Bell bottoms are a style of fashion that became popular in the late 1960s and 1970s, especially as part of the hippie and counterculture.
The Birth of Bell Bottoms
Bell bottoms have their origins in military pants.
In 1817, a design with wider legs and flared hems was introduced for sailors.
Sailor suits were oftenworn as a set with flared pants.
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It was widely adopted as the official uniform of the United States military in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The Navy uniform is known as a Cracker Jack.
It is said that this was adopted so that the Navy could be recognized at a glance from afar.
Post-World War II bell bottoms
In the 1960s, after the Second World War, the world was changing dramatically.
Young people began to question the structure and values of society, and this led to the hippie movement, which brought together many people with political and social discontent at the time, particularly with regard to racism, the threat of nuclear weapons, and the anti-Vietnam War movement.
Celebrating music, art, love and peace, the 1967 hippie rally in San Francisco drew hundreds of thousands of young people.
Quoted from the hippie rally The Human Be-In 1967
Bell-bottoms were one of the iconic styles that young people adopted as a symbol of new freedom andequality in the hippie culture.
The
wide, wide leg design expressed a free-spirited spirit and was loved by young people who had thecourage to challenge traditional fashion.
It was featured extensively in music, film, television and other media, and became established as afashion trend.
With the rise of music genres such as rock and psychedelic rock, famous rock artists and musicianswore bell-bottoms on stage, and the style became influential among young people.
Hippie culture and bell bottoms
Representative hippie bands include Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, and Jimi Hendrix.
Additionally, a series of large-scale music events, attracting many hippies, were held in the area, in cluding the Woodstock Festival (1969) and the Altimonte Free Concert (1969).
↑A rock festival held in Chile in South America in 1970
"Piedra Roja Festival"
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Bell-bottoms have also started to appear more frequently in movies and TV dramas.
For example, in the 1970s American TV show "Charlie's Angels," there were many scenes in which the main characters wore bell-bottoms.
John Lennon, known as a member of The Beatles, was also a fan of bell-bottoms. He often wore them on stage and in private.
Bell bottoms arrive in Japan
In the 1970s, young people in Japan began to adopt bell-bottoms and a unique style began to emerge.
Japan's unique fashion culture and aesthetic sense were reflected in the design of bell-bottoms, and gradually a style different from that of Europe and America was formed.
In particular, Japanese designers and fashion brands are known for offering products with meticulous design and high-quality materials, which influenced the evolution of bell-bottoms in Japan.
↑The early 1970s model BOBSON bell bottoms were sold throughout Japan.
↑Reissued bell bottom retro bleach color
Bell bottom trend
Bell-bottoms, like other fashion styles, go through periods of decline and are replaced by other fashion styles, but they also make a comeback whenever retro fashion becomes popular, such as from 1990 to2000 and from 2015 to 2024.
Each time it gains attention, a variety of materials and designs are created and become popular.
Bell bottoms have become a staple in fashion. They are also called flare pants and are becoming more and more diverse.
BOBSON bell bottoms are loved by many Japanese people
Many fashion brands offer designs incorporating bell-bottoms, but
BOBSON's bell-bottoms are the origin of Japanese bell-bottom jeans. In the 1970s, BOBSON's bell-bottom jeans were worn by the most Japanese people.
As a continuation of the history of Japanese jeans, the jeans are made using updated materials and data from 1970, and are designed to be worn for a long time without being swayed by momentary trends.
