Bell-Bottoms
Bell-bottoms, pants with legs that become wider below the knee, were an extremely popular fashion during the 1960s and 1970s. The belled or flared legs on bell-bottom pants were originally a functional design, worn by those who worked on boats since the seventeenth century. The large legs allowed the pants to be easily rolled up out of the way for such messy jobs as washing the decks. In addition, if a sailor fell overboard, bell-bottom pants could be pulled off over boots or shoes and the wide legs inflated with air for use as a life preserver.
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Bell-bottoms, both wide and just slightly flared, made from denim, bright cotton, and satin polyester, were so popular that they became a symbol of the outlandish and colorful style of the 1970s, and when the decade ended many hoped that bell-bottoms were gone for good. Like many of the items of clothing strongly identified with the 1970s, bell-bottoms became a symbol of old-fashioned bad taste. However, the flared pants returned to style in the 1990s as part of a trend toward baggy clothing.