are an item of clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately...
that become wider from the
kneeThe knee joint joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two articulations: one between the femur and tibia, and one between the femur and patella. It is the largest and most complicated joint in the human body. The knee is a mobile trocho-ginglymus , which permits flexion and extension as well...
s downward. Related styles include
flare,
loon pants and
boot-cut/leg trousers. Hip-huggers are bell-bottomed, flare, or boot-cut pants that are fitted tightly around the hips and thighs, worn by men and women.
Naval origins
Bell-bottoms' precise origins are uncertain. In the early nineteenth century, very wide pants ending in a bell began to be worn in the U.S. Navy. Clothing varied between ships, however, in the early days of the U.S. In one of the first recorded descriptions of
sailorA sailor or mariner is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...
s' uniforms,
CommodoreCommodore is a former rank and a current honorary title in the United States Navy and the United States Coast Guard with an intricate history. Because the U.S. Congress was originally unwilling to authorize any admirals in its service until 1862, considerable importance was attached to the office...
Stephen DecaturCommodore Stephen Decatur, Jr was an American naval officer notable for his heroism in the Barbary Wars and in the War of 1812...
wrote in 1813 that the men on the frigates
United States and
Macedonia were wearing "glazed
canvasCanvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other functions where sturdiness is required...
hatA hat is a head covering. It may be worn for protection against the elements, for religious reasons, for safety, or as a fashion accessory. In the past, hats were an indicator of social status...
s with stiff brims, decked with streamers of
ribbonA ribbon or riband is a thin band of flexible material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily for binding and tying...
, blue jackets buttoned loosely over
waistcoatA waistcoat , sometimes called a vest or a vestee in Canada and the US, is a sleeveless upper-body garment worn over a dress shirt and necktie and below a coat as a part of most men's formal wear, and as the third piece of the three-piece male business suit...
s and blue trousers with bell bottoms." Though the British
Royal NavyThe Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early...
usually was the leader in nautical fashion, bell-bottoms did not become regulation wear for the Royal Navy until the mid-1800s. These "bell-bottoms" were often just very wide-legged trousers, unlike modern versions cut with a distinct bell. While many reasons to explain sailors' wearing of this style have been cited over the years, most theories have little credibility because reliable documentation is lacking.
In the 1960s, at least, U.S. naval recruits were taught to use their bellbottoms as life preservers by slipping them off, then tying the legs open and capturing air in them.
Bell-bottoms in the 1960s and 1970s
Bell-bottoms became very fashionable for women in the mid 1960's in Europe and in North America by the late 1960s and much of the 1970s, both for men and women. By 1967, they went from high-fashion to become part of the
hippieThe hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the early 1960s and spread around the world. The word hippie derives from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district...
counterculture movement in the late 1960s, together with
love beadsLove beads are one of the traditional accoutrements of hippies. They consist of one or more long strings of beads, frequently handmade, worn about the neck by both genders...
, granny glasses, and
tie-dyeTie-dye is a process of resist dyeing textiles or clothing which is made from knit or woven fabric, usually cotton; typically using bright colors. It is a modern version of traditional dyeing methods used in many cultures throughout the world. "Tie-dye" can also describe the resulting pattern or an...
shirts; in the 1970s, they moved into the mainstream. Sonny and Cher helped popularize bell-bottoms in the USA by wearing them on
their popular television showThe Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour was a variety show based on the married couple of American pop-singer Cher and her husband Sonny Bono. The show ran on CBS in the United States when it premiered in August 1971. The show was canceled May 1974 due to the couple's divorce.-The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour :In...
. However, they can be seen as early as 1964, in the concert film
The T.A.M.I. ShowThe T.A.M.I. Show is a 1964 concert film, released by American International Pictures. It includes performances by numerous popular rock and roll and R&B musicians from the United States and England...
, worn (white "flares" with a baby-doll top) by a young
Toni BasilToni Basil is an American musician, video artist, actress and choreographer. Basil is best-known for her #1 hit "Mickey" from 1982.-Early life:Basil was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
, who at the time was a go-go dancer.
Today, the original men's bell bottom pants and flares from the 1970s are collectible vintage clothing items. Worn by men to attend retro theme disco parties, worn in retro revival bands, and to wear clubbing - men's bell bottom pants are a popular fashion item from the 1970s.
Loon pants (shortened from "balloon pants") were one type of bell-bottomed trousers. They flared more from the knee than typical bell-bottoms, in which more of the entire leg was flared.They could be seen worn occasionally by the go-go dancers on the British TV music variety show
Ready Steady Go!Ready Steady Go! or simply RSG! was one of the UK's first rock/pop music TV programmes. RSG! was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV, who wanted to try a music radio show. Allan was assisted by record producer/talent manager Vicki Wickham, who became the producer. It was broadcast...
in 1966. They were a 1970s fashion, and could initially only be bought via catalog from a company in Britain which advertised in the back of the
New Musical ExpressThe New Musical Express is a popular music magazine in the United Kingdom which has been published weekly since March 1952. It was the first British paper to include a singles chart, which first appeared in the 14 November 1952 edition. The magazine's commercial heyday was during the 1970s when it...
. They were usually worn with a
Led ZeppelinLed Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in 1968 by Jimmy Page , Robert Plant , John Paul Jones and John Bonham . With their heavy, guitar-driven sound, Led Zeppelin are regarded as one of the first heavy metal bands, helping to pioneer the genre...
T-shirtA T-shirt is a shirt which is pulled on over the head to cover most of a person's torso. A T-shirt is usually buttonless, collarless, and pocketless, with a round neck and short sleeves. The sleeves of the T-shirt extend at least slightly over the shoulder but not completely over the elbow...
and
sandalsSandals are an open type of outdoor footwear, consisting of a sole held to the wearer's foot by straps or thongs passing over the instep and around the ankle...
. They became associated with
discoDisco is a genre of dance music that that had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, psychedelic and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and early 1970s...
music. When the disco backlash started in 1979, bell bottoms started to go out of fashion along with
leisure suitA leisure suit is a fashion and fad of the 1970s, consisting of a shirt-like jacket and matching trousers, usually made of stretchable double knit polyester. It is often considered emblematic of the era's taste in men's clothing...
s and other clothes that had become associated with disco.
Elephant bells, popular in the mid to late 1970s, were similar to loon pants but typically made of denim. Elephant bells had a marked flare below the knee, often covering the wearer's shoes.
Flare and boot-cut jeans in the 1990s
In the late 1980s, during the rise of acid house and the
Second Summer of LoveThe Second Summer of Love is a name given to the period in 1988-89 in Britain, during the rise of Acid House music and the euphoric explosion of unlicensed ecstasy-fuelled rave parties...
, bell bottoms became popular again in women's and men's fashion in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
spreading to the
AmericasThe Americas, or America, are lands in the Western hemisphere or New World, comprising the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. America may be ambiguous in English, as it is more commonly used to refer to the United States of America...
. They were initially reintroduced as boot-cut (also spelled "boot cut" or "bootcut"), tapering to the knee and loosening around the ankle to accommodate a
bootA boot is a type of footwear that covers the foot and the ankle and extends up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearly distinguishable from the rest of the sole, even if the two are made of one piece. Traditionally made of leather or rubber,...
. Over time, the width of the hem grew wider and the term "flare-leg" was favored in marketing over the term "bell-bottom". As with boot-cut hems, the trend began in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
and spread rapidly around the world. Today both boot-cut and flare-leg pants remain popular both in
denimDenim is a rugged cotton twill textile, in which the weft passes under two or more warp fibers. This produces the familiar diagonal ribbing identifiable on the reverse of the fabric, which distinguishes denim from cotton duck. Denim has been in American usage since the late eighteenth century...
and higher quality office wear. In menswear straight-leg also gave way to boot-cut looks, again initially in Europe, and has made its leap into flare-leg for officewear, the same as what has happened in womenswear. In most cases men's boot-cut and women's boot-cuts differ. Women's jeans are tight to the knee and then flare out slightly to the hem while men's styles are usually flared/loose all the way from crotch to hem. The bell-bottoms of the '60s and '70s can generally be distinguished from the flare or boot-cut pants of the '90s by the tightness of the knee.