Many men, and occasionally some women, are often seen sporting 'sagging pants.' Interestingly, this style has sparked controversy, with some American states previously attempting to legislate against it, even proposing jail time for those who wore them.

To start with, sagging pants refer to trousers worn below the waist, intentionally revealing one's underwear.

Famous personalities like Justin Bieber, BLACKPINK, and Rihanna, along with rappers Tupac and Soulja Boy, have all embraced the visible boxer waistband, focusing on comfort and style.

However, it's not just celebrities who favor this style; Prada once sent supermodels down the runway flaunting their baggy elegance.

Hugo Boss also featured Gigi Hadid in this combination to highlight the brand’s collaboration with Russell Athletic at Milan Fashion Week in 2021. Not to be outdone, Miu Miu matched micro-skirts with sagging elements for their spring/summer 2022 fashion line.

When did the sagging pants trend start?

Celebrities like Soulja Boy often showcase the 'sagging pants' style, which first gained popularity in the United States (John Parra/WireImage)

The ultra low-waisted trend might have resurfaced lately, but its origins trace back to the 1990s and early 2000s.

According to authors Susan B. Kaiser and Maxine Leeds Craig, the saggy pants style has remained significant for over three decades because 'people persist in wearing a style with which they strongly identify’.

“The panic shifts the blame for social inequality onto youths’ fashion choices while urging them to indicate, by pulling up their pants, their loyalty to institutions and a dominant culture that have failed and rejected them,” they wrote in their book, The Persistence of Taste: Art, Museums and Everyday Life After Bourdieu, as reported by The Washington Post.

What is the controversy around sagging pants?

While both men and women have reclaimed the boxers-and-baggy-jeans style in the 2020s, the trend wasn’t always viewed positively. Particularly, Black men in the US faced criticism for wearing sagging pants.

Cities in Tennessee, Louisiana, and Texas even pushed for laws that would penalize saggy pants wearers with fines and penalties, as noted by Smithsonian Magazine.

In fact, there was once a suggestion that young men caught in low-waist styles could face up to three years in state prison as punishment.

Sagging pants have been quite controversial, with attempts to make them illegal (Raymond Boyd/Getty Images))

In 2013, The Atlantic reported that Massachusetts officials labeled the style choice as a ‘behavioral health issue’ impacting both individuals and ‘neighborhoods and communities’.

Dr. Omar Reid, the President of Black Mental Health Alliance, campaigned for the outlawing of sagging pants and encouraged people to ‘take a collective stand and tell our young men and boys to pull those pants up’.

Did sagging pants ever actually get officially banned?

A federal law against low-riding jeans was never enacted under Massachusetts’ ‘open and gross lewdness and lascivious behavior’ law (Section 16).

Political figures like Barack Obama described the enactment of such laws as a ‘waste of time,’ though he still advised young men on how to wear their jeans.

Justin Bieber is also a fan of the trend (John Parra/WireImage)

“Brothers should pull up their pants,” the former US President stated in 2008, according to CBS News.

“You are walking by your mother, your grandmother, and your underwear is showing. What's wrong with that? Come on. Some people might not want to see your underwear. I'm one of them."

Despite the controversy, both men and women continue to embrace sagging silhouettes for reasons such as comfort, rebellion, and as a symbol of masculinity, according to apparel brand Guangzhou Zuoce Clothing Co.

You'll also sometimes see men putting their hands down their sagging pants - but that's for a whole different reason!

A content creator named Elianna Arvizu, 25 at the time, told The Washington Post that she chose the style to run errands around Los Angeles without worry.

“You don’t have to worry about, like, … I don’t know, anything hanging out,” she explained.

So, if you've been considering trying out these sagging silhouettes and channeling the likes of Bieber - let this be your sign.