The Bell-bottoms: Long-running Hits From The Sixties

The bell-bottoms became fashionable in the 1960s and are still synonymous with the flower-power lifestyle today.

The flared trousers are still associated with the wild 1960s today and flower girls pass by, driving colorful VW buses through California and listening to hippie music. But the bell-bottoms are still relevant today!

The bell-bottoms as a symbol of an era

The bell-bottoms are trousers in which the trouser leg widens like a trumpet from the knee. Its name probably comes from the fact that the pant legs hit each other when walking briskly. In English, bell-bottoms are associated with bells, which is why they are called “bell bottoms” in English.

In the 1960s and 1970s, these types of pants became extremely wide in the lower area and sometimes also had additional folds sewn in or were combined with decorative ribbons or chains at knee level.

At the end of the 1970s, this fashion trend disappeared from the scene and is still associated with hippies and flower girls today.

Although the bell-bottoms are more likely to be associated with the hippies and the 1960s, there are still professions whose clothing includes such trousers.

Carpenters, for example, traditionally wear such wide trouser legs to prevent sawdust or wood shavings from falling into their shoes. Depending on the country, sailors also often wear bell-bottoms. You too can wear bell-bottoms today without attracting attention as a flower girl!

Today’s fashion

Even in today’s fashion, such trousers with trouser legs tapering downwards are still current, but they are cut less wide than in the 1960s and do without hippie accessories such as flowers, decorative chains, decorative seams and decorative borders. Today’s bell-bottoms are rather classic to noble and not only intended for hippie brides.

Bell bottoms are generally figure-flattering and are mostly available today as jeans. Depending on the model and cut, the stroke is more subtle than in the times of the wild 60s and 70s. A modern offshoot of flared trousers is today’s “boot cut” jeans, which are cut so wide at the bottom that they can be worn loosely over boots.

What do you wear underneath?

In particular, smaller and plump women should wear bell-bottoms with slightly taller shoes and use the optical advantage of the trousers: the wide flare optically stretches and so you look taller and slimmer. The trousers also flatter tall women, because they emphasize their body length and long legs even without high heels.

Platform shoes are traditionally worn under such trousers, but casual ankle boots also fit. Those who are tall and long do not need high heels and can wear comfortable clogs or light leather sandals like the flower girls used to do.

What do you wear over it?

So that the proportions are right and you look feminine, the top should not be too wide and long, otherwise the figure-flattering effect of the flared trousers would fizzle out. The cut of the trousers slims the thighs and stretches the overall appearance. But only if you choose the right top.

The top should just cover the waistband and fit tightly. Loose blouses or “flutter tops” are too voluminous and visually inflate your figure. When choosing your top, you should make sure that the fabric only falls far at the lower end of the legs, the rest of the body should appear optically narrow. A simple, single-colored T-shirt with a close-fitting fit is a completely uncomplicated option.

Do not confuse it with the Marlene trousers!

Bell bottoms are generally tight up to the knee and only then expand. Marlene trousers are cut wide and straight from the waistband down. Marlene Dietrich once gave her name to the trousers, today the cut is often called “Palazzo trousers”. In contrast to bell-bottoms, the Marlene trousers always had something elegant.

The Marlene trousers are ideal for women with round bottom and strong thighs, but you should have a certain height so as not to appear stocky. Here, too, high heels can help, but you will never express the flair of the hippie era with Marlene trousers, but always look with style and elegance.

If you are a flower girl deep down in your heart, dare to wear flared pants!