Who are Saggers?
- Written By: Kate Monteith
- Edited By: Jay Garcia
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Copyright Protected:
2003-2013 Conjecture Corporation
If you have ever caught more than a peek of underwear above a sagging pair of baggy jeans, you have spotted a sagger. People who purposely allow their pants to sag below the beltline to reveal their undergarments, and sometimes their buttocks, are informally called saggers. People who wear low-rise jeans exposing only skin don’t really qualify for the title of sagger.
Sagging pants became a form of fashion expression among the rap and hip hop music crowd as early as 1989. The earliest saggers may have been in prisons, where the incarcerated are made to go without a belt to prevent suicide attempts. Prisoners today are known to purposely wear sagging pants as a request for a sexual encounter.
Throughout the 1990s, rappers and other musical artists helped propel the unlikely practice of sagging to eventually become the height of hip hop fashion, especially among urban youth. It became common to see young saggers with enormous jeans cinched around their hips, the elastic bands of their undershorts clearly visible. Eventually, skateboarders also adopted the practice of sagging, which they sometimes call saggin’.
Before sagging became popular, the practice of showing your underwear on purpose would have been laughable. Today, letting your pants sag has become a mark of “street cred” that could even indicate that the wearer is a hardcore criminal. The members of some street gangs are known to wear sagging pants as a sign of their disregard for civilized society and the law. But, the majority of saggers are simply making a hip hop fashion statement.
The youthful skateboarding crowd gives an approving nod to the fashion of wearing saggy pants to the extreme. These saggers make sure the belt is tightened just below the buttocks, and the crotch of the saggy pants settles about knee level. It would seem an odd choice to wear one’s pants in a precarious position when engaged in a perilous sport, but perhaps the billowing folds of material create a heightened level of challenge.
When the sagging pants are worn to class it can upset parents and school administrators. Vast numbers of children wearing jeans that sag well below their underpants caused some schools to adopt uniforms. Some people consider saggy pants to be an insult to society in general. Several localities have established restrictions on sagging. Violators will receive a ticket or citation if their pants sag, and a few places have succeeded in cracking down on saggers.
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Discuss this Article
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wavy58
Post 6 |
@kylee07drg - I got injured at my school by someone else’s saggy pants back in 1992. After that, my school banned that fashion trend.
I was going down the stairs to my next class, and saggy britches boy was behind me. Some preppy kids came up behind him, started snickering, and stepped on his pants legs to cause him to trip.
When he fell, he lunged forward right into my back, and I fell down several concrete steps. I had multiple scrapes and bruises, but thankfully, I didn’t break any bones. I broke his fall pretty well, and he felt bad about the whole thing. I think he would have stopped wearing the pants even if the school hadn’t adopted a no-sag policy. |
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Oceana
Post 5 |
After seeing so many hip-hop stars wearing saggy pants in their videos, I became curious as to what it would feel like to wear them. They made them look so comfortable, but I thought it would feel weird.
I wanted to see for myself, so I borrowed a pair of my brother’s jeans. I belted them just below my butt and tried to walk around. I felt like I often feel in dreams where I am naked in public. Even though I had a long t-shirt on that covered all areas, it just felt wrong!
It also felt horrible to let that much of my pants drag the ground. It sounded like I was kicking clothing across the floor with each step. I absolutely hated it. |
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kylee07drg
Post 4 |
Many schools have banned sagging pants. My school banned them as soon as the trend began, even though no one had yet worn them there. The school officials were pretty strict on dress code, and we could not wear skirts or shorts above our knees, so it was no surprise that they reacted quickly to prevent anyone from wearing saggy pants.
Besides places like my school that just aim for a reserved dress code, other schools simply banned saggy pants as a safety precaution. Someone going down the stairs in such loose clothing could easily trip or be tripped and injure themselves. |
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Sierra02
Post 3 |
Not all saggers are part of the hip-hop or skater world. My boyfriend wears saggy jeans all the time and he likes country music.
In my eyes nothing looks better than a group of barefoot shirtless saggers exposing the tops of their tight designer boxers. Take a look at the Abercrombie & Fitch shopping bags. That should give you an idea of what I'm talking about. |
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Markus
Post 2 |
I took my ten year old nephew shopping recently at the mall and that's when I discovered that he too is part of the saggers boys revolution.
He's only ten years old! Every clothing store we went in were selling these over-sized jeans even in his little size. I was amazed when I asked the clerk where the normal jeans were, and she replied that these are the normal jeans.
Oh well, times change and the trend in clothing seems to change just as quickly. Not only did I break down and purchase two pairs of sagging jeans for him but I also bought a package of designer boxer briefs.
My theory is if our youth wants to play peek-a-boo with their undergarments then they might as well look good. Right? |
