Before Gen Z Cancels Them for Good, Here Is the History of Skinny Jeans
Lately, I have been trying to get acquainted with TikTok as a good millennial trying to understand the new generations. Then, I discovered this new trend on the app, which is Gen Z’ers mocking Millennials. I mean, more power to you, I had my fun with the Ok Boomer thing. But then I saw something that pretty much concerns me, as I am a user of it: Gen Z is cancelling skinny jeans. And I am too much of a Millennial to let that happen in silence. I knew the golden years of skinny jeans were gone, even I, who loves some good tight black jeans with some ankle boots and a large jumper, was using them way less. But I didn’t think they would be completely cast out of a whole generation’s closets. Yes, we came to this. Skinny jeans are officially being cancelled by Gen Z, which means I am officially feeling old.
Jokes apart, this new perception of skinny jeans is actually a reflection of the market. Loosen fits were getting strength even before the pandemic, very often related to body positivity movement. The Covid-19 pandemic only intensified the trend, since people staying home most of the time made them prefer dressing more comfortably — and comfortable is definitely not the first word that comes to your mind when thinking about skinny jeans. The trend of comfort and baggy fits is so strong that even Levi’s is getting into it. The iconic denim brand was already introducing more baggy silhouettes and less tight fits during the year and a half. Then, a few weeks ago, Levi’s announced a large-scale launch of the Red Tab line, a collection of mainly sweatpants and tracksuits.
Amid this whole scenario, I decided to say my dearest words to skinny jeans, before they are killed and buried (until they become retro and come back). This week I will be telling you the history of these uncomfortable but easy-to-style trousers, the skinny jeans. If you are a Gen Z, stay and read it, because, one day, Generation Alpha will come and tell you your baggy trousers are out and you will want them to receive the respect they deserve. Ok, enough, let’s tell this story. #justiceforskinnyjeans
Tight Trousers Have Royal Origins
In the 17th century, before denim was even created, slim-cut trousers were very popular among royal French men. Men’s breeches were the aristocratic grand-grand-grandfather of the skinny jeans. Like most trends, it spread to England and the rest of Europe. There was a period when the tight fit went out of fashion, but it had a comeback in the first half of the 1800s after becoming a mark of rebellion during the French Revolution. This new version of the fit was named the “pantaloon”, and it was basically a high-waisted and tighter work trousers.
Even though tight trousers go back to the 17th century for men, for women they have a much later start. This is, of course, due to the stigma of women wearing “men’s clothes” at that time. Women started to abandon their skirts only in the late 1800s, when the bifurcated garment that women wore under skirts, called bloomers, started to be accepted when doing sports or biking. However, the attire was still not widely adopted, being linked to feminist movements such as the suffragists. Also, it was far from tight.
By 1910, trousers for women became more socially acceptable (and by “acceptable” I mean the wearer wouldn’t be arrested). It was only by 1915 that slimmer fits for women started to surge, made of canvas or denim, and worn solely for manual labour. However, it would take a few more decades for women to be able to wear trousers without making a huge statement.
The Skinny Jeans Golden Years I Only Heard About
It was during the 50s that skinny jeans as we know it started to appear. The gender-neutral and minimal style of the social movement Beatniks created a perfect stage for skinny jeans. The piece was worn mostly by men, becoming synonymous with rock n’ roll and the “bad boy” culture. Many male sex symbols of the time, such as James Dean and Marlon Brando, wore the tight jeans trend. But the male icon that was probably the ultimate ambassador of the skinny jeans trend was Elvis Presley. Although jeans were not very popular among women during the 50s, many fashion avant-garde Hollywood actresses were seen wearing tighter trousers. Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn are two examples of famous women who were seen in slim-fit, high-waisted trousers.
It was in the 60s that skinny jeans finally had their first golden age. At the beginning of its popularity in the 60s, slim-fit jeans were mostly worn by Mod girls and rock and rollers. Although skinny jeans started as a counterculture trend, they rapidly went mainstream.
What helped to make skinnies so popular during the 60s was seeing famous actresses such as Doris Day wearing them. At that time, magazines with sewing patterns to make your own clothes at home were still extremely popular. Therefore, the release of sewing patterns for slim-fit trousers at one of the most popular magazines of its kind, Butterick, was what ultimately made the style more accessible to the average woman. All these factors made skinny jeans the “it” trousers of the decade. Then the 70s came and bell-bottoms overshadowed slim fits.
However, skinny jeans didn’t stay out of the scene for too long. In the 80s, the fit had a comeback this time attached to another counterculture movement — the punks. A punk’s wardrobe would almost always have a distressed, slim-cut pair of jeans, often covered in safety pins and patches. Another trendy style of this decade was the “workout” look. Although this one usually was styled with leggings, some did use skinny jeans with a baggy top and leg warmers to create a trendy outfit.
During the 90s, jeans trousers started to loosen up more and this decade had a sartorial gem (that by the way had a recent comeback), the mom jeans. Skinnies did not have much attention during this decade, which was maybe healthy, since everyone probably had to take a breath before the infamous ~2000s~ came.
The Skinny Jeans Golden Years I Experienced
The 2000s. This is the decade Millennials probably made their worst fashion choices in life. I mean it. It was bad but somehow great at the same time. I am not discussing whether skinny jeans are part of these bad choices, but I am admitting we may have crossed the limit then. The 2000s started with boot-cut jeans from the 90s being pushed aside to the surge of a new golden age of skinny jeans. Low-rise, so-skinny-they-cut-off-your-circulation jeans were the “it” trousers.
The 2000s were a decade to experiment with skinny jeans. The emo style brought all the colours of the rainbow to the fit. The regrettable low-rise style was a mark of an extremely skinny body ideal and belly button piercing era. There were distressed denim, light washes, dark washes, and eventually — thankfully — high-rise fits. And if you are imagining all these tight jeans only on women, let me stop you there. The 2000s can thank the emo movement for making skinny jeans a counterculture trend for men.
Of course, I can’t talk about 2000s skinny jeans without mentioning Hedi Slimane, who at the time was the creative director of Dior Homme. He is considered the skinny jeans guru and kept working with slim trousers at his experience at Saint Laurent until today when he is at Celine. Slimane is partially responsible for the boom of skinny jeans during the 2000s. He managed to make his skinny aesthetic desirable by blending it with the world of pop and music, with names from Pete Doherty to Kate Moss, and especially the band The Strokes, wearing his tight pieces.
Then, when entering the 2010s, skinny jeans became the ultimate norm and took over the trousers markets. At this point, slim jeans were the obvious decision for women. For the majority of the decade, we were not very creative when it came to the cut of trousers.
The Fall of Skinny Jeans
But every trend must step down for a moment to give space to another one (and for us to keep having fun when dressing up). With skinny jeans, it was no different. I can attribute the fall to the body positivity movement, or the pandemic, as explained before. However, trends always have a cycle, and it was about time for the skinny jeans one to end. And as sure as I was that it would eventually come to an end, I am that it is coming back in the future.
As I explained previously in another article, history repeats itself, and fashion history is no exception. Actually, the trendy fits of the moment are coming very linked to a rise of 90s aesthetic that Gen Z’ers call retro (ouch, my age). But don’t worry if you are a Millennial who secretly still loves skinny jeans like me. On fashion or not, you can still find these trousers to cut off your circulation. And I don’t believe they will ever go away from stores, at least not while there is someone to buy them. They will just share space with other jeans cuts. And Gen Z, you can mock me, I am not quitting my skinny jeans just yet.
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