Bell-bottoms pants and jeans are commonly associated with the 70s - the era of freedom, general liberation and carefree hippies, who just very much respected this silhouette. But how did this unusual cut appear? Why and who first needed pants with pants that extend downward? If you dig a little deeper, it turns out that the bell-bottoms originally had the most anything but applied value.
You've probably heard that bell-bottoms were originally invented for sailors. Back in the days of the sailing fleet, they wore long pants that extended downward from the hips. They were given the French name cloche (bell or trumpet). This cut was not invented for beauty at all. The wide pant legs made it easy and unobstructed to roll the pants up to the knees so as not to get them dirty when washing the deck, and also so as not to get the mooring on the sloping shore wet. But it wasn't just about neatness. Claw pants could have saved a sailor's life.
The thing is that they were supplemented with a hinged flap at the front, replacing the standard clasp. This valve was needed to allow the sailor to easily remove his pants when he began to sink. Of course, with wide pants to do this much easier: tight pants, getting wet, stick to the skin. The claw, on the other hand, could be dropped in a matter of seconds, which meant getting rid of the extra ballast and surfacing on the surface of the water. By the way, for the same purpose, the sailors' boots were equipped not with laces, but with rubber inserts: in an emergency situation, they did not have to spend time and energy on untying and unbuttoning something.
In 1813, one of the first recorded descriptions of sailors' uniforms, written by Commodore Stephen Decater, noted that men on the frigates United States and Macedonia wore "glazed sailcloth hats with stiff brimmed brim decorated with bands of ribbons, blue jackets buttoned loosely over vests, and blue bell-bottoms".
Bell-bottoms have also been worn by European carpenters for centuries, due to the fact that the expanding pant legs prevent sawdust from getting on their shoes or feet. Bell-bottoms are still worn by carpenters who choose to spend their time after training as apprentices on the road.
By the 1910s, bell-bottoms had disappeared from sailors' uniforms, but began to come into fashion in civilian clothing. But their real peak of popularity was yet to come. Bell-bottoms really progressed first in the late 60's, and then in the 70's, when they became a favorite silhouette of the hippie movement and a symbol of the style of "disco". There were several reasons for this: firstly, bell-bottoms looked very effective in the dynamics, in the dance. And secondly, they looked great with equally fashionable platform shoes. By the way, both are still in trend - just look at the current collections of designers.
