The term Hot pants or short shorts is used for pants that are extremely short and cover the bottoms up to the navel. Although they had been worn since the 1930s and in the 1970s, they became very popular among teenage girls. Initially, they were designed for sports beachwear and leisurewear, but later they entered into mainstream fashion. Unlike biker shorts, Bermuda shorts, booty shorts, hotpants has its breed and culture. They are lineup with a movement of women who broke out of the accepted forms of women’s dress, embracing all their curves for the first time.
The style emerged when classic Hollywood actresses wore them in the 50s and 60s to accentuate their curvaceous bodies. As women began to wore hot pants occasionally and on streets, especially hippies and teenage girls, the style received immense criticism due to their disregard for accepted dress code. At the end of the 60s, midi-skirts were introduced as a replacement for shorter options to remain within dress code standards. In the late 1960s, Mary Quant popularized hot pants and became a British fashion icon. The style spread like wildfire in the 70s. The term was first used by Women’s Wear Daily in 1970 to describe shorts made in luxury fabrics. While hotpants were generally marketed to women but they are unisex, and some men also tried this fashion. David Bowie and Elton John were some of the adventurous men who attempted this style, but it remained limited to women.
By the mid-70s, hotpants became associated with prostitution and the sex industry, which contributed to their fall from mainstream fashion. Hotpants remain popular costumes for cheerleaders and dancers.
Why did shorts get longer and longer over the decades? In the 70’s and 80’s, showing legs was the norm?
Reagan, Thatcher, and the Moral Majority led to a political and social swing to the right in 1980?
Are you being serious or sarcastic? Do you really believe conservatism dictates fashion? As a result of the loose fitting style and function of NBA shorts and the influence of Hip-Hop culture, shorts of today have become more popular. Politics are far less influential than pop culture. It is only possible for conservatives to dream of being able to influence world fashion in such a way.
I lived through the sixties and seventies, and the Moral Majority definitely created a backlash against the excesses of the seventies in the eighties. I wasn’t referring to where we are now.
How did the moral majority’s backlash affect shorts’ length? I also lived through those years. In the 80’s, Madonna and Cindy Lauper had a greater influence on fashion than Thatcher and Reagan. Madonna had kids wearing undergarments on the outside. I can’t for the life of me understand the connection between short length and political right. Why, then, is the fashion today still for longer lengths if this were true? It is unlikely that 13-30 year olds of today are still being influenced by the moral majority in a way that affects their fashion. Without the link, it’s hard to take anyone seriously. It’s like conservatives today saying “Thank you Obama” for everything. It is impossible to take their arguments seriously.
I grew up in the wrong decade.
Are you kidding me? There’s nothing better than leggings right now. It’s all ass with no obstructions.
These are more like short-shorts or jean-shorts. It is possible that hot pants were made from the same material that would have been used for slacks.
Came in to say exactly this. Not hot pants, just shorts.
Instead of high-waisted everything, can we bring back THIS style?
Then how will they all hide their guts?
Back then, a lot of things were high waisted. It’s not hard to find this rise. It’s especially difficult if you’re tall