A millennial’s warning to Gen Z about the return of one of Y2K’s most divisive trends has sparked a viral discussion online.
Threads user James Marshall (@ceilingsintheireyes) shared their tongue-in-cheek caution about the comeback of super baggy jeans, gathering more than 6,200 likes and 186 reposts.
“I’ve noticed teenagers have started wearing baggy jeans again, and with the approach of winter, only those of us who were teens in the early 00s know what’s coming for them,” they wrote.
The post was accompanied by an image of a boot-leg pair of jeans soaked at the hem, captioned: “When you’re a teenager on a wet day in 1999.”
According to Robert Ossant, author and fashion historian at Robert Ossant, the soggy-hem dilemma is all about proportion and fit. He explained that getting jeans tailored to sit just above the shoe can prevent dragging, though he noted that doing so runs counter to the carefree spirit of the baggy trend.
“This is a personally fascinating topic for me. I was one of those kids in the late 90s and early 00s who went for the baggy, pant. As a shorter man, I reflect on that style choice with some regret. But it hasn’t stopped me reaching for a modern equivalent. Thankfully, I have found contemporary version are more forgiving,” he told Newsweek.
View on Threads
Ossant added that fashion tends to swing between extremes—tight to loose, tailored to oversized—and that each generation typically rebels against the styles of the one before it. He said Gen Z’s embrace of baggy jeans is partly a rejection of the millennial association with skinny fits, even though the look is far from new.
He also noted that looser styles are a win for retailers, since customers are less likely to return them over fit issues.
On Threads, users joined in the nostalgia and intergenerational commentary.
“I still can feel the cold dirty fabric slapping my ankles. Even now,” said one user.
“Hey buddy im a gen z but im a skater, trade secret: cuff your pant legs and stick Bobby pins in them to keep em up,” shared another.
“Sigh. People who were teenagers in the 70s know, too,” wrote one commenter.
“There’s probably gonna be a similar post in 2050 …” another added.
“Well, that was me today (just minutes ago) and I stoped being a teen 30 years ago,” shared one user.
“Did that actually return it the early oughts? It was a HUGE thing when I was a teen in the mid 70s. Oh. My. GAWD, my parents hated them. The bigger, baggier, stringy-hemmed they were, the better,” said another.
Newsweek reached out to @ceilingsintheireyes for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case.
Do you have any viral videos or pictures that you want to share? We want to see the best ones! Send them in to [email protected] and they could appear on our site.