Teens wearing pants at their knees..

[luvsJack]

***Sigh***

So, now my boys are looking for action, gang-member wanna-be's and slick enough to layer so they can be on the move from the po-po, quicker.

It's a look. Just a look.

I had my head shaved, wore all black clothes and red lipstick in high school. What was the origin of my look? I'm dying to know.

EXACTLY. It is a look.

And, I think I would have a bigger issue with my BOY wearing GIRL jeans than I would sagging pants.

The kids get these looks and any other from whom ever is in the spotlight at the moment. The rappers in the videos wear sagging pants, layered hoodies, sun glasses, lots of bling. The kids wear it because they wear it.

Another one is the baseball caps that still have the tag on it and the bibs not bent. And NO THEY ARE NOT STOLEN! DD's softball coach does this one and so does my oldest ds--its a look.

 

[C.Ann]

I've never understood this style.. To me it looks terribly uncomfortable - and I've often wondered what would happen to these boys if they had to take off running for some reason.. Wouldn't they fall flat on their faces?

With teens, I understand that they think it's cool (or whatever word they're using now - LOL) - but when I see an adult male wearing pants like that, I just want to scream.. It looks so sloppy and ridiculous..

 

[CathrynRose]

I've never understood this style.. To me it looks terribly uncomfortable - and I've often wondered what would happen to these boys if they had to take off running for some reason.. Wouldn't they fall flat on their faces?

I can tell you right now, in the many times we have had to run for a bus, at WDW, Danny has only lost his pants, one time. And yes, we pointed and laughed at him.

They're actually cinched pretty tight, with a belt....around their butt. I dunno. Looks weird to me, but like I said....my head was shaved.

ETA - I'm leaning over around my laptop, looking at him on the couch.... tight green T-shirt, his pants around his booty and can see his 'layered' pajama bottoms. I realize the kid did this now, as he probably is going out tonight to commit a crime, and will lose the jeans like this *SNAP* when he starts to flee the scene. Who knew?

ETAA - Wait... I just asked him. They're boxers. Never mind. No crime tonight, thank goodness.

 

[CathrynRose]

My hoodlums in their gear -

 

[Poppinsme]

 

[luvsJack]

My hoodlums in their gear -

YEP, real dangerous gangsters you got there!

 

[CathrynRose]

YEP, real dangerous gangsters you got there!

Well, up until now, I had no idea. I'm glad this thread came up. I realize now the trouble they are.

 

[Freyja]

It's gotten much, much worse the past 5 years. Why do parents allow this?

I try to pick my battles

 

[CathrynRose]

I try to pick my battles

 

[lovesmurfs]

I had my head shaved, wore all black clothes and red lipstick in high school. What was the origin of my look? I'm dying to know.

Demi Moore?

 

[CathrynRose]

Demi Moore?

Ha! Very good....

I had it first.

Besides - mine was the underside....remember that look? Dumb. Just like the loose pants, but nothing more.

 

[tonilea]

My son isn't old enough to wear this style, but I would allow it. I hate it, but I would allow it. I would also let him color his hair or have almost any style. I would hate it, but.... it isn't a tatoo or piercing.... He can change clothes and hair grows, tats and some piercings are forever.

 

[Evi]

Because we have bigger fish to fry, and couldn't care less.



Oh. Gee whiz. I'll let both my boys know they're glorifying being in jail.

I was really surprised by your response. Though I don't think your boys look terrible per-say. I do volunteer work with youth and know for a fact that many young women find this style to be very offensive. I'm glad its becoming less popular but I don't think that takes away from it being inappropriate and if children don't learn what is appropriate attire from their parents who are they supposed to learn it from? I think there are many many ways to allow children to express themselves even through their clothing that need not be offensive to others. Honestly the picture I saw doesn't show their pants as low as I see the kids wearing them here in the city and sadly its not just the kids you see many grown men wearing them and I find it very tasteless. Not fashionable at all.

 

[IDoDis]

Pants on the ground tops the list of awful looking clothes and reflects poorly on the kids who wear pants like this. I guess that's why some teens like them. One day they'll grow up and say, "What were we thinking?"

Unfortunately, for the relatively good kids who wear this style there are way more kids who are in the "not so good" group that also wear this style. The good kids get lumped in with the bad ones. For that reason, I would highly discourage my teen from dressing like this. Thankfully both of my kids cannot stand this style so I'm safe there. However, if they insisted on dressing in this fashion, I would only allow it if they paid for their own pants. I would not spend my hard-earned money on these ridiculous looking, non-functional clothes.

 

[NotUrsula]

Yeah, it is just a look, but it's one that is actually fairly dangerous because it's a trip hazard, and tends to create way too much wear and tear on the clothes. (That shaved head and the lipstick didn't put you at risk for breaking your ankle on the stairs while changing classes with an armload of books.) For that reason I'm not willing to finance it. However, with my kid it's a moot point -- he's not interested in that look. He's all about comfort when it comes to his pants, though he did tell me in no uncertain terms that he was NOT going to be caught dead in plaid shorts this summer, LOL.

I remember when one of my nieces was about 12, she was into REALLY wide-legged pants that were also about 6 inches too long. She tripped over them constantly, and they made a loud flapping sound when she walked. Her mother gave up trying to talk her out of it, but the rest of the adults in the family decided that we simply would not be seen in public with her if she was dressed that way. After about a month, she got tired of always being left behind, and she shortened the pants.

 

[Talking Hands]

This style is very common here. I just warn the boys if the pants drop in class they will be going to detention. And they know I will because I have written them up and sent them to detention.

 

[MistressMerryweather]

Oh dearie! I HAAAAAAATE this style. It drives me nuts and I don't know why it bugs me so much. LOL

Quote from snopes:

"Pants worn this way are kept up by constant hitching, an act that becomes an integral part of the walking style of the wearer."

Can't...stand...pants...on...the...ground!

That said, I would let my ds wear their pants like that, but I wouldn't like it!

 

[bicker]

I've never understood this style.. To me it looks terribly uncomfortable

Are you saying that someone's perception of their personal comfort should be a top priority in determining attire? I don't disagree -- indeed, I agree strongly -- but we've had many discussions here at the DIS where some folks vehemently opposed some choices of attire, especially in the Dining forums, with regard to what folks wear at restaurants that don't have a specific dress code, on the grounds that comfort is not a valid consideration.

(I don't remember which side of those discussions you were on. )

and I've often wondered what would happen to these boys if they had to take off running for some reason.. Wouldn't they fall flat on their faces?

I wonder the same thing about women who wear heels. That logic really dictates that everyone walk around in walking shoes all the time. And again, I don't necessarily disagree with that perspective.

It looks so sloppy and ridiculous..

To make that appraisal, though, you're applying your personal preferences onto them. I suspect some of those teens, at least, would have some pretty scathing things about what you choose to wear. Would they be right about what they would say about your attire?

The point is simple: Use your own standards to just what you wear, yourself. Judge others by the standards that they choose to subscribe to. The only perturbation from that is what I alluded to earlier, i.e., the explicit requirements of the host, i.e., a published dress code for a restaurant, or the broadest interpretation judges would make of society's standards for dress. Everything beyond that is strictly personal preference, and again, such preferences are applicable only to one's self.

 

[bicker]

I try to pick my battles

And this really operates at two levels: First, the obvious, i.e., that you can't be in constant battle with your children, since doing so just leads to them becoming inured to whatever sanctioning you attempt. However, there is a second level, that probably pertains to this situation as well: Sometimes a battle shouldn't be fought because it insulates children from making their own mistakes and learning from them.

(And if you're concerned that they wouldn't see it, even eventually, as a mistake, then perhaps it isn't, and instead is just an expression of creativity that you personally don't find attractive. Should we really be building children who are reflections only of our own personal aesthetics? I think not.)

 

[krcit]

DH is a cop and he has told me quite a few stories of kids falling on their faces as they try to run from him He also had a kid run right out of his too big unlaced shoes.