Mom jeans

This article is about the garment. For the band, see Mom Jeans.

Then-Second Lady of the United States Tipper Gore (center) wears a pair of "mom jeans" at the Million Mom March protest

Mom jeans is an informal term for high-waisted women's jeans that were first fashionable in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In the late 1990s and 2000s they were mainly worn by adult American women and considered "old" by younger women.[1][2] High rise, ankle length "mom jeans" have since become fashionable again in the 2010s and into the 2020s with younger women from tween and teen aged girls, on up through college aged women and beyond.

Many women wear their t-shirt, sweatshirt, sweater or other top tucked into the jeans with a belt to complete the look.

Once considered a pejorative term, mom jeans gained prominence from a May 2003 Saturday Night Live skit written by Tina Fey for a fake brand of jeans called Mom Jeans, which used the tagline: "For this Mother's Day, don't give Mom that bottle of perfume. Give her something that says, 'I'm not a woman anymore... I'm a mom.'"[3]

Characteristics

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This style of mom jeans usually consists of a high waist rising above the navel, making the buttocks appear disproportionately longer, larger, and flatter. Mom jeans have excess space in the zipper, crotch, and leg areas.

Other attributes of the style often seen are pleats, tapered legs, ankle length legs, and elastic waistbands. The style is often accompanied by a blouse, t-shirt, sweatshirt, sweater or other shirt that is tucked into the jeans. Often a belt is worn.

Dad jeans

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Barack Obama practices pitching wearing "dad jeans" in advance of throwing the ceremonial first pitch at the 2009 MLB All-Star Game

A corresponding term, dad jeans, has been coined in popular media to refer to high-waisted jeans often worn by middle-aged American men. The term gained popularity in 2009 when President Barack Obama wore dad jeans during the 2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.[4][5][6][7] In March 2015, Obama appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! for the "Mean Tweets" segment, in which he read a tweet mocking him over the jeans. Jimmy Kimmel then appeared on stage wearing high-waisted jeans, and jokingly attempted to defend them.[8]

However, the term dad jeans gained less media attention than the corresponding feminine term. The term is also used to refer to both high-waisted and mid-waisted jeans worn by men, as high-waisted trousers lost popularity amongst men as early as the mid to late 1960s.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "mom jeans | Definition of mom jeans in English". Oxford Dictionaries. Archived from the original on September 29, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  2. ^ "mom jeans Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary". dictionary.cambridge.org. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  3. ^ Hudson Neal, Jill (September 26, 2006), "Mom Jeans Flatter No Body", Washingtonpost.com, retrieved October 3, 2007
  4. ^ Associated Press, AP (July 21, 2009), "Obama: No apologies for 'dad jeans'", Chicago Sun Times, archived from the original on March 2, 2010, retrieved February 5, 2013
  5. ^ "Obama: Health care shouldn't be political". MSNBC. NBC News. July 21, 2009. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2014. Finally, the president responded good-naturedly to criticism of the bleached and baggy 'Dad jeans' or 'nerd jeans' that he wore to throw out the first pitch at last week's All-Star Game in St. Louis.
    'You are married to one of the most fashionable women in the world,' Vieira observed. 'Do you want to defend the pants?"
    'Michelle, she looks fabulous,' he laughed. 'I am a little frumpy. Up until a few years ago, I only had four suits. She used to tease me because they would get really shiny. I hate to shop. Those jeans are comfortable, and for those of you who want your president to look great in his tight jeans, I'm sorry — I'm not the guy. It just doesn't fit me. I'm not 20.'
  6. ^ "Obama wants people to quit bashing his jeans". CNN Political Ticker. CNN. Archived from the original on August 22, 2014. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  7. ^ Simpson, Connor. "Obama's Mom Jeans: A Wire Investigation". The Wire. Archived from the original on August 22, 2014. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  8. ^ Vokes-Dudgeon, Sophie (March 13, 2015). "President Obama Reads Mean Tweets, Jimmy Kimmel Wears Obama's Jeans!". US Weekly. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
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