By Riley McNamara ’22

As fashion continues to change everyday, who would’ve thought that mom jeans would make an appearance again. The so-called mom jeans are a blast from the past. The high waisted, baggy jeans were first seen in the 1980s and continued to thrive all through the 90s. The hype for these jeans was comfort. All celebrities and teenagers had at least one pair of these jeans in their closet during the 80s and 90s. Many television shows from the 90s also featured mom jeans that were worn by the the actresses.

As the hip of these jeans started to fade out, middle-aged women were the only ones found wearing them in the late 90s and early 2000s. No one thought they were cool anymore because the newly discovered low rise, skinny jeans came into style in the early 2000s. In the 2000s, everywhere you looked you would see every celebrity and every person wearing skinny jeans. Every person, not including the moms that still wore the old high waisted and loosely fit jeans.

Since only moms were seen wearing this style of jeans, a Saturday Night Live skit was performed on them. When the skit aired in 2003, that was the first time these jeans were referred to as ‘mom jeans’.  The skit was making fun of these types of jeans because no one wore them anymore and skinny jeans were the new style. Once these jeans were named as mom jeans, they became unpopular.

Skinny jeans sailed through the next decade, skyrocketing in popularity. Along with skinny jeans coming in, ripped jeans were also a new addition. As people got sick of this uncomfortable style, brands tried to make skinny jeans more stretchy and comfortable. More people found these jeans to be comfortable after the new improvement, but still skinny jeans just weren’t comfortable for most people.

Mom jeans have come back due to popular demand. Even though mom jeans are fashionable now, at the start of the trend people switched over to these jeans because of the great comfort level. Once the trend started on its rise, more and more people thought of mom jeans as stylish instead of an old fashion and unflattering look. These jeans have been so popular that the searches for them have increased by 227% in just one year. Showing that this trend grew popular and trendy at a rapid pace.

The style of these jeans have a more vintage feel and many trends are coming back from the 80s. Some other trends include: scrunchies, Vans, Birkenstock’s, and even L.L. Bean boots. All these trends are coming back because they are funky and interesting, which is luring mostly teenagers towards this style.

Also, social media influencers put their style out on the internet which persuades their followers and generally they intake parts of their style. Many influencers have been seen wearing mom jeans lately and once famous people wear something, it begins to grow popular. This trend has been like a ripple effect because once one famous person or model wears these jeans, then their friends start wearing them.

Take notice, around the school and the town you will see many people wearing these jeans. Either paired with a nice sweater or just a casual t-shirt. This style of jeans can be dressed up or down which is convenient for people to pick out effortless outfits and still look good.  

Trends go in and out so fast but I think the mom jean style is here to stay. With the comfort and attractive look, it is hard to say when these jeans will go out of style, if ever. These jeans have made an incredible bounce back. First from being popular, then to being made fun of and now to everyone having a pair and putting more of them on their wish list.  

Sources:

https://www.liveabout.com/mom-jeans-should-you-wear-them-2040256

https://www.womansday.com/style/fashion/a58807/mom-jeans/

https://www.trueself.com/mom-jeans-comeback-2421081253.html

https://nypost.com/2018/05/07/how-mom-jeans-that-disgrace-to-denim-made-their-triumphant-comeback/