Jean shorts or jorts are shorts made out of denim. They may be cutoffs, which are made by cutting jeans, or store-bought jorts. The word "jorts" sometimes refers specifically to oversized denim shorts popularly worn by men. The word is often used humorously, and the style has been associated with uncool or "dad" fashion.
Jean shorts were invented during the counterculture of the 1960s. In following decades, they were associated with countercultures such as punk, hip hop, and skateboarding. Very short cutoffs, known as Daisy Dukes (after a character from the series The Dukes of Hazzard ), were popular in the 1970s. Baggy jorts were introduced in the 1980s. In the 1990s and 2000s, various styles of jorts were popular, and baggy shorts were often worn by hip hop musicians. Long jorts became a trend in the early 2020s, before which Daisy Dukes had been more fashionable. Celebrities and luxury brands became associated with jorts, which people wore for both comfort and ironic value.
The word "jorts", a portmanteau of "jean shorts", was first attested in the 1990s. [1] It was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013 [2] and to Merriam-Webster in 2023. [3] The word may refer to denim shorts in general or to an oversized style popular in the 2020s. [4] The use of the word "cutoffs", referring to jeans or other pants that have been cut, is attested by 1967. [5]
The word "jorts" is often used to humorously or derisively refer to unfashionable denim shorts worn by men, while the words "cutoffs" and "Daisy Dukes" refer to more popular women's styles. [1] According to The Washington Post 's André Wheeler, the funny sound of the word contributes to the humorous reputation of jorts. [4]
Jeans were popularized in the 19th century, but shorts were seen as immodest. During the counterculture of the 1960s, when shorts became popular, people began cutting jeans to shorten them. Jean shorts continued to be associated with counterculture in the 1970s, when they were worn by punk artists such as Debbie Harry and Patti Smith. [6] In following decades, jean shorts were popular among countercultures such as hip hop, skaters, and rave culture. [4]
The character Daisy Duke, played by Catherine Bach in The Dukes of Hazzard , wore very short cutoffs. The style became known in the 1970s as Daisy Dukes, a term used into the 2020s. [6] Very short denim shorts were the dominant style for both men and women of the 1970s. [7] In the 1980s, long jorts with high waists and light washes were popular. Tennis player Andre Agassi wore short, acid-washed Nike jean shorts at the 1988 US Open, an atypical choice of fabric for the sport. [6] [8] Oversized, baggy jorts entered the market in the 1980s, becoming associated with skateboarding and surf culture. [4]
Various jorts styles were popular in the 1990s. New York hip hop artists of the 1990s, such as Ol' Dirty Bastard and Killah Priest, popularized baggy jorts. Short jorts were popular in the 1990s among designers such as Azzedine Alaïa. They were worn by 1990s celebrities such as Cindy Crawford, Mariah Carey, Halle Berry, and Britney Spears. The older style of cut-off jeans was associated with punk and grunge musicians like Courtney Love. [6]
Jorts of varying lengths became trends in the 2000s. [6] Rappers such as Nelly and Lil Jon wore loose, ankle-length jorts, [9] and Chingy wore extremely long orange jorts to the BET Awards 2005. [4] Wrestler John Cena became known for baggy jorts, which he wore as part of his early hip hop persona and continued to wear through his career. [9] The 2010s saw fashions including colorful and studded jorts. [6] A 2016 article in The Washington Post found that, based on Google Trends data, jorts were more popular in the Midwestern United States than cargo shorts, which were popular in the Southeast and Northwest. [10] [11]
By the early 2020s, Daisy Dukes were the most popular style of denim shorts, but long jorts began to gain popularity. [12] Long jorts were seen as frumpy and associated with the outfits of "dads", but became popular among young men who wore them ironically in the summer of 2021. [7] Models such as Kendall Jenner and Gigi and Bella Hadid brought long jorts into fashion. [6] [13] Long jorts became a major trend in 2023, [13] and were labelled by Vogue as a summer trend of 2024. [4] The style of Bermuda-length, wide-legged, narrow-waisted jorts gained popularity on social media. [4] [13] Celebrities such as Charli XCX, Justin and Hailey Bieber, and Dua Lipa wore them. [6] [4] Brands such as Givenchy, Marine Serre, Valentino, Diesel, and Louis Vuitton released luxury versions. [9] [4] The trend was widely associated with the slacker subculture, while some wearers associated them with Y2K fashion or androgynous fashion. The Washington Post's André Wheeler associated it with Charli XCX's "Brat summer" trend. [4] The trend was polarizing; some internet users viewed long jorts as their comfortable and versatile summer clothing, while others negatively associated the length with "dad" fashion. [14]
Jorts can be DIY and made by cutting existing jeans, and store-bought jorts may be hemmed or may be frayed to resemble handmade jorts. [7] Many jorts are sold through secondhand vendors. [4] Jorts are available in various colors and inseam lengths, and they may have visible pockets. [15] [9] Technical jorts, such as those made by Ripton & Co, are designed for outdoor protection. [16]
Jorts are often disparaged due to being unusually short [15] or being too long to fit the wearer's body shape, [4] and for being an outdated style from the 1990s or 2000s. [17] [9] Popular culture often humorously references men's jorts, such as a Bud Light commercial in the Real Men of Genius series; [15] a sketch on The Tonight Show in which Jimmy Fallon, Will Ferrell, and Nick Jonas sing about jorts; [4] and the phrase "Gators wear jean shorts", coined in 1997 to insult the Florida Gators and their fans. [18]
Jeans are a type of trousers made from denim or dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", with the addition of copper pocket rivets added by Jacob W. Davis in 1871 and patented by Davis and Levi Strauss on May 20, 1873. Prior to the patent, the term "blue jeans" had been long in use for various garments, constructed from blue-colored denim.
Shorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they are a shortened version of trousers, which cover the entire leg, but not the foot. Shorts are typically worn in warm weather or in an environment where comfort and airflow are more important than the protection of the legs.
Hip-hop fashion refers to the various styles of dress that originated from Urban Black America and inner city youth in cities like New York City, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. Being a major part of hip hop culture, it further developed in other cities across the United States, with each contributing different elements to the overall style that is now recognized worldwide.
Bell-bottoms are a style of trousers that become wider from the knees downward, forming a bell-like shape of the trouser leg.
Leggings are several types of leg attire that have varied through the years. Modern usage from the 1960s onwards has come to refer to elastic close-fitting high-rise garments worn over the legs typically by women, such as leg warmers or tights. Usage from the 18th century refers to men's wear usually made of cloth or leather that is wrapped around the leg down to the ankle. In the 19th century, leggings usually referred to infants' leg clothing that were matched with a jacket, as well as leg-wrappings made of leather or wool and worn by soldiers and trappers. Leggings prominently returned to women's fashion in the 1960s, drawing from the form-fitting clothing of dancers. With the widespread adoption of the synthetic fibre Lycra and the rise in popularity of aerobics, leggings came to further prominence in the 1970s and 1980s, and eventually made their way into streetwear. Leggings are a part of the late 2010s into the 2020s athleisure fashion trend of wearing activewear outside sporting activities and in casual settings.
Casual wear is a Western dress code that is relaxed, occasional, spontaneous and suited for everyday use. Casual wear became popular in the Western world following the counterculture of the 1960s. When emphasising casual wear's comfort, it may be referred to as leisurewear or loungewear.
Wide-leg jeans, colloquially called baggy pants, are a style of clothing popular from the early 1980s to the 2000s, and also during a revival in the 2020s.
Fashion in the 1990s was defined by a return to minimalist fashion, in contrast to the more elaborate and flashy trends of the 1980s. One notable shift was the mainstream adoption of tattoos, body piercings aside from ear piercing and, to a much lesser extent, other forms of body modification such as branding.
Fashion of the 1980s was characterized by a rejection of 1970s fashion. Punk fashion began as a reaction against both the hippie movement of the past decades and the materialist values of the current decade. The first half of the decade was relatively tame in comparison to the second half, which was when apparel became very bright and vivid in appearance.
The fashions of the 2000s were often described as a global mash up, where trends saw the fusion of vintage styles, global and ethnic clothing, as well as the fashions of numerous music-based subcultures. Hip-hop fashion generally was the most popular among young people of both sexes, followed by the retro-inspired indie look later in the decade.
A denim skirt, sometimes referred to as a 'jean skirt' or 'jeans skirt', is a skirt made of denim, the same material as blue jeans. Denim skirts come in a variety of styles and lengths to suit different populations and occasions. For example, full-length denim skirts are commonly worn by women whose religious beliefs prohibit them from wearing trousers, including Orthodox Jews, some Muslims, Mennonites and Pentecostals, among others. Shorter skirts made of denim are commonly worn by teenagers and young adults.
Slim-fit pants or skinny jeans are tight trousers that have a snug fit through the legs and end in a small leg opening that can be anywhere from 9" to 20" in circumference, depending on size. Other names for this style include drainpipes, stovepipes, tight pants, cigarette pants, pencil pants, skinny pants, gas pipes, skinnies, and tight jeans.
Stone washing is a textile manufacturing process used to give a newly manufactured cloth garment a worn appearance. The process became popular in the 1980s, as acid jeans gained popularity; however, stone washing has roots going back to 1960s surfer apparel. Stone washing also helps to increase the softness and flexibility of otherwise stiff and rigid fabrics such as canvas and denim. Although stone washing increases a fabric's flexibility, it shortens the life-span of the jeans. The process of stone washing can be costly, as freshly stone washed jeans must be washed many times in order to remove the grit from the process. Along with high production costs, stone washing can be detrimental to the environment, due to the excess grit that is removed as fabric is being stone washed. This leads many manufacturers to pursue other methods to achieve a distressed appearance.
Gym shorts are an article of clothing typically worn by people when exercising. They are typically made out of fabrics that allow for maximum comfort and ease, such as nylon. Brands such as Nike, Under Armour, Gymshark, Adidas, and Reebok all make gym shorts. Cotton gym shorts were made popular by a cheerleading brand called Soffe.
Mom jeans is an informal term for high-waisted women's jeans that were first fashionable in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In the late 1990s and 2000s they were mainly worn by adult American women and considered "old" by younger women. High rise, ankle length "mom jeans" have since become fashionable again in the 2010s and into the 2020s with younger women from tween and teen aged girls, on up through college aged women and beyond.
Trousers, slacks, or pants are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately. In some parts of the United Kingdom, the word pants is ambiguous: it can mean trousers rather than underpants. Shorts are similar to trousers, but with legs that come down only to around the area of the knee, higher or lower depending on the style of the garment. To distinguish them from shorts, trousers may be called "long trousers" in certain contexts such as school uniform, where tailored shorts may be called "short trousers" in the UK.
The 2010s were defined by hipster fashion, athleisure, a revival of austerity-era period pieces and alternative fashions, swag-inspired outfits, 1980s-style neon streetwear, and unisex 1990s-style elements influenced by grunge and skater fashions. The later years of the decade witnessed the growing importance in the western world of social media influencers paid to promote fast fashion brands on Pinterest and Instagram.
A high-rise or high-waisted garment is one designed to sit high on, or above, the wearer's hips, usually at least 8 centimetres (3 inches) higher than the navel. In western cultures, high-rise jeans were especially common in the 1970s, late 1980s through the late 1990s, derided as mom jeans in the 2000s, and popular again in the mid-to-late 2010s and continues to be popular into the present in competition with low-rise pants.
The clothing style and fashion sense of the Philippines in the modern-day era have been influenced by the indigenous peoples, Chinese waves of immigration, the Spaniards, and the Americans, as evidenced by the chronology of events that occurred in Philippine history. At present, Filipinos conform their way of dressing based on classic fashion or prevailing fashion trends.
The fashions of the 2020s represent a departure from 2010s fashion and feature a nostalgia for older aesthetics. They have been largely inspired by styles of the late 1990s to mid-2000s, and 1980s. Early in the decade, several publications noted the shortened trend and nostalgia cycle in 2020s fashion. Fashion was also shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a major impact on the fashion industry, and led to shifting retail and consumer trends.