The Forum: Grown Man Low

Fashion is about stating an opinion with your clothing and accessories. Wearing a suit obviously shows people that you are both serious and well put together or just over-dressed for the occasion. Most fashion choices, from the GaGa-esque to the uppity, are usually given the “to each his or her own” answer by those skeptical of the fashion choice. This way of thinking is one I personally like to follow. The idea that everyone is an individual and has his or her own idea of fashion is one I can live with. Despite this, there is one fashion choice that bugs me: men’s pants.

As a general disclaimer, I am not like the old woman who talks about the young children dressing as “hooligans” or “thugs.” I could care less about your “title” or what you wish to wear. Most people who claim they are thugs are only suburban gangsters attempting to gang-bang with an allowance while living in their parents’ basement.

Back on topic, the main component of the pants ordeal is that it consists of the two extremes of men’s pants. Gone are the days when pants just fit, now you have skinny jeans or baggy jeans. Now, either you suffocate your entire man-hood or have your backside available for the entire world to see. Baggy jeans were supposed to be an outward display of how “hood” someone was or to justify their street cred. The skinny jeans came in as the anti-thesis to the gangster baggy culture; a bi-product in the growth of the alternative-Kanye-hip-hop scene.


Both these presentations bring a unique projection of who you are. If you are wearing skinny jeans that look more like denim skin than pants, people will look at you like you have no man-hood. Without getting too explicit, if your jeans are that tight something is either suffocating or just non-existent. View this image with your own imagination. Now with the saggy pants the main component is the underwear. If you are going to sag below your backside wear underwear fit for your age. If you are in college, sagging your pants, broadcasting to the world your love for Spiderman, we have a problem. Rather, your level of maturity and social awkwardness has a problem.

Let’s recap and make a simple equation. Problem: men, your pants situation has gotten out of hand. Solution: find the middle ground and wear some pants that fit. There is a life within extremes and based off the array of choices we have now, you can find some jeans that fit just right. Not too loose that the world sees all of you and not too tight that people question what you have.

As said by Beyonce, or rather Sasha Fierce, there is such thing as “grown man low;” a pair of pants that keep your masculinity in check without making you hold your pants up more than a woman does her train at her wedding. If any motivation is required to get guys to get their pants in check think of this, no woman wants to question what’s in your jeans nor your taste in cartoons. Taking just those two reasons, think about it next time you work on your wardrobe unless you want to experience first hand embarrassment because you thought your Batman underwear was going unnoticed.