Bell-bottoms - Flare and Boot-cut Jeans in The Late 1980s, and 1990s

Flare and Boot-cut Jeans in The Late 1980s, and 1990s

In the late 1980s, during the rise of acid house and the Second Summer of Love, bell bottoms became popular again in women's and men's fashion in Europe spreading to the Americas, South Africa, Japan and Australia. They were initially reintroduced as boot-cut (also spelled "boot cut" or "bootcut"), which meant tapering to the knee and loosening around the ankle to accommodate a boot. Over time, the width of the hem grew wider and the term "flare-leg" was favored over the term "bell-bottom" in marketing. Similar to boot-cut hems, the trend began in Europe and spread rapidly around the world. Today, both the boot-cut and flare-leg pants remain popular both in denim and higher quality office wear. In menswear straight-leg also gave way to boot-cut looks, again initially in Europe, and has made its leap into flare-leg for officewear, the same as what has happened in womenswear. In most cases men's boot-cut and women's boot-cuts differ. Women's jeans are tight to the knee and then flare out slightly to the hem, while men's styles are usually flared/loose all the way from crotch to hem. The bell-bottoms of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s can generally be distinguished from the flare or boot-cut pants of the 1990s by the tightness of the knee.