America’s Common Thread: Tracing the Cultural Roots of Baggy Jeans
For many, baggy jeans have become a staple in everyday wear. Source: Vogue
As you’re walking through campus, to work, or to a concert, do you notice what people are wearing? The oversized, shapeless silhouette of baggy jeans have taken over mainstream fashion. The versatility and flattering shape of these pants have made them popular among many crowds. However, it is important to note the role that black and brown people have played in developing many of the fashion looks associated with mainstream American fashion.
In an ever-turbulent world, fashion persists as a reminder of cultural roots. Despite the constant pressure of assimilation in American culture, countercultures created by marginalized communities challenge this rhetoric, using fashion to resist traditional ideals of American values. Baggy jeans are no exception: in fact, baggy jeans can be traced back to the zoot suit, a long-standing icon of black and brown American fashion.
The zoot suit’s large proportions and similarly oversized or baggy structure parallels the shape of baggy jeans. The zoot suit was a two piece suit tailored in a way which allowed for free movement. The proportions were dramatic and shockingly different from the traditionally slimmer fitting suits. According to Stylin’, a book by honorary research associates Shane and Graham White, jazz musicians’ use of the zoot suit was a manifestation of a risky illicit lifestyle. There was an element of “exaggeration” that made this silhouette stand out from the traditional tight-fitted suits. Appearance and style was important to the musicians, and this led to musicians and performers trying to outdo one another.
Harlem, a historically black community in New York City, has always played a critical role in fashion and art. The Harlem Renaissance produced writers, poets, and artists who used their art to challenge negative stereotypes and racism. Similarly to how the 1920s flapper silhouette was worn by women as resistance against traditional female silhouettes, the zoot suit was also meant to liberate its wearer – both physically and figuratively. Graham and Graham make it clear in Stylin’ that zoot suits were popularized because “music… displayed their clothes to best effect on the dancefloor”. Aside from practical use such as movement, the zoot suit separated the performers culturally from mainstream fashion.
Duke Ellington and his band became one of the faces of jazz music, and its accompanying style. However, backlash was not absent. Graham and Graham note in Stylin’, that “white assailants had warned” black jazz performers for their music, and style. Racist whites down South viewed the appearance and the confidence of jazz bands as a threat to white American values. Graham and Graham mention how even Duke Ellington’s band was beat up in Miami.
Regardless of the backlash, the popularity of jazz music had a huge influence on pop culture, and so it became clear that black style had made its way into the circles of another large minority group. This popularity of jazz in the Mexican-American community is mostly attributed to the fact that jazz culture was more inclusive than white American mainstream culture. The beauty about black culture is that it has always played a critical role in developing mainstream culture in the United States. Jazz music serves as a critical example of subculture influence. The influence of jazz music allowed for the zoot suit to become embraced by Mexican-Americans as far as Los Angeles.
During and after the ‘20s, the zoot suit evolved as an icon of resistance against oppression. As has been the natural turbulent history as it pertains to race in the United States, American nativism, or white supremacy was heightened during the 1940s. As a result of the Second World War, there was a sense of intense patriotism, and with fabric rationing, the zoot suit was seen as an anti-patriotic symbol in the United States. The zoot suit, worn overwhelmingly by black and brown Americans, represented the resistance against assimilation to American values, and so it became a target of violence.
Mexican-American and African-American men in Los Angeles in 1943 were violently targeted by sailors and soldiers stationed alongside the California coast. Taxi drivers willingly drove these white vigilantes to attack and beat Mexican-Americans [whether or not they were wearing zoot suits]. The story was spun into a narrative of the “Zoot Suit Riots,” implying that the Mexican-American men had been the initiators of this violence. The white American reaction to the zoot suits are what cultural historian Professor Uri Mcmillan describes as a, “visceral response … even though it had nothing to do with them.” There was an offensive nature to white Americans of the “excessiveness” of the zoot suit.
However, the risk of violence did not erase the attachment to the zoot suit. Endurance as a community has always been a major factor in both black and brown communities. After all, racial violence was not a new concept in the United States during the 1940s. The zoot suit continued and prospered.
In 2018, Zendaya wore a striking oversized, baggy suit designed by Marc Jacobs to the Vanity Fair “Women in Hollywood” party. The look was designed as a homage to the zoot suit. Source: Getty Images
The most recent mainstream revival in baggy pants can be traced to the pandemic. Skinny or tight-fitting jeans were too symbolic of the lack of mobility during the pandemic, and so the option of wearing loose-fitting and comfortable baggy jeans took precedence. The comeback of early 2000s fashion, which was heavily influenced by hip-hop culture, also played a major role in the popularity of baggy jeans. The influence of major celebrities such as Zendaya pre-pandemic sporting zoot suits led to a great interest in the more relaxed and loose-fitting non-gender conforming baggy silhouette. After all, people have not just opted for baggy jeans, but also oversized and baggy sweatshirts, jackets, and t-shirts.
Willy Chavarria, S/S 2023. Source: Vogue
The modern popularity of baggy silhouettes can also be linked to established and influential Mexican-American designer Willy Chavarria. Chavarria launched his label back in 2015, and in the last few years has become a staple and favorite of many celebrities. Aside from linking his New York label to the famous African-American Harlem zoot suit that found its way into Mexican, and Filipino communities, Chavarria has also been a huge advocate for diversity on his runways. Chavarria’s designs have been worn by celebrities as big as Bad Bunny, Billie Eillish, Justin Bieber, Usher, and Venus Williams. As evidenced by the diversity of its wearers, the silhouette clearly supports a wide range of figures and genders. Chavarria’s endorsement by influential publications such as Vogue has contributed to his mainstream success, and attention towards the role black and brown people of color have played in the American world of fashion.
The announcement of the upcoming Met Gala’s theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” has received mixed reaction from both in and outside of the African-American community. However, it is expected that the iconic zoot suit will make an appearance at the exhibit…
So, given the history, baggy pants did not just simply appear on the clothing racks at your favorite stores. Fashion trends are not arbitrary, but rather what Chicano Studies Professor Rafael Pérez-Torres refers to as “an emblem of self-identity and self worth.” In other words, clothing carries a story. Those baggy pants you are wearing may not have cost you much, but they may be meaningful to specific marginalized communities that wear and popularize them. Now, please don’t be weird and go up to the first black or brown person you see, and say “thank you for baggy pants.” But, remember their contributions the next time you spot some baggy jeans on your daily commute.
Even if baggy pants eventually fade from the mainstream, remember why certain cultures still embrace them. However, it is very possible the silhouette will endure as a more comfortable, versatile, and inclusive option. Moreover, much like the zoot suit became a significant cultural symbol of resistance, today’s baggy jeans may come to symbolize something similar for American youth.
Fashion is used as an engine for black and brown people to cultivate their own cultural identities, express themselves, and resist assimilation. There is no doubt that this will continue in the years to come. Especially given the recent results of the 2024 presidential election, it is more important now more than ever to become familiar with the significant role that marginalized black and brown communities have played in developing fashion here in the United States. The common thread and exchange of fashion between the black and Mexican communities a hundred years ago should be a beautiful reminder of the blossoming results of cultural unity and solidarity. History is rooted in every single article of clothing around you, and multiculturalism should be viewed as beautiful and patriotic. After all, the United States is a melting pot of cultures – something to be celebrated instead of silenced.