low-rise jeans

Low-rise pants, also known as "low-cut jeans", "lowriders" or "rap pants", are a type of pants that sit low on, or below, the hips, usually at least 8 centimetres (3 inches) lower than the navel. Low-rise pants have been available since the 1960s, in styles for both men and women, with popularity increasing in the West in the early 1970s. Terminology The "rise" of any bottom apparel is determined by the distance between the crotch and the waist and is usually around on regular pants. In comparison, the average measurement of low-rise trousers is roughly , with some as little as . Several jeans brands also reflect the rise on the zipper, by creating pants with zippers far shorter than regular pants, usually between , and some manufacturers, such as Dorinha Jeans Wear, even provide zippers. The latter can also be classified as "ultra low-rise jeans", and the small zipper no longer has its traditional function, but is rather a display of fashion. History Hip-huggers, the precursor to low-rise pants, were designed by Irene Kasmer, in 1957, in Los Angeles, and rose to popularity during the mid 1960s, with the mod fashion subculture, and with the hippies in the late 1960s. Often worn with light-cotton, paisley-printed tops or nehru-collared jackets, bell-bottomed hip-huggers were popularized by rock icons such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and Robert Plant. Later, hip-huggers became a staple of popular culture and were incorporated into the disco scene of the 1970s. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, however, waistlines moved higher as wide, flared, bell-bottoms gradually gave way to designer straight-legged jeans. Throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, as more women entered the corporate workforce, the high waist design remained predominant, with commercial designers such as Gloria Vanderbilt and Calvin Klein at the forefront.