A decade after its ubiquity, the low-rise jean trend is once again appearing in high-fashion collections and on street style stars. Gigi Hadid wore low-rise jeans during her Spring 2017 show for Tommy Hilfiger [1], while fashion houses like Gucci, Alexander McQueen, and even Chanel have included the trend in recent runways. Headlines across the internet quickly began to warn of the reappearance of low-rise jeans, and while the saying "everything old is new again" tends to hold true in fashion, I somehow did not see this trend coming — or coming back, rather.
For any readers who might have rid the trend from their memory — or, you know, any Generation Alphas out there — low-rise jeans, or hip huggers, became popular after stars like Britney Spears [2], Beyoncé, Keira Knightley [3], and Paris Hilton [4] made it so. The style was also frequently paired with some sort of a belly chain, or a g-string with its straps peeking above the jean's waistband [5].
Its association with the '90s and '00s, however, is actually credited to Alexander McQueen [6], who debuted a pair of crack-revealing pants, referred to as Bumsters, during his debut collection in 1994. The designer would go on to include the style in a few subsequent collections. It seems the late designer's brand is trying to bring the trend back, with low-rise jeans appearing in two Alexander McQueen shows in the last three years, most recently in its Spring 2019 collection [7]
My general opinion on bottoms is: if I can see my belly button, I'm not interested. While I appreciate its importance in the canon of denim, I already lived through the height of the low-rise trend as an awkward adolescent in the 2000s, and I've been happily sitting in my high-waist jeans ever since. Though the silhouette of my jeans have changed over the years from skintight skinny jeans to straight-leg mom jeans [9], the rise has stayed the same.
There's a utility, I've learned, to the higher waistband: it creates the illusion of longer legs, while also offering a control-top effect for my waist. Now, this isn't meant to radiate any negativity towards my body (I quite like my body as it is), but I simply think my proportions look better in a high-rise pant [10] or skirt.
I couldn't tell you how I would look in low-rise jean because, well, I stopped shopping at Limited Too when I was 12 . . . so that explains it. I can, however, already imagine the inevitable tugging at my waistband and the incessant concern over sitting down and exposing my underwear. Not to overshare, but I've also got quite a butt, and high-waist jeans have allowed me to live free of those fears.
Although I'm definitely of the "wear what you want" belief — seriously, knock yourself out with hip huggers if you so please! — I personally don't see them landing in my closet anytime soon.