Bondage pants or bondage trousers are trousers with

zipper A zipper (N. America), zip, zip fastener (UK), formerly known as a clasp locker, is a commonly used device for binding together two edges of textile, fabric or other flexible material. Used in clothing (e.g. jackets and jeans), luggage and oth ...

s, straps, chains, rings and buckles, giving an appearance of a BDSM style. They come in a variety of colors and patterns; one of the most common patterns being

tartan Tartan or plaid ( ) is a patterned cloth consisting of crossing horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours, forming repeating symmetrical patterns known as ''setts''. Originating in woven wool, tartan is most strongly associated wi ...

. Bondage pants also come in a variety of styles, including tight or baggy, long, short or

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. A popular resort destination since the time of the Roman Republic, its natural beauty ...

. They are primarily worn by members of youth

subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture, cultural society that differentiates itself from the values of the conservative, standard or dominant culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures ...

s, including punks,

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

rs,

goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

and otaku. The most popular style of bondage pants is the 'original' black style, with white topstitching, although different colored versions including white, hot pink, blue, and green have been made with equally varying colors of topstitching.

History

Origins

They were developed by British designers Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren in the 1970s

punk subculture The punk subculture includes a diverse and widely known array of Punk rock, music, Punk ideologies, ideologies, Punk fashion, fashion, and other forms of expression, Punk visual art, visual art, dance, Punk literature, literature, and film. La ...

. The trousers were made popular by people such as the Sex Pistols, Jordan and Adam Ant who originally had to get them from Westwood/McClarens shop SEX, later to become Seditionaries, in World's End, Chelsea,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The original drainpipe design was an anti fashion statement against the

flares A flare, also sometimes called a fusée, fusee, or bengala, bengalo in several European countries, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a bright light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for distress signaling, illuminatio ...

of the time. The men's variety tend to feature baggier legs, larger pockets and more metal details such as chains, skulls, mock handcuffs and D-rings while the women's styles are usually more tailored and have less metal hardware decoration than the men's styles but occasionally have details of lace, ribbon or tartan making them seem more feminine.

Further development

In the late 1990s and early-to-mid 2000s, Tripp NYC's signature design that combined the chains and straps of bondage pants with the baggy legs and bright linings of phat pants became incredibly popular amongst U.S. teenagers, although they also held some minor popularity amongst college students then in their early 20s, and were worn on stage by members of some

nu-metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, with a metal umlaut) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu metal rarely features guita ...

, industrial rock, and

darkwave Dark wave, or darkwave, is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics and have been perceived as being dark, ro ...

bands. Additionally, during that time period this style of phat pants-inspired bondage pants became frequently observable among members of the goth, heavy metal, gamer, and

r subcultures. Such pants were a popular sell for chain stores such as Hot Topic and Spencer's Gifts, and ranged from observable to ubiquitous at alternative music (especially

Electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

and Hard Rock) nightclubs and anime conventions prior to a gradual decline in popularity and visibility from the late 2000s through early 2010s. However, during the early 2020s, they made a comeback due to retro fashion trends like the Y2K trend.

References

* Christina Goulding, "Corsets, silk stockings and evening dress: retro shops and retro junkies" ''in'' "Time, space, and the market: retroscapes rising" (edd. Stephen Brown, John F. Sherry), M.E. Sharpe, 2003, , pp. 54–74 * Tavia Nyong'o, "Do You Want Queer Theory (or Do You Want the Truth)? Intersections of Punk and Queer in the 1970s", '' Radical History Review'' 2008(100) pages 103-119 * Angela McRobbie, "British fashion design: rag trade or image industry?", Routledge, 1998, , p. 8 * Andrew Travers‌, "Ritual Power in Interaction", ''

Symbolic Interaction Symbolic interactionism is a sociological theory that develops from practical considerations and alludes to humans' particular use of shared language to create common symbols and meanings, for use in both intra- and interpersonal communication. ...

'', Fall 1982, Vol. 5, No. 2, Pages 277–286 ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Bondage Pants BDSM equipment Trousers and shorts Punk fashion Fetish clothing

History

Origins

Further development

See also

References