Capri pants (also known as three quarter legs, or capris, crop pants, man-pris, clam-diggers, flood pants, jams, highwaters, or toreador pants) are pants that are longer than
shorts, but are not as long as
trousers. Capri pants can be a generic term for any cropped slim pants, and also used as a specific term to refer to pants that end on the ankle bone.
History
Capri pants were introduced by fashion designer
Sonja de Lennart
Sonja de Lennart (born 21 May 1920) is a German fashion designer. In 1948, she invented Capri pants.Der Grosse Brockhaus Lexikon/The Great Brockhaus (Bertelsmann Group) 2002-2007 in 1948, and were popularized by her and English couturier
Bunny Roger
Neil Munro "Bunny" Roger (9 June 1911 – 27 April 1997) was an English couturier and socialite. Roger's best known contribution to fashion was his popularization of Capri pants.
Early years
Neil Munro Roger was born 9 June 1911 in London to Sir ...
.
The name of the pants is derived from the Italian isle of
Capri
Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...
, where they rose to popularity in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
["Ancient Capri Still Casts Its Powerful Spell". (29 June 2008). '' The Boston Globe''.] The actress
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as both a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, t ...
was among the first movie stars who wore capris, and the pants quickly became synonymous with her classic style. The French actress
Brigitte Bardot famously wore capri pants at a time when trousers were still a new fashion for women.
Marilyn Monroe always traveled with capri pants.
Capri pants were popularized in the United States in the 1960s television series, ''
The Dick Van Dyke Show''. The character Laura Petrie, the young housewife played by
Mary Tyler Moore, caused a fashion sensation – and some mild controversy – by wearing close-fitting capri pants throughout the show's run
(Capris that were later referred to as 1950s hausfrau).
By the mid 1960s, Capri-style tight-fitting
cargo pants became popular among teenage boys; a good example was the superstar teen actor of that era,
Luke Halpin
Luke Austin Halpin (born April 4, 1947) is a former American actor, stuntman, marine coordinator, diver and pilot. He became a child actor at the age of eight and is widely known for his role as Sandy Ricks in the feature films '' Flipper'' and ...
, who wore them in some episodes of the popular ''
Flipper''. After a drop in popularity during the 1970s through the 1990s, capri paints returned to favor in the mid 2000s. Spanish tennis player
Rafael Nadal wore capri pants in the majority of his matches
before 2009 following a deal with Nike to wear sponsored capris, a deal that
Roger Federer had turned down before him.
["Ueda's Commentary on Modern Tennis Champions" (30 November 2010). ''A. Ueda''.] Jodie Whittaker wore Capri Pants when she appeared on ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
''.
Kate Middleton
Catherine, Princess of Wales, (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne, making Catherine the likely next ...
wore capri pants for outdoorsy events.
In 2017, the superintendent of the
Douglas County School District
Douglas County School District is a public school district in Douglas County, Georgia, U.S., based in Douglasville. It serves the communities of Austell, Douglasville, Lithia Springs, Villa Rica, and Winston, Georgia. The Douglas County Sch ...
in
Georgia sent out an email qualifying capri pants as inappropriate garments for the school environment, thus raising the question of what pants length remain acceptable.
Gallery
File:SonjaDeLennart 1949 Erni Mangold modelt Wintermodell der Caprihose.jpg, Model Erni Mangold wearing Sonja de Lennart
Sonja de Lennart (born 21 May 1920) is a German fashion designer. In 1948, she invented Capri pants.Der Grosse Brockhaus Lexikon/The Great Brockhaus (Bertelsmann Group) 2002-2007 Capris, 1949.
File:SonjaDeLennart 1949 Mady Rahl modelt Sommermodell der Caprihose.jpg, Model Mady Rahl
Mady Rahl (3 January 1915 – 29 August 2009) was a German stage and film actress.
Born Edith Gertrud Meta Raschke in Neukölln, now part of Berlin, Rahl trained as an actress and dancer. In 1935 she made her stage debut in Leipzig under the dir ...
wearing Sonja de Lennart Capris, 1949.
File:Capris.jpg, Female in capris (2007).
File:Candid 052 (5299485989).jpg, Male in cropped jeans (man-pris) (Stevenage, 2009).
File:Cycling-knickers-capri-pants.jpg, Loose-fit, black, bike capris.
See also
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Clothing
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Culottes
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Fashion
Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...
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Knickerbockers
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Pedal pushers
Pedal pushers are calf-length trousers that were popular during the 1950s and the early 1960s. Often cuffed and worn tight to the skin, they are related in style to capri pants, and are sometimes referred to as "clam diggers". The name "pedal p ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Capri Pants
1960s fashion
1970s fashion
2000s fashion
History of fashion
Trousers and shorts