21 January 2011

"Pants on the ground"

Photo found at Nothing To Do With Arbroath, so I decided to see what I could find out about this fashion trend.  Wikipedia has a page on it, with a link to President Obama's comments on the subject.  A Snopes article discusses the origins and non-implications of the trend.

At some sites this type of dress is referred to as jailin' or saggin' - the popularity of the latter term perhaps influenced by what it spells backwards...

4 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 21, 2011 at 7:35 AM

    I imagine it's much like wearing super-high heels, two-inch fake nails, or Duchess of Devonshire-style wigs. It says to the world: I never need to run/type/do anything menial. It's a statement that's been made throughout history by every culture on earth.

    However, this particular fashion statement is quite popular in my neighborhood. I never thought much about its practical ramifications until I saw a guy walking down the sidewalk with his two-year-old. She broke free and ran toward the street. Thanks to his jeans, he literally couldn't catch her. A man in his 70s finally wrangled the child--and had a few choice words for the young gentleman with his pants around his thighs.

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  2. KrikkitJanuary 21, 2011 at 9:37 AM

    Cops are all for it. Makes em' easy to catch, even for fat donut eaters

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  3. BarbwireJanuary 21, 2011 at 8:12 PM

    I think this particular picture is a parody. I taught in South Central LA and Compton, and I think I can tell a real gangsta when I see one. They just don't look "hard".

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  4. Philip DahlJanuary 23, 2011 at 8:03 AM

    this trend is to mimic the attire of someone in jail, along with shoe laces (circa run dmc) belts where not allowed to be worn for the fear of suicide.

    Though I never took the time to spell saggin' backwards I feel like that's just a coincidence.

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