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Parachute pants, originally known as flight pants, are a style of
Early breakdancers occasionally used heavy nylon to construct
trousers
Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants ( American, Canadian and Australian English) are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending ...
characterized by the use of nylon
Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups.
Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...
, especially ripstop nylon
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Ripstop is a woven fabric, often made of nylon, using a reinforcing technique that makes it more resistant to tearing and wear. During weaving, stronger (and often thicker) reinforcement yarns are interwoven at regular intervals in a ...
.
History
In the original tight-fitting style of the early 1980s, "parachute" referred to the pants' nylon material, similar to aparachute
A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...
's. Parachute pants became a fad
A fad, trend, or craze is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation, or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short time period.
Fads are objects or behaviors tha ...
in US culture
The culture of the United States encompasses various social behaviors, institutions, and Social norm, norms, including forms of Languages of the United States, speech, American literature, literature, Music of the United States, music, Visual a ...
in the 1980s as part of the increased popularity of breakdancing
Breakdancing or breaking, also called b-boying (when performed by men) or b-girling (women), is a style of street dance originated by African Americans and Nuyorican, Puerto Ricans in The Bronx borough of New York City.
Breakdancing consist ...
.
The clothing company Bugle Boy manufactured the pants in the early 1980s, although they were not the first company to manufacture parachute pants. The company Panno D'or states that they invented them, though this claim is not confirmed. However, Bugle Boy was the company that made them immensely popular, seemingly overnight. Bugle Boy parachute pants are identifiable by having the word "Countdown" on a small tag above the rear pocket's zipper.
Teenage boys were the main wearers of parachute pants. They typically cost $25-$30 a pair (US$80-$112 in 2024, accounting inflation). During the height of their popularity, 1984–1985, boys wearing parachute pants were fairly common. Bugle Boy did make pants for girls and women, though they remained most popular with males. They went out of fashion almost as quickly as they arrived, with the fad lasting about two years. Their slim, fitted look was eventually overtaken by much looser, baggy-style pants. Parachute pants played a pivotal role in 1980s fashion
Fashion of the 1980s was characterized by a rejection of psychedelic colored, ornate fashions of the 1970s fashion, 1970s. Punk fashion began as a reaction against both the hippie movement of the past decades and the materialist values of the curr ...
.
In 2024, parachute pants and clothing began to fashionably re-emerge, primarily in the celebrity world.
Functional clothing
Early breakdancers occasionally used heavy nylon to construct jumpsuit
A jumpsuit is a one-piece garment with sleeves and legs and typically without integral coverings for feet, hands or head. The original jump suit is the functional one-piece garment used by parachutists.
The original skydivers' jumpsuits were ...
s or trousers
Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants ( American, Canadian and Australian English) are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending ...
that would be able to endure contact with the breakdancing surface while at the same time decreasing friction, allowing speedy and intricate "downrock
In dance, floorwork refers to movements performed on the floor. Floorwork is used extensively in modern dance, particularly Graham technique, Erick Hawkins, Hawkins technique, and breakdancing. Some dance training practices, notably Zena_Rommett#Fl ...
" routines without fear of friction burns or wear in clothing. Some, possibly apocryphal, sources state that genuine parachute nylon was cut and used to make such trousers possible. In the early part of the 1980s, parachute pants were tight fitting. Due to the use of nylon in parachutes, the style of pants became known as parachute pants. Often, early outfits were of a single color or slightly patchwork in nature as they were sometimes made of found materials.
When manufactured and marketed as fashionable clothing, parachute pants were often constructed with lightweight synthetic fabrics, making this variety of pants more suitable for fashion than breakdancing.
See also
*Dance costume
A dance costume is the clothing worn by a dancer when performing before an audience. A dance costume may be custom designed for use in a specific dance work, or it may have a traditional design, such as those used in some ceremonial and folk danc ...
*Harem pants
Harem pants or harem trousers are baggy, long trousers, pants caught in at the ankle. Early on, the style was also called a harem skirt. Inspired by Middle East clothing styles, especially şalvar (Turkish trousers), so-called 'harem pants/skirts' ...
References
{{Clothing 1980s fashion 1990s fashion Trousers and shorts