Finally something we can wholeheartedly agree on Rachel. I don't get it either. I think it looks retarded, and I can't believe young woman find this appealing in some way. I happen to be the father of two teenaged boys, and the uncle of 3 others, and I simply don't get the appeal, and seriously doubt I ever will. I also think the boardshorts that even when worn properly extend past a man's knees looks stupid.

In my case, I have a younger son who dresses and has his hair styled in what I would refer to as normal, and an older son (they are exactly 1 year 1 week apart in age), who dresses in a fashion I cannot quite fathom. Allow me to elaborate.

Skin tight black jeans worn just below the hips exposing copious amounts of red silk boxers (which could be a rant all by themselves), checked sneaker/loafers, 3" thick leather belt with studs and a skull, a zipper front hoodie, over a Tshirt promoting a band from my generation, and a hat of some kind, covering what I refer to as a "hair helmet" hairstyle. The hats are odd as well, as they are either like an old man golfing hat (the kind they use to keep the sun off) like Sinatra used to wear in his older days, or like a russian peasant cap.

Now I have told him I think he looks like an idiot, and half a fag at that, but he claims "the chicks dig it Dad". Imagine a 5'10" 130lb 16yo version of Howard Stern (yeah my boy has the glasses too), with a shorter hair helmet, in this garish garb and you have got some semblance of what I am talking about, and why I think it looks so hideous. In the end all we can really do is grab our crotches, give them the "whatever" look in return and try not to let it spoil our day.

Have fun ;)!

I see England, I see France,
I see Thug Boy's UNDERPANTS!

That has always been the part that puzzles us about that ridiculous fashion. Just how efficiently can one run whilst desperately grasping one's pantaloons in an effort to prevent them from pooling around one's ankles? Likewise, one wouldn't be very effective in any sort of fisticuffs with one hand bunched in denim.

You should have gotten out and slapped him, just to see how far he could have gotten before face planting into the pavement. THEN let the dogs out of the car.

Good times.

Mary Mitchell, a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, was very recently writing about this very 'phenomenon'. She said if many of these young men had any idea of the real-life origin of this so-called style , they'd switch to J. Crew immediately.

You see, prison is where the trend started. Granted, that's not unusual for "urban" styles. However, wearing pants down very low (or well below the crack of one's a**) was used by effete gay men as a way of signalling to more masculine men their willingness to serve as substitutes for women (can I tell you how hard it was to describe that in a non-offensive way?!). How then did it come to connote virility in the outside world?

Oh, and "More Sunny and Digger pictures, please!"

gawd ... kids and their clothes and attitude REALLY make me feel ancient.
I don't understand the attitude. They've never accomplished anything, never done anything useful, exist a parasitic life ... yet have attitude a mile wide.
I don't understand the clothes. Thers precious little normal ... either slutty or hobo seems to be the in thing ... with those disgusting nose studs to boot. Just too too sanitary.
I don't understand the hair. I'm used to always being late because my wife has to spend at least an eon doing her face and hair to go to the store ... and the average teen looks like they spend at least that amount of time making their hair look unkempt, greasy, matted and just generally YUCK.
And what exactly si with the hoodie anyway?

I miss the old days of wearing a sports jacket to work, and seeing women in actual women-style clothes. Y'know ... back when we gave a crap about a professional image ...

"However, wearing pants down very low (or well below the crack of one's a**) was used by effete gay men as a way of signalling to more masculine men their willingness to serve as substitutes for women"

Has John Edwards co-opted this look yet for his campaign posters? :oD

Sweet Chocolate Dipped Christ. You have no idea how many times I've wanted to do exactly that to the fucktards that I see dressed like that. I'm just waiting for my CHL to come in so I can fight back.

I would like to have rule number three from W. Bruce Cameron's Eight Simple Rules for Dating my Daughter made into federal law:

I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips. Please don't take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded about this issue, so I propose this compromise: You may come to the door with your underwear showing and your pants ten sizes too big, and I will not object. However, In order to assure that your clothes do not, in fact, come off during the course of your date with my daughter, I will take my electric staple gun and fasten your trousers securely in place around your waist.

Just remember Rachel, it's very important for the world to know what a hard case you are when you're working the deep fryer at Mickey D's.

Brian Thorn,

Do you think the girls of this generation are just testing the limits of the power hormones give them over boys? I mean, sure, there have always been those of the fairer sex that have pushed the envelope of their power, and there was that whole parachute pants thing in the 80's, but still. I can't ever remember a time when more guys seemed willing to dress like a dufus. Of course, the current trend of treating oral sex like a good night kiss may have increased the motivation, too.

As English is not my natural language, i'm always happy to improve my vocabulary.

I just checked in the urban directory what a DOUCHEBAG is. Wow. I'm impressed, really.

Well, i think i'd better avoid using the term in my professional e-mails (i'm working at a local residence of a Texan global player.) BUT I PREDICT: SOME TIMES IT WILL BE HARD TO RESIST.

Thanks and best regards from Berlin,
Reinhard

I work at a grocery store, and I throw guys dressed like that out of my store on general principle. You can stuff a lot of steaks and vitamins in those baggy pants. But what I usually tell them when I excuse them from the store is this:

"Son, that genuine NBA jersey must have cost a lot of money. I'm sure that means you have enough money for a belt. Thats this leather strap thingy that holds your pants on your waist. Look into it."

Holy Cow. I'm impressed Rachel. I don't know if I'd have been so bold. I see this kind of thing all the time and it's beyond ridiculous.

And what kind of girl finds that fashion attractive? Or the skinny black jeans look? I think it makes guys look either completely gay or like meth heads. It's pathetic.

I can't understand what part of raising my older son caused his recent transformation. After going to a dance last year (8th grade), and dressing up to do so, he has started wearing dress shirt, slacks, and sport coat to school this year. Not that I'm complaining, mind you, but he's also smart-mouthed, rude, and condescending at home.

His younger brother is a hippie-come-lately who likes to run around in flip-flops, shorts, and tie-dyed shirts, if possible.

I guess I've seen it so much I'm immune to it. Most of these kids know that the trend started in prison but they think it's because the belt is taken away from you when you enter prison so that you don't kill yourself or anyone else and that the prison jumpsuits are big....I don't think I've ever heard any of them admit that it's because of easy access for Bubba.

Regardless, if they want to walk around looking like crayons, I don't mind. What DOES make me laugh, though, is their reaction when someone else reacts to how they are dressed.

Um...isn't that precisely WHY they are dressed that way? Don't they want everyone to think they're a tough gangsta? Who goes around smiling and waving at gangstas? Most people snarl at them. So, they are getting the exact reaction they have dressed for but then get upset when anyone reacts at their dress.

Fricken' hemorrhoid wipes.

Midland,

I don't understand the attitude. They've never accomplished anything, never done anything useful, exist a parasitic life ... yet have attitude a mile wide.

It's all that "self-esteem" training they get at public school. How they feel about themselves is more important than what they do.

Man, I agree. I've seen 'em too. I'm glad I grew up in the decade before that all got to be hip.

weren't 1980's just as weird though?

I mean, Boy Goerge for goodness sakes! Yikes!

-Me

Of course, in the neighborhood I grew up in..... if you'd done that, he would pulled a 9MM and just blew your butt away... and yes, t has happened down there... (Southwest Detroit)

in other related news:

Needless to say, I'm beside myself with shock.

I absolutely HATE the baggy pants- I still live in Detroit, and I see too much of it. I take my white sheperd to hang out on the front lawn if I see thugs hanging out on my block. Amazingly, they move along.

I was driving through the city one day during the winter and was forced to stop for a low pants wearing, wannabe thug crossing the street in front of me. He glared at me as he walked in front of my truck. When he reached the curb, which had about a 14” snow pile, he couldn’t lift his leg high enough to get over it. I laughed so hard I couldn’t drive off.

Like most people, I've witnessed the ankle-pants gag reel. Trying to run up the subway steps results in kissing the concrete. The best part is not them going down in a heap, it's watching them try to get up and limp away while acting tough.

Given where I live, you can imagine this douchbaggery is quite common, almost edict.

K....so here is a topic I feel like I'm an expert on....kids. I have 7, yes I said 7, they are his, hers and ours but I have raised every single one of the little crumb crunchers. Yes, they have their idiotic moments, which can be over the top irritating. But, for some reason, I have more of a problem with the fact there was a law passed to govern this behavior! At the risk of inciting another debate like yesterday, if you don't like it, don't look. (I still luv u Rachel and I won't steal your gnome even though I don't know what it is and I secretly think Rick looks funny too...ssshhhh) Or better yet, I as a parent would appreciate someone telling me my child was dressing inappropriately so I could have the joy of cleaning out their closet for them, enabling them better options for apparel choices.

I don't get it, and, like KrisL, I have a statistically significant sample size of kids to choose from. My oldest son wears the too tight black jeans, black converse, odd-band T-shirts, and Wal*Mart vintage Sinatra style hats. I am convinced that his earring came from being tagged by National Geographic in order to track the migration patterns of emo-wannabe teenagers.

The funny part? My I'm-too-cool-to-dress-like-you teenage son dresses like every other I'm-too-cool-to-dress-like-you teen . They're so different...they're the same! Sheesh.

The baggy thing? My second son wears his pants a little below his waist, but not so low he can't walk. He tried that look for a little while, and then I embarrassed him by beating him at 1-on-1 basketball (in front of his friends) while in dress slacks and loafers because he couldn't move well enough in his barely-held-up-by-butt-friction pants. Good times.

fletch:

I am convinced that his earring came from being tagged by National Geographic in order to track the migration patterns of emo-wannabe teenagers.

Tangentially-related: When your older dog does something stupid, do you say:

"Digga Please!"

A couple of weeks ago my 9 year son saw a teenager with the same attire and asked me why he wore his pants so low.

Instead of telling him what I thought I asked him what he thought about the teenager. He said "Dad, he looks like an idiot". I just smiled, another lesson imparted and I didn't have to say a thing.

The funny part? My I'm-too-cool-to-dress-like-you teenage son dresses like every other I'm-too-cool-to-dress-like-you teen .

In a book I have, by Christopher Stasheff, is an immortal line of wisdom: You can't be a non-conformist without the proper uniform.

I think I might make it a bumper sticker, or a T-Shirt.

Sometimes, you just have to ask yourself "WWFSMD?"

Have fun ;)

"Digga Please!" - langtry

LMAO

Rachel, as much as I enjoy your posts, I sometimes enjoy the comments even more.

Count me in the WTF crowd at the sight of those low-rise buffoons. Was anything in the '80s as lame??

I have a huge, growling, barking beast in the SUV with me who (like Sunny & Digger) not only thinks her personal territory extends WELL beyond the bounds of the vehicle but also believes there is a 24-hour curfew in place. If a baggy-drawered dork even LOOKED like he was coming near the car, I have no doubt my dog would quickly throw up her sign yo. Check it.

I agree Recovering! :) I enjoy reading the comments here as much as the posts. They crack me up. Folks are so funny!

"Digga Please" LMAO!!!

We're focusing a lot on boys here... my little cousins started wearing thong underwear when they were 13. :( I was more upset than their mother! I have many more issues with the way girls dress than how dumb boys dress.

However...I also don't think there needs to be a law about it. I cringe when I look at how I dressed as a young girl. *shudder* NKOTB hat, bad perm, and all.

Of course, in the neighborhood I grew up in..... if you'd done that, he would pulled a 9MM and just blew your butt away

That's the thing about Texas. The chances are, she would have pulled out a .40 and shot back.

In actuality though, most of the people dressed that way aren't dangerous, they're just stupid. If everyone that wore their pants around their thighs was a criminal, we'd have a whole lot more murders in this country.

The female alternative, of course, is the low-hip jeans with a great big bright thong showing. Inexplicably, the thongs seem to rise higher than normal underwear, or than is even necessary, as though pointing right at her tramp stamp.

I'm convinced...from now, I'm only wearing the old 70's-lookin' ball-hugger shorts with the stripes up the side. LoL

OMG Rupert...please post a photo! LOL

You should have opened the door for Sunny! Think of the money you'd save on Kibbles N Bits!

Right...Whomever said that his son told him that the girls dig his clothes has hit the nail on the head. We men are so dumb we will do ANYTHING to get their attention. If that means dressing like an idiot..we will do it. My mother was VERY tolerant of my high school years ().

Knowing what I know now, I would DO THE EXACT SAME THING and DRESS LIKE AN IDIOT all over again..because the girls liked it. It is that simple. We (men) are that simple. And when you are 16, life is that simple.

I guess there is one more component. A few have mentioned that the teenagers try to be different, but they all look alike. As long as they don't look like their parents (or the immediately preceding generation) then they are "cool". In the 80s you were a complete dork if you looked like you were from the 70s or of you looked like your father. Now the 70s look is all the rage.

I don't understand the fashion, never will, but I certainly understand the motivation.

RecoveringLiberal - oh hell yeah! Me too. Frankly, half of the things I choose to post about, I do because I know the comments will be laugh-out-loud funny. I truly believe I have the best commenters in the whole fuckin' world.

Langtry - do I ever say "Digga Please" to my dog? Believe it or not, YES! I do!!! Mwahahaa! Rupert can attest. Although if I'm being 100% honest, I occasionally use the n-version, frankly because it's funnier.

KrisL - I would agree with you except that the way I read it, the law specifically applies only to your underwear showing. It's not actually a ban on low pants, just a ban on visible panties. Which I think we can all agree is a perfectly fine ban. (By the way y'all, Miss KrisL is my very sweet, very smart cousin and she is ALMOST as awesome as me.)

Adam Lawson - right on brotha. I didn't happen to have any of my multiple handguns on me, but that little turd wasn't dangerous. The only place he could have had a gun hidden was deep in the bowels of his pants pockets, which happened to be at about shin level, and if he'd reached down anywhere near that area, I would have hit the gas (there were no cars in front of me).

Rupert - oh BABY. I know you're being funny but you should know by now that I'd get turned on by what you just said.

Castocreations - nuh uh girl! Rupert's balls are aaalllll mine. :-)

I feel it should remain legal if only because outlawed anything immediately appreciates 1000x in coolness value to that age demographic.

I'd prefer they simply remain laughable.

My biggest other-people's-fashions problem was while I was attending college. We were primarily about as white, preppy, and non-"urban" as you get, but the school liked to recruit huge "urban" dudes for the sports teams.

It can be INCREDIBLY difficult not to fall to your knees laughing at a too-cool-for-school guy wearing pantyhose on his head, even though said guy is also irritable and three times your size. That particular gauntlet was half the reason I opted out of the meal plan for the second half of my stay.

I was on a half-day boat here on the Paficic and there were a bunch of baggy pants drinking and generally being a pain. I brought in a nice size sculpen (bright orange spiky fish - good eating but the spikes are poisonous). One of the idiots freaked and jumped back and his pants fell down to his ankles. We all laughed hard and the captain said over the speaker "You had better watch out - you almost got a stinger in your winger." They stayed humiliated for the rest of the trip. LOL.

[i]That's the thing about Texas. The chances are, she would have pulled out a .40 and shot back.[/i]

Yeah, I keep forgetting, Texas is different than here. :-)

Hmph, I guess typepad's code are different.

Sorry about that. :)

The question I have is; has anyone threatened by one of these dangle-pants dorks ever given in to the urge to grab the underwear and give them a really life altering wedgie?

On the subject of teenaged girls and the various forms of Varsity Prostitution Team Uniform, I want a t-shirt that says "Honey, if it ain't for sale, why are you advertising?"

I can just imagine the reaction I would have gotten if I had dressed like that in high school back in the 70's.

"No, really! This will be cool in the future!"

It brings a smile to my face to imagine the hilarity that will ensue 30 years hence when these folks' offspring get a look at how Mom & Dad dressed back in the day.

Personally, I loathe and despise the whole "ghetto" culture. "Rap 'music,'" pants-a-draggin', the dialect, the whole nine yards.

If the Rapture occurred tomorrow and all those asshats were suddenly disappeared, I'd have to start reconsidering my atheism. Any God that would do that would be worth praying to.

And they get sooo upset when they get stinkeye from people...well, guess what, asshats, if I went around dressed up like a member of the Hell's Outlaws 1%ers Motorcycle Club, I'd get stinkeye too! People tend to react badly to those who make it clear that they hold all the rest of us in contempt and see us as prey.

Ha ha ha ha ha! Hold on folks, let us not disparage the fashion choices of todays youth, it is a godsend for us 50+ year old cop types. I cannot tell you how many urban youth I have been in "foot pursuit" with over the last few years who would have gotten smooth away from my tired old "God, I hate to run in all this damn equipment" ass if not for tripping up over their own pants.

In addition to providing a built-in equalyzer in regular flat ground running matches, I can recall at least two occasions when they handily caught on the top of fences, leaving the wearer hung upside down waiting for me to catch up and rescue him from his humiliation.

Another attribute to this style is the almost immediate ejection of handguns and other offensive weapons worn in the waistband the minute the thug kicks it into high gear in an effort to escape arrest. If the thug should put his hand on said handgun in an attempt to keep it in place, this is usually met with a hail of police gunfire. I might also add at this point that is it harder to place one's shots effectively while holding one's pants up with one hand, thus giving the police another slight edge.

All things considered I LOVE this style of dress and want it to continue (at least until I retire).