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| 1969 |
Bell-bottoms were first worn by sailors in the 1800’s, possibly even in the late 1700's, when they began to
wear wide legged trousers with bell cuffs. The first written
descriptions of bell-bottoms can be found in an 1813 writing by
Commodore Stephen Decatur. He noted that men working on ships were wearing
“...blue trousers with bell bottoms.” The bells at the leg of the
pants allowed the sailors to roll them high for messy
clean up jobs on the deck of the ships. Also, if a sailor fell into
the water, the bell-bottoms could easily be pulled off over boots and
the wide legs could be inflated for the use of life preservers.
It was in the 1960’s that bell-bottom trousers began to be worn in
high fashion for both women and men.
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| Twiggy, 1966 |
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| 1960's |
|
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| 1960's |
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| 1960's |
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| mid - 1960's |
At that time, young people found
inexpensive bell-bottoms at military
surplus and secondhand stores. Wearing this style of trouser was
popular as an antiwar statement, especially when embellished with
embroidered flowers and peace symbols.
At first clothing manufacturers
didn’t sell bell-bottoms since they were looked at as the clothing of
radicals.
People who couldn’t find them secondhand or at military stores began
making their own and adjusting the outside leg of regular trousers by sewing in fabric to make the leg wider.
It wasn’t until the 1970’s
that bell-bottoms moved to being a mainstream fashion garment.
By that
time designers
began to produce bell-bottoms in many fabrics and prints as a trendy
item.
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| 1970's |
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| 1970's Hasbro ad, even dolls wore bell-bottoms |
“Elephant bells” became fashionable starting in the mid 1970’s;
these were bell-bottoms that were flared under the knee and that covered
the shoes. People wore platform shoes with elephant bells in order to
keep the hems from touching the ground.
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| 1972 |
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| 1970's |
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| my mom wearing bell-bottoms in the 70's |
References: 1.
Wikipedia 2."Bell-Bottoms."
Fashion, Costume, and Culture: Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations, and Footwear through the Ages.
2004.
Encyclopedia.com.
(May 13, 2015).
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3425500587.html
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