Bell-Bottoms

Bell-bottoms—pants that flare out at the cuffs—have had many different associations during the last half of the twentieth


century. First part of a military uniform, later the symbol of those who opposed war, bell-bottoms have tended to arouse strong emotions. Some have condemned them as a fashion mistake, whereas others have worn them as a bold fashion statement.

Bell-bottomed pants were designed as part of a sailor's traditional clothing. They have long been part of various naval uniforms. Wide legs made it easy to pull wet pants off over heavy boots, helping those who fell overboard to discard heavy clothing. The flared legs could then be filled with air to provide a flotation device. Onboard ship, sailors sometimes washed decks in bare feet, and bell-bottoms could be rolled up easily to keep dry.

During the 1960s, as American youth became involved in various radical political and artistic movements, a nonconformist (outside of what society expects) culture began to develop. Called "bohemians" and "hippies" (see entry under 1960s—The Way We Lived in volume 4), these young people rejected commercial fashions and often shopped for cheap, practical clothes at Army-Navy Surplus stores—where they found the Navy's denim bell-bottoms. Embellished with embroidery and patches, these bell-bottoms became a symbol of the flamboyant hippie counterculture. Some made bell-bottoms out of straight leg jeans by inserting a triangle of fabric into the side seam of the pants. Eventually, fashion caught up with the counterculture. Clothing manufacturers began to design stylish bell-bottoms, some with legs so wide they were nicknamed "elephant bells."

By the mid-1970s, bell-bottoms were no longer a political statement. They were universally popular and available in a variety of fabrics. Along with other showy fashions of the 1970s, they soon went out of style, however. Bell-bottoms soon became a synonym for being hopelessly out of date. Bell-bottoms returned to fashion with the name "flares" in the 1990s, as part of a 1970s retro style and as a version of the baggy fashions associated with rave (see entry under 1990s— Music in volume 5) culture. (Raves are night-long parties at which large numbers of people dance, listen to a disc jockey play "techno" music that uses the beat of the music as a hypnotic tool to alter the listeners' consciousnesses, and sometimes use drugs.)

—Tina Gianoulis

For More Information

"Bellbottoms." Bad Fads Museum.http://www.badfads.com/pages/fashion/bellbottom.html (accessed March 14, 2002).

"Bellbottoms." Yesterdayland.http://www.yesterdayland.com/popopedia/shows/fashion/fa1073.php (accessed March 14, 2002).

"Break Out Your Bell-Bottoms: From Madonna to Main Street, Groovy '60s Fashions Are Back—with a Twist." People Weekly (January 28, 1991).