The surprising origins of 8 jean trends (1)

From high-waist jeans, wide-leg jeans to bellbottoms, the fashion trend of jeans is constantly changing. Let's take a look at how the surprising origins of 8 jean trends.

1. ACID WASH

The acid washing process has its roots in 1960s surf culture. According to CRFashionBook, the trend really took off in the 1980s, after Guess released “the first pair of ‘pre-washed’ bleach-splattered jeans.”

2. MOM JEANS

Just the term mom jeans conjures up an image of high-waisted rigid denim jeans with straight (but not tight!) legs. Supposedly, the high waist was meant to cover the tummy and prevent it from spilling over the top of the jeans, creating the dreaded muffin top—but usually, all it did was accentuate any visible fat and make you look frumpy to boot.

Emma McClendon, a fashion historian and the author of Denim: Fashion's Frontier and, pointed out:“In the history of jeans as a garment, that high-rise, straight-leg, no-stretch-denim [template] is actually very typical.” This style was still common in the 1960s. The name mom jeans did not become popular until 2003 ( the era of super stretchy low-rise jeans) thanks to a Saturday Night Live sketch.

3. JNCO JEANS 

These ultra-wide, baggy pants featured briefly in the 90s teen movie Clueless as the signature look for skater guys, which was exactly who they appealed to at first, before they became so popular that they could be found pretty much everywhere.

Wide-leg jeans were debuted in 1993. Later, the leg openings were designed to be wider, and finally reached 50 inches (127 cm). After becoming all the rage in the 1990s and then falling out of favor, JNCOs have been revived several times.

4. SUPER-RIPPED JEANS 

The first pairs of ripped jeans probably happened from actual wear and tear. Some people pointed out that the trend of ripped jeans originated from the punk band in the 1970s. But eventually, the trend went way off the rails: people would even spend a high price to buy a new pair of jeans that split from top to bottom. Some ripped jeans have not only rips, but large holes.