Types of Short Pants: Cut-Offs


Figure 1.--One of these American boys wears cutoffs. In the 1980s these running shorts became more popular than cutoffs. Both boys, however, wear tube socks.

Many American boys in the 1960s still shyed away from wearing short pants. At the time shorts were still considered dressy clothes. Many American boys in the 1940s and 50s might wear jeans to play in, but a short pants suit when he dressed up. I can't say I have definitive proof, but I think cutoffs became popular because they were a way for thrifty mothers to extend the useful life of jeans. But also as they were "cutoffs" they were more acceptable to boys who refused to dress up in short pants. "Cutoffs" were clearly casual clothes, theoretically jeans and other pants with the legs cut off. Boys were apparently willing to wear shorts that were cut down from jeans, but did not like the idea of actual purchased short pants. There was a aura of scruffy, casual wear that made them acceptable. Most "cutoffs" by the 1970s, however, were purchased new with the legs already cut off and with destinctive frayed hems. They were actual short pants that were made to look like they were not. The most popular material was denim, both regular dark blie denim and stone washed faded denim. They were available in other materials as well. I believe "cutoffs" were primarily an American style. This style was very popular in the late 1960s and 70s, but declined in popularity during the 1980s. The style is no longer commonly seen.

Chronology

Many American boys in the 1960s still shyed away from wearing short pants. At the time shorts were still considered dressy clothes. Many American boys in the 1940s and 50s might wear jeans to play in, but a short pants suit when he dressed up. Cut-offs were very popular in the late 1960s and 70s. It's a good question how cutoffs became popular for some time in the late 1960s and '70s and then fell out of style. Also, although cutoffs became less common, shorts became more acceptable. Perhaps cutoffs helped a bit in this "fashion transition", making short pants more acceptable to boys as casual wear. The clothing industry finally succeeded in putting an end to cut-offs by introducing some new fashion trends in the late 70s. The popularity of OP shorts gave boys a reason to buy ready-made shorts. The other trend was the fitness craze that made sport shorts popular. Cut-offs declined in popularity during the 1980s. The style is no longer seen. A HBC reader reports, however, that they have not entired disappeared. He writes, "You know interestingly enough, Trevor Morgan wears cutoff jeans all through Jurassic Park III. I have also seen a few kids wearing them in California in 2001."

Origins

I can't say I have definitive proof, but I think cutoffs became popular because they were a way for thrifty mothers to extend the useful life of jeans. But also as they were "cutoffs" they were more acceptable to boys who refused to dress up in short pants. "Cutoffs" were clearly casual clothes, theoretically jeans and other pants with the legs cut off.

A HBC contrubutor thinks that the boys themselves may have been the genesis of cut-offs. He writes, "Very interesting discussion on cutoffs. My guess about the origins of cutoffs is that the boys took the initiative. Moms were probably a little upset that a pair of `perfectly good' pair of jeans" had been ruined. Next, mom might ask, `If you want to wear shorts, why didn't you just ask me to buy you some shorts?'"

Media

Maybe the media had something to do with the popularity of cutoffs. It's possible that gradually TV and films depicted more boys in cutoff shorts, and a fad was started. In the 1960's more and more TV shows were set in California ("My Three Sons" in the middle of its run moved from a middle American town to a suburb of LA), and maybe the casual, warm weather clothes we expect to see there influenced our styles. Also, jeans may have liked by boys in part because many of their film and TV heroes were cowboys or frontiersmen. By 1960 TV westerns had reached their peak and were beginning to fade. They were replaced more and more by "family" shows set in the suburbs ("Leave It to Beaver"; "My Three Sons"; "Dennis the Menace") or shows like "Flipper", in which the two boys were usually costumed in cutoffs and T-shirts.

Importance

The humble cut-off jeans may well be more important in a fashion sence than is often realized. It is interesting to note that jin the 1950s many American boys refused to wear any kind of short pants. Some boys even disliked Junior High School because they had to wear gym shorts. For many these were the firsr dhort pants that they had ever worn. Some how, cut-offs were accecptable for many boys. It may well be that cut-offs shorts made short pants okay as casual wear for American boys.

Regional Differences

HBC with its primary East-ciast focus belieces that most boys wore cut-offs that were purcased in the stores. K-Mart, Sears, Wards, and others all offered them. The boys we noted all seemed to be wearing the store-brough kind.

A HBC reade from California reports a different experience. He writes, "You say 'Most cutoffs by the 1970s, however, were purchased new with the legs already cut off and with destinctive frayed hems." That wasn't the case in Northern California. I remember ads for such fake cut-offs, but rarely saw boys wearing them. I can see the motivation of the people who make and sell clothing to co-opt or kill a trend that prevents people from buying new garments, but this was a case where both boys and their parents liked doing things in a thrifty way. When I saw a boy wearing fake cut-offs, it was almost always a younger boy. I'm sure that older boys wearing them would have faced some unpleasant teasing."

In California, boys liked to cut up the inside hem about 6 inches or so in the 1970's and early 80's. That was a "cool" look. Sears used to see their "Toughskin" in a pre-cutoff syle and some of the kids would wear these. One HBC reader reports, "I liked cut-offs and they were the first shorts I wore, other than PE shorts."

Age

Primary (elementary) school


Secondary school


College (university)

Store-bought cutoffs, as one contributor notes from Texas , weren't so popular--at least among college boys in the 1970s. Boys and youths fashioned their own cutoffs with a pair of scissors, or a pocket knife. In fact, now it comes to mind, a friend told me that the best cutoffs were made with a knife! We did just that in our dorms rooms at college. Several of us used knives to cut old jeans above the knees when warm weather arrived. Cutoffs surely did fray when you laundered them, and we'd trim the edges when the fraying grew too long. By this time (about 1972) most of us college sophomores wore only cutoffs. Occasionally you'd see the more conservetive dressers in walk shorts. Cutoffs were very serviceable; on weekends we'd put the books away for a little while and go to the reservoir (the closest thing we had to a beach!), and none of us worried about ruining cutoffs by going into the water or playing football or baseball.

Image

Boys were apparently willing to wear shorts that were cut down from jeans, but did not like the idea of actual purchased short pants. There was a aura of scruffy, casual wear that made them acceptable. Most "cutoffs" by the 1970s, however, were purchased new with the legs already cut off and with destinctive frayed hems. They were actual short pants that were made to look like they were not.

A HBC reader writes, "I think you're right when you say that a lot of boys would tolerate shorts made from old or not so old jeans but would have cringed at wearing crisp walk shorts - too juvenile, too dressy for outdoor play, or "They'll think I'm a sissy!" You're right that cutoffs look sufficiently roughhewn to be acceptable to boys."

Material

The most popular material was denim, both regular dark blue denim and stone washed faded denim. They were available in other materials as well.

Nationality

I believe "cutoffs" were primarily an American style. Interestingly, jean shorts other than cuit-offs were not popular in America. Just the opposite was true in Europe, Boys there did not wear cut-offs, but jean shorts were very popular in the 1960s and 70s.








Christopher Wagner





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Created: September 6, 2001
Last updated: September 10, 2001