Blue-denim jeans with a low-rise were to the 00s’ nightlife like gladiators’ loincloths to those who walked through the Colosseum in the ancient Rome. A thousand years ago naked young men were thrown into an arena for public viewing to battle Lions to entertain the spectators. In two millennia, there were Britney Spears Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan being sent into the beasts. The flesh of the torso was exposed and slashed, this time in hip bone-grazing waistbands and shrunken vests while young women were snatched by paparazzi who were snatching blood or, at a minimum, for an image of an “whale tail” thong protruding from their bootcut jeans that had their 3-inch fly.
Sorry if this analogy sounds funny The return of the low-rise jeans is sounding alarm bells. So far it seems that the Y2K revival seemed to be harmless fun: snoochies, ballet shoes, Uggs. So far, so cute. But low-rise jeans? Well, that’s different.
It was the most recognizable style of a time in which inks that were on your lower back were described with a sexy misogyny in the form of “tramp stamps”. Sexually explicit in a loose sense, not sexually attractive – pun intended the same era that brought us our Brazilian bikini wax, the low-rise style was purposefully sexually sexy in a way that seemed fun initially. It’s no surprise it is that Spears is the poster-girl for the waistband that is pubic bone-high. The story of this particular pop culture icon doesn’t have an end-to-end happy ending.
The problem is those like me who went through the Y2K period, rant about how reckless and wild it was, the higher youngsters want to join to join in. “Stay away from low-rise waistbands, kids, it’s a slippery slope to a life of legendary debauchery!” It’s funny, but to a generation that was a result of Covid had spent their precious teens locked at home with their dads and moms it’s not the deterrent they’re hoping to be.
It’s not too late as the low-rise has been riding high. The cavalry has really come to town: Dua Lipa saw in the new year in her silver Ludovic de Saint Sernin minidress cut so low in the back that it showed the majority of her white and knickers. (When she shared a photo of her on Instagram, Paris Hilton responded in the comments: “That’s hot.”)
Julia Fox posted a tutorial video on Instagram that demonstrates how to transform an old pair of jeans into a dress with the help of cutting away 4 inches and wearing the perfect denim bandeau top. (To stop the waistband-less jeans from slipping down she glued the zipper in place.)
The largest girl group in the world the South Korean group Blackpink have created waistbands that roll down to show an underwear ribbon as the signature look. Bella Hadid’s tense abdomen so many times, I’m confident that I could identify her from her belly-button by itself. Shows on catwalks that preview the styles that are due to hit the streets this spring included low-slung denim at Givenchy and tummy-baring cargos at Fendi and slim trouser pants with cutouts of diamonds covering the hips at Stella McCartney. It is taking place.
Just like that, the five years of honed the art of fitting in a sweater to the waistband of jeans in a way that is effortless is out of the window. The time has come to be comfortable with our mom jeans and the southwestern migration of the waistband transforms the entire look. The return of low-rises signals the ending of the “French tuck”, in which you place a small amount of fabric in front of the fastening button of your trousers in addition to the official return of Body Leotard – those tops that come with knickers that are laced around the crotch which create a smooth look and ward off the draughts.
If you’re looking for a beginner’s approach to low-rise, Isabel Marant made low-slung trousers fashionable and wearable in some the Paris shows in the past and wore them over the top of a light, long-sleeved and body-skimming long-line shirt. If you’re going to try bodysuits, the most appropriate ones are from Commando which aren’t expensive ( the “Butter” suit retails at PS66 in the sale on Net-a-Porter) however they are cozy, comfy and guaranteed to not break open of the blue of their own volition.
For a casual, low-rise pair of jeans I’d recommend towards Levi’s low-pitch style, which features an upward-looking increase in the rear (no builders’ bum) as well as a loose leg. The trendiest fashionistas however, will be wearing tight and low and embracing the trend of the thong returning – with a whale tail and tying Dua Lipa, Cardi B, and Megan Thee Stallion by piercing their belly buttons.
The writer as well as former editor of fashion Gabrielle Korn dedicates an entire chapter in the book”Everybody (Else) is Perfect: How I Overcame Beauty, Hypocrisy, Clicks and Likes to experiencing the demons of low-rise jeans she wore in her teens of the 00s, “the time of Destiny’s Child, Britney Spears, Kate Hudson, Keira Knightley and Paris Hilton, and all of their teeny-tiny bodies with their long, flat stomachs, hollow between their pointy hip bones … eventually I realised they’d fit ‘right’ if I simply didn’t eat until dinner for enough days and then weeks in a row, so that’s what I did.”
Korn examines the development that followed with rising popularity of high-waisted pants in fashion, and an era in which minorities and women began to feel more secure in US the American culture. “With Obama in the White House for a second term and equal rights for women and minorities on the horizon, high-waisted pants settled over everything like a warm blanket,” Korn writes. Many felt that the popularity to the loincloth with a high waist signaled an end to an era where women’s bodies were treated as a game.
Many women shudder from a shape that seems to be a call for a slim stomach – and even threatens to offer the “muffin top” should you decide to have a pound of extra flesh, others do not feel comfortable with high-waisted silhouettes and are often shown on women with slim waists and a pronounced hip-to-waist ratio. Alexander McQueen, who put the most provocative low “bumster” trousers on the catwalk in 1996, later explained that his “wanted to lengthen the body, not only expose the stomach. For me, it’s that area of your body, not really the buttocks but the lower part of the spine is the most erotic portion of any body, whether man and woman.”
Designer Rok Hwang who designed skirts that had the waistband scooped out to expose that belly button on the Rokh collection the spring of 2007 the designer said his inspiration was derived directly from an experience of “radical energy” of the early 2000s, when his time at Central Saint Martins. “After the pandemic, I wanted to feel a bit more optimistic and light, because I think we’ve been wearing lots of heavy clothes,” the designer said.
Women and girls fought for years in battle for their right to wear pants. In the workplace or at school, riding on horses or on the red carpet to walk out with confidence symbolizes freedom of equality, and of a lifestyle that is lived with confidence. It’s more so than ever, given the return of waistbands with low-slung straps. Since they are reserved for those who are brave.
