I deliberately walked around with my trouser fly open - it's supposed to be a trend now
11.8.2022
Translation: machine translated
In fashion, it is the equivalent of having something in your teeth: the open fly. But this fashion faux pas, of all things, is now supposed to be trendy. I tried it out.
Sometimes I deliberately undo my trouser fly in public - namely after a substantial meal, when the waistband presses agonisingly against my full belly. I then conceal the act of liberation sometimes more, sometimes less successfully under my top. But maybe that won't be necessary in the future. A curious trend is bubbling up from fashion hell: fashion enthusiasts leave their slits open, fold the waistband over and call it a look.
I first noticed the trend, which takes some getting used to, about half a year ago when Dickies' "874 Work Pants" went viral. Women bought the model from the men's department and solved the problem of the too-wide waist by simply leaving the button and zipper open and folding the waistband outwards so that the white back with the Dickies logo is exposed.
Source: Instagram: @tbhnoemi
But the trick is by no means limited to the Dickies bustle. More and more often, I now discover the open stall in jeans or suit trousers as well. Clothing companies even sell models that look as if the waistband has been folded down in normal condition. Is the fake inner waistband the new fake trouser pocket?
Just another noughties trend?
Although the hashtag #874Dickies on Tiktok has garnered around 63 million views so far and has arguably been instrumental in spreading the trend, this style of wear existed before the Dickies hype: in 2019, for example, top model Bella Hadid even wore an unbuttoned pair of jeans with the waistband folded down on the red carpet. The ongoing noughties revival may also have contributed to the growing popularity of the open fly. Because the folded waistband gives high-cut trousers a low-waist look in a hurry.
But is the open, folded fly really just another Y2K whim - or is there more to it? Is it perhaps the textile counterpart to the out-of-bed hairstyle? A quiet rebellion against social conventions? An ode to comfort composed in pandemic isolation? Is the look supposed to say "Yes, my fly is open and I so don't care because I put my comfort above rules and I'm too cool and carefree to close my fly anyway"?
I want to know exactly, find out what the appeal is, and decide to try the look. After all, I recently gave the Tangablitzer a chance.
Spoiler: I'm not a fan
I grab the nearest pair of jeans, leave them half undone and fold the waistband. As I do so, I notice that I first have to meticulously cut off the slips at the side and back - although it doesn't even seem to be compulsory. Influencer Gigi Vassallo just lets them hang out for that extra dose of "I don't care" (see picture above)
So, with my fly open but no note, I step outside the door. A shopping centre in eastern Switzerland has to serve as a one-off test location. And what can I say? I don't get any strange looks. To my disappointment, no one thinks: "Exgüsi, your slit is open" and I can't answer with "Uh, no?! It's fashion!" Besides, I constantly have the feeling that I have to adjust the folded waistband. When the last shop closes, I close mine too. This outfit - and probably almost every other one - looks better this way, in my opinion.
My experience with the open trouser shop was thus brief and uneventful. It didn't make me feel stylish, super comfortable or rebellious; it just made me feel unfinished. So I won't be resorting to the waistband-open method in future - with one exception: I'm sitting in a restaurant and have eaten beyond my hunger.
Upbeat image: Instagram: @hannaschonberg
Has endless love for shoulder pads, Stratocasters and sashimi, but a limited tolerance for bad impressions of her Eastern Swiss dialect.
Fashion
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