Low-rise is a style of clothing designed to sit low on, or below, the
hips. The style can also be called lowcut, hipster, or
hip-hugger
Hip-huggers are pants worn by both men and women, generally made of denim and fitted tightly around the hips and thighs, while usually having flared or bell-bottom lower legs. Hip-huggers were first designed by Irene Kasmer in 1957 in Los Angele ...
. and can apply to garments worn by males or females. The term can be applied to all garments that cover the wearer's
crotch area, including trousers, jeans,
shorts,
skirts,
panties,
briefs,
bikinis,
pantyhose, and
tights.
Terminology
The "rise" of a bottom garment is measured by the distance between the crotch and the
waistline or top of the garment and is usually around on regular pants. The average rise of a low-rise garment is roughly with some as little as . A normal low-rise sits at least below the
navel. A "super" or an "ultra low-rise" sits at below the navel.
History
The low-rise fashion expanded in the early 1990s after the March 1993 issue of the British magazine ''
The Face
The face is a part of the body, the front of the head.
Face may also refer to:
Film
* ''The Magician'' (1958 film) or ''The Face''
* ''The Face'' (1996 film), an American television film
* ''Face'' (1997 film), a British crime drama by Antonia ...
'' which featured
Kate Moss
Katherine Ann Moss (born 16 January 1974) is a British model. Arriving at the end of the "supermodel era", Moss rose to fame in the early 1990s as part of the heroin chic fashion trend. Her collaborations with Calvin Klein brought her to fas ...
in
low-rise jeans.
Clothing manufacturer
Levi Strauss & Co. introduced
low-rise jeans in December 2000, the tops of which were about below the navel, with a zipper of a mere long. Backs were also cut low, but not so low that they exposed backside cleavage.
It later adopted the style in men's wear. Gradually the wide acceptance of
low-rise pants
Low-rise pants, also known as "low-cut jeans", "lowriders" or "rap pants", are a type of trousers, pants that sit low-rise (fashion), low on, or below, the Hip (anatomy), hips, usually at least 8 centimetres (3 inches) lower than the navel. ...
by men led to low-rise
swimwear
A swimsuit is an item of clothing designed to be worn by people engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, diving and surfing, or sun-orientated activities, such as sun bathing. Different types may be worn by men, wom ...
and underpants.
The trend became so popular that in 2002, a
Barbie doll wearing low-rise jeans named "My Scene" Barbie was introduced in stores.
Indian fashion
The term is applied to
saris and
Ghagra cholis in
India. Due to migration to different countries, many Indian women began to wear the normal sari below the waistline exposing the navel, which is known as low-rise sari. This type of sari is worn such that the
petticoat is tied at some inches below the navel and just above the pubic area. Similarly, the
lehengas of ghagra cholis are also worn in low-rise. Designer
Manish Malhotra's Fashion Week collections regularly highlight low waisted ghaghras accompanied by short cholis. This were made popular by the female celebrities of
Bollywood industry and other popular regional film industries like
Tamil cinema and
Telugu cinema. These are mainly worn by the rich, educated upper-class women who consider navel exposure as a fashion. However, sometimes, the navel is covered with the
pallu
Pallu or Pällu may refer to:
People
* Pallu (biblical figure), a son of Reuben
* Pallu Reddanna, Indian scientist
* François Pallu (1626–1684), French bishop
* Georges Pallu (1869–1948), French screenwriter and film director
Places
* P ...
in a low-rise non-transparent sari, as well.
Dress codes
Vitruvio Pollione Scientific High School,
Avezzano
Avezzano ( or ; nap, Avezzàne, label=Neapolitan language, Marsicano ) is a city and ''comune'' with a population of 40,819 inhabitants, situated in the Abruzzo region, province of L'Aquila, Italy. It is the second most populous municipality in th ...
, central
Italy, asked students to stop wearing low-slung trousers that expose navels, underwear etc., Deputy Principal Nazzareno Desiderio elaborated in a phone interview: "It's a piece of advice, for their educational reflection." Inspired by the decision in Avezzano, the principal of
Rome's Visconti High School Antonino Grasso had suggested that students show less skin and proposed a debate on the matter. In an interview he commented, "Today, boys are less tickled by such visions (of skin), because there's no more big effect in seeing a girl's legs or shoulders, lower back and navel".
In some corporations in India, saris are required to be worn in an elegant manner, avoiding navel exposure. Anita Gupta, senior vice-president at
JWT Chennai commented, "Formal wear for women definitely covers saris without plunging necklines or glimpses of the belly button".
Restriction in countries
Low-rise clothing is completely forbidden in certain countries around the world, including
Iran,
Libya,
Algeria,
Afghanistan, and
Yemen.
Retro Damebutikk for 1950 Tallet
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Images
Women
File:Summer Tour 2009.jpg, Singer Gwen Stefani
Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs ...
in Low-rise trousers
File:Eve Angel 1.jpg, Porn star Eve Angel in Low-rise miniskirt
File:SXSW Wanderings - women.jpg, Low-rise jean shorts
Shorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they ar ...
File:Woman In Boyshorts.jpg, Low-rise Boyshorts
File:Manja on bed.png, Low-rise panties
File:Sherlyn Chopra at Playboy press meet 06.jpg, Low-rise sari
File:Hüfthose.jpg, Low-rise jeans paired with a Crop top
Men
File:Low rise jeans.jpg, Low-rise jeans
File:John Quinlan In Raja Boxing.jpg, Wrestler John Quinlan in Low-rise boxing shorts
Boxer shorts (also known as loose boxers or as simply boxers) are a type of undergarment typically worn by men.
The term has been used in English since 1944 for all-around-elastic shorts, so named after the shorts worn by boxers, for whom unhinde ...
File:Board shorts 4.jpg, Low-rise boardshorts
File:Capital Gay Pride parade in Albany New York 2009.jpg, Low-rise briefs
File:Jay Hieron.jpg, Martial arts fighter Jay Hieron in Low-rise boxer briefs
File:Dolcegab Sommer2004.jpg, Low-rise swim briefs
A swim brief or racing brief is any briefs-style male swimsuit such as those worn in competitive swimming, diving and water polo. The popularity of the Australian ''Speedo'' brand racing brief has led to the use of its name in many countries ar ...
See also
* Navel in popular culture
References
External links
{{commons category, Low rise clothing
The woes of low-rise pants-Has America's low-rise obsession gone too far? - Amanda Fortini
Fashion