A man sagging his jeans to show off his boxer shorts
Sagging is a manner of wearing trousers that sag so that the top of the trousers or jeans is significantly below the waist, sometimes revealing much of the wearer's underpants.
Sagging is predominantly a male fashion. Women's wearing of low-rise jeans to reveal their G-string underwear (the "whale tail") is not generally described as sagging.[1] A person wearing sagging trousers is sometimes called a "sagger",[2] and in some countries this practice is known as "low-riding".[3][4]
Origin
The style was popularized by hip-hop musicians in the 1990s.[5][6]
It is often claimed the style originated from the United States prison system where belts are sometimes prohibited due to fear that they could be used as a makeshift weapon,[7] and there can be a lack of appropriately sized clothing. As a result, their pants would sag.[5][8]
North America
United States
An example of a boy sagging his pants
Reaction
During the 2000s, many North American local governments, school systems, transit agencies, and even airlines passed laws and regulations against the practice of wearing sagging pants, although no state or federal laws have been enacted banning the practice.[9] US presidential candidate Barack Obama, speaking just before the 2008 US Presidential Election, appeared on MTV and said that laws banning the practice of wearing low-slung pants that expose one's underwear were "a waste of time ... Having said that, brothers should pull up their pants. You are walking by your mother, your grandmother, your underwear is showing. What's wrong with that? Come on. Some people might not want to see your underwear. I'm one of them."[10]
In June 2007, the Town Council of Delcambre, Louisiana, passed an indecent exposure ordinance, which prohibited intentionally wearing trousers in such a way as to show underwear.[11] In March 2008, the Hahira, Georgia City Council passed a controversial clothing ordinance, in the name of public safety, that bans citizens from wearing pants with top below the waist that reveal skin or undergarments. The council was split 2–2, but the tie was broken by the mayor.[12]Pagedale, Missouri is another to have passed this law in 2008.[13][14]
Benetta Standly, statewide organizer for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Georgia stated, "In Atlanta, we see this as racial profiling ... It's going to target African-American male youths. There's a fear with people associating the way you dress with crimes being committed."[15] The interim police chief of Flint, Michigan ordered the arrest of saggers for disorderly conduct; however, as of August2008[update], only warnings had been issued. The local chapter of the ACLU threatened legal action in response, saying that sagging did not violate the Flint disorderly conduct ordinance[16] and a Florida judge threw out a case brought under a similar rule, as being unconstitutional.[17]
Sagging clothing is a violation of some school dress codes,[3][18][19][20] and the prohibition has been supported in the court system.[21]
Two weeks after the "Pants on the Ground" video became popular due to American Idol (see below), a billboard campaign against the style of sagging pants was launched in the Dallas, Texas, area. The billboards feature Big Mama Joseph from the 1997 film Soul Food saying, "Pull 'Em Up!" and asks youngsters to "Keep it a secret!" The campaign is the brainchild of Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine R. Caraway, and uses advertising space donated by Clear Channel Outdoor.[22] Another billboard campaign against sagging pants was launched in Brooklyn, New York by New York State Senator Eric Adams on March 28, 2010.[23] In May 2010, New York State Senate President Malcolm Smith used US$2,200 from his campaign fund to launch a similar campaign in Queens.[24]
In the fall of 2010 at Westside Middle School in Memphis, Tennessee, the policy on handling sagging pants is for students to pull them up or get "Urkeled", a reference to the character Steve Urkel of the 1990s television show Family Matters. In this practice, teachers would pull their pants up and attach them there using zip ties. Students would also have their photo taken and posted on a board in the hallway, for all of their classmates to see. In an interview with WMC-TV, Principal Bobby White stated that the general idea is to fight pop culture with pop culture.[25] One teacher at the school claimed to have "Urkeled" up to 80 students per week, although after five weeks students got the message, and the number dropped to 18.[26]
On November 23, 2010, Albany, Georgia passed a city ordinance that banned the wearing of pants or skirts with top more than three inches below the top of the hips, and imposed a fine of $25 for the first offense, increasing to up to $250 for subsequent offenses. By September 2011, City Attorney Nathan Davis reported that 187 citations had been issued and fines of $3,916 collected.[27]
On December 8, 2010, the city of Opa-locka, Florida voted unanimously on a $250 fine or 10 hours of community service for individuals who did not pull their pants up.[28]
In Fort Worth, Texas, the local transportation authority implemented a policy in June 2011 that prohibited any passenger from boarding a bus while wearing sagging pants that exposes their underwear or buttocks. Signs were posted on buses saying, "Pull 'em up or find another ride", and one City Council member was looking for funds for a billboard campaign. The communications manager for the Fort Worth Transportation Authority said that on the first day the policy was enforced, 50 people were removed from buses for wearing improper pants. Some complained about the policy, but the overall response was positive.[29]
A state law went into effect in Florida for the 2011–2012 school year banning the practice of sagging while at school. Pupils found in violation would receive a verbal warning for the first offense, followed by parental notification by the principal for the second offense, which would require the parent to bring a change of clothing to school. Students would then face in-school suspension for subsequent violations.[30]
In April 2012, Alabama County Circuit Judge John Bush sentenced 20-year-old LaMarcus Ramsey to three days in jail for appearing in court with sagging blue jeans that exposed his underwear, telling him, "You are in contempt of court because you showed your butt in court."[32]
On June 12, 2013, the Town Council of Wildwood, New Jersey, located on the Jersey Shore, voted unanimously to ban sagging pants from the town's boardwalk.[33]
In Ocala, Florida, a law was passed against sagging jeans, with violators facing a $500 fine or up to six months in jail. Something similar was done in Wildwood, New Jersey.[34]
In September 2015, students at Hinds Community College in Mississippi protested college authorities for the right to sag their pants.[35][36] The protest was prompted by the arrest of a student for sagging in violation of the college's dress code.[35][36]
On July 5, 2016, an ordinance was passed in Timmonsville, South Carolina that punishes sagging pants. Offenders may face up to a $600 fine.[37]
Sagging declined in mainstream popularity during the mid to late 2010s. By 2017 it was observed that "the era of sagging pants is ending".[40] Fashion writer Stephanie Smith-Strickland explained that because rappers and hip hop artists, such as Lil Yachty, were increasingly wearing tailored and well-fitted clothing, so too were the young men seeking to emulate them.[40]
By the early 2020s, sagging was considered a "faded" trend in Philadelphia, where it had once been popular.[41]
2020s
In 2021, luxury fashion line Balenciaga was criticized for marketing a $1,190 pair of sweatpants with boxers woven into them in order to mimic sagging.[42] Critics argued the product "gentrified sagging"[43] and constituted cultural appropriation, and accused Balenciaga of attempting to monetize a trend which had a long history of being used to criminalize Black men.[42]
Although sagging was no longer widely popular amongst men in the 2020s, a 2023 Washington Post article argued that "the age of female sagging" had begun.[44] It was observed that sagging was now being embraced by young women, motivated by the post-COVID emphasis on comfort, and changing gender norms.[44]
In 2023 Paper analyzed the post-COVID growth of an online community of gay men who regularly posted photographs and videos of sagging to social media sites such as Instagram.[45] This was said to reflect a "core collective memory" shared by the posters - by now in their 20s and 30s - of sagging's mainstream popularity amongst heterosexual males during the posters' time at middle and high school (during the 2000s to mid-2010s).[45] This process was said to be a "reclamation" of a trend that was, during its peak, associated with hypermasculinity.[45]
Europe
Denmark
By 2001, many young men of Denmark sagged baggy jeans.[46]Physiotherapists warned against sagging, as it reduced the wearer to taking "small, weak steps", and required the wearer to bend over in order to reach into their pockets, which were often hanging around their knees.[46]
By 2003, sagging had become popular amongst young middle and upper class Danish men who wanted to imitate rappers and gangsters.[47]
In 2006, schools began banning sagging, citing concerns the students were limping instead of being able to walk normally.[48]
In 2009, anthropologist Karen Lisa Salamon suggested that the waddling gait required by saggers was the most prominent cultural effect of fashion in Denmark in the 2000s.[49]
After achieving mainstream popularity in the late 2000s,[50] sagging fell out of fashion from the early 2010s.[50] It was noted in 2013 that as young Danish men were no longer sagging, they were no longer walking with a waddling gait.[50]
Sweden
In 2006, a school library in Falkenberg banned sagging, citing concerns about the students' inability to walk properly.[51] However, after a student rebellion, in which students advocated for their right to follow the trend, the school withdrew the ban.[52]
In 2007, further schools banned sagging pants in physical education classes for safety reasons.[53] It was reported that some students were even struggling to manoeuvre through the cafeteria as they were unable to hold their food trays whilst constantly adjusting their sagging pants.[54]
In 2009, public swimming pools in Sweden began banning sagging boardshorts or swim trunks.[55]
In 2010, the Crown Prosecution Service attempted to serve 18-year-old Ellis Drummond from Rushden with an ASBO (Anti-social behaviour order) preventing him from "wearing trousers so low beneath the waistline that members of the public are able to see his underwear."[57] However, the ASBO was withdrawn after the judge commented that such a ban would breach Drummond's human rights.[58]
A young man sagging to expose his Calvin Klein underpants, 2009
By the early 2010s, sagging was described as "persistently popular" amongst teenage boys.[59] In 2011, teenagers and men in their twenties were quoted as explaining they sagged "because everyone else does", "to conform", and because "people think you're really uncool (if you don't)": sagging had become so popular that young men chose to sag in order to fit in and avoid ostracisation.[59]
During its mainstream popularity during the late 2000s and early 2010s, sagging was particularly popularised by "middle class teenagers"[60] and young men, including public school students[61] and university students,[62] often to expose designer underwear.[63] It was reported in 2011 that some university students were deliberately sagging suit trousers at graduation ceremonies.[62]
After fifteen years of mainstream "extreme popularity", sagging began to lose its appeal amongst young men from the early 2010s onwards.[64]Debenhams suggested that young men had started to favour smarter, well-fitting trousers, reflecting an overall trend towards professionalism, in large part due to fear of unemployment and intense job competition in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis.[64]
Oceania
Australia
In 2008, a surf club in Coolum Beach banned men from sagging at the club.[65] After a 19-year old surf instructor, Luke McClaren, was denied access to the club, the Queensland Council for Civil Liberties criticised the ban.
Parenting author Kelly Millar wrote that in the late 2000s and early 2010s, sagging had been particularly popular amongst wealthier private school boys, who used the trend to show off branded underwear such as Bonds.[66]
In 2009, Bonds released a television commercial in which three young men, sagging their jeans to expose their Bonds underwear, mocked a group of elderly men wearing high-waisted pants.[67]
By 2010, the trend was so widespread that the particular bandy-legged gait adopted by saggers - with their "legs extended a little extra to the side with each step to give their pants extra grip on their thighs" - was described as the "typical gait of the generation" of young Australian men.[68] It was also noted that the trend had shifted away from baggy pants and that young men were instead sagging skinny jeans.[68]
The link between sagging pants and graffiti culture was noted in Melbourne in 2010, with sagging being particularly associated with "vandals" and "taggers".[69]
Sagging waned in popularity from the mid-2010s, and young men were sagging "less often" by 2017.[70]
New Zealand
In 2002, it was reported that the sagging trend had been "widely embraced" by young Kiwi men, who regularly exposed "10 centimetres of boxer shorts".[71] Multiple secondary schools, including Scots College, had banned the trend and were giving students detentions for sagging.[71]
In 2002, the New Zealand Society of Physiotherapists warned that the "abnormal" and "exaggerated" gait adopted by saggers to prevent their pants from falling below their knees could cause spinal issues.[72]
In 2011, it was reported that many young men were sagging so low that they were prevented from walking properly, and instead reduced to a waddle-like gait.[73] It was noted that some teenagers, who sagged so low the crotch of their pants was at knee-level, were even unable to lift their leg high enough to board a bus.[73]
Asia
Gaza Strip
In 2013, Hamas' police force launched a campaign named "Pull Up Your Pants", targeting Palestinian youth.[74] Young men with sagging pants were stopped by Hamas police on the way to university and high school, and either reprimanded or forced to return home to change clothing.[74]
India
In 2009, it was reported that sagging was popular amongst Indian men aged 16 to 25, who imitated hip hop artists and wanted to expose their branded, designer underwear.[75] Former law minister Shanti Bhushan noted that although sagging was considered obscene by some, it was not legally objectionable.[75]
Japan
Sagging, known colloquially as koshipan, became popular amongst young men of Japan in the late 1990s.[76] In 2006, a survey of high school students revealed that 16 percent sagged their pants.[77] By 2010, it was reported that at least "ten percent of students in most schools" sagged.[77] In the 2000s and early 2010s, sagging was linked to rap music and skateboarding, and was considered popular amongst 20-somethings.[77]
Sagging became less popular from the 2010s onwards, with a shift towards neater, more formal and well-fitting clothing amongst high school students and young people.[76]
Sagging in popular culture
Music
American rapper Travis Scott sagging his pants while performing in 2015
British rapper Dizzee Rascal referenced the trend in his 2003 track "Cut 'em Off", which included the lyric "I wear my trousers ridiculously low".[81]
Mac Miller, who sang about sagging his pants in his 2014 song "Insomniak"
Sagging has been ridiculed in music videos, first in the 2010 song "Back Pockets on the Floor" performed by the Green Brothers of Highland Park, Michigan.[83] Another song in 2007 by Dewayne Brown of Dallas, Texas, titled "Pull Your Pants Up", has a similar message.[84] On January 13, 2010, "General" Larry Platt performed "Pants on the Ground" during auditions for the ninth season of American Idol. In 2012, a nine-year-old rapper named Amor "Lilman" Arteaga wrote a song titled "Pull Ya Pants Up", and made a music video with an appearance by Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz.[85]
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.
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.
Capri pants are pants that are longer than shorts, but are not as long as trousers. Capri pants can be a generic term for any cropped slim pants, and also used as a specific term to refer to pants that end on the ankle bone.
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.
Whale tail is the Y-shaped rear portion of a thong or G-string when visible above the waistline of low-rise pants, shorts, or skirts that resembles a whale's tail. Popularized by a number of female celebrities including Amy Dumas, Christina Aguilera, Victoria Beckham, Mariah Carey, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, displaying whale tails became popular in the early 2000s, together with the popularity of low-rise jeans and thong panties; but quickly waned within the decade.
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.
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.
Trousers are a staple of historical and modern fashion. Throughout history, the role of trousers is a constant change for women. The first appearance of trousers in recorded history is among nomadic steppe-people in Western Europe. Steppe people were a group of nomads of various different ethnic groups that lived in the Eurasian grasslands. Archaeological evidence suggests that men and women alike wore trousers in that cultural context. However, for much of modern history, the use of trousers has been restricted to men. This norm was enforced in many regions due to social customs and laws. There are, however, many historical cases of women wearing trousers in defiance of these norms such as the 1850s women rights movement, comfort, freedom of movement, fashion, disguise, attempts to evade the gender pay gap, and attempts to establish an empowered public identity for women. Especially in the 20th and 21st centuries, the customs and laws restricting this manner of dress have relaxed dramatically, reflecting a growing acceptance and normalisation of the practice.
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 the United Kingdom, the word pants generally means underwear and not trousers. 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.
Underwear, underclothing, or undergarments are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer clothing from being soiled or damaged by bodily excretions, to lessen the friction of outerwear against the skin, to shape the body, and to provide concealment or support for parts of it. In cold weather, long underwear is sometimes worn to provide additional warmth. Special types of undergarments have religious significance. Some items of clothing are designed as undergarments, while others, such as T-shirts and certain types of shorts, are appropriate both as underwear and outerwear. If made of suitable material or textile, some underwear can serve as nightwear or swimwear, and some undergarments are intended for sexual attraction or visual appeal.
The thong is a garment generally used as either underwear or in some countries, as a swimsuit. It may also be worn for traditional ceremonies or competitions.
Low-rise is a style of clothing designed to sit low on, or below, the hips. The style can also be called lowcut, hipster, or hip-hugger, and can apply to garments worn by males or females. The term can be applied to all garments that cover the wearer's crotch area, including trousers, jeans, shorts, skirts, panties, briefs, bikinis, pantyhose, and tights.
Wearing underwear as outerwear is a fashion trend popularized by celebrities, sports and media. It began as a practical and comfortable variation of clothing, such as the T-shirt and the sleeveless shirt, but later evolved into provocative, controversial fashion statements. 21st century versions include the display of thongs and bras in women's clothing, and the display of underpants under low-slung pants in men. Wearing underwear as outerwear has historical antecedents in the display of undergarments in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
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.
Yoga pants are high-denier hosiery reaching from ankle to waist, originally designed for yoga as exercise and first sold in 1998 by Lululemon, a company founded for that purpose. They were initially made of a mix of nylon and Lycra; more specialised fabrics have been introduced to provide moisture-wicking, compression, and odour reduction.
Low-crotch pants, also known as drop-crotch pants, are a type of pants with the crotch of trousers designed to sag down loosely toward the knees. Low-crotch pants have been available in styles for both men and women but the skinny-legged, dropped-crotch types of jeans and pants rose to popularity in the 2010s.
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