Room to Breathe: The Decline of Skinny Jeans

What skinny jeans look like

Slim-fit pants have popular in American culture since the 1950s, but in 2005, the world was introduced to skinny jeans, which very tight-fitting pairs of pants that are particularly narrow in the legs, generally made of denim. This followed the trend of fashion moving away from baggy pants and bell-bottoms, which had been very popular in the 1990s and early 2000s. In the years to follow, skinny jeans rose in prominence and popularity, spreading into men’s fashion in 2008.

Since the 1880s, doctors have speculated whether tight-fitting pants cause apoplexy, which is bleeding of the internal organs. This might have influenced the mixed reviews of skinny jeans. The hesitation was with good reason, though: there have been several documented accounts of skinny jeans damaging muscles, nerves, and testes, mostly due to the compression the pants cause.

All that pressure can do serious damage

The public seems to have finally realized that skinny jeans might be a bad thing. Jenni Avin’s article “Rejoice! Data Proves Skinny Jeans Really Are On the Way Out” was published on Quartz's website just a few days ago. This article shows that while skinny jeans are still out-selling wide-leg and flare styles, the latter has shown a sales increase of 320% overall since October 2014, closing the sales gap between the styles.

According to Avin, Vogue, Chanel, and Alexander Wang have all seen their new flare-style pants become best sellers, and “active wear” such as yoga pants and sweatpants has also been selling more. Additionally, fashion shows have also started presenting more wide-leg styles than skinny jeans down the runway. This is significant because fashion shows have been known to influence style trends in years following.

Soon to replace skinny jeans?

I, for one, have never been a fan of skinny jeans because I find them to be uncomfortable. It also concerns me how much nerve and muscle damage has been associated with them, so I am looking forward to seeing wider styles replace them on retail shelves.

What do you think? Are you excited to see skinny jeans go, or are you disappointed?

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