Other people's style is usually none of our business. The clothes that they put on are their choice and if we really, really dislike the look, we have to remember that our personal opinion is just that — a subjective perspective shaped by our individual preferences. We can't tell them what to wear. But Reddit user WhatALowCreditScore's mom thought she could even do something about it.
In a post on the subreddit 'Petty Revenge,' they recalled a time when she saw a guy wearing his jeans so low that you could see his boxers. So she pantsed him. However, he didn't lose his cool and instantly got back at the lady.
This woman hated it when people wore their pants low, so one time she pulled down a guy's jeans just to embarrass him
Image credits: Tony Alter (not the actual photo)
But little did she know, she would be the one who had to leave the situation with her eyes lowered
Image credits: Rishiraj Parmar (not the actual photo)
Image credits: WhatALowCreditScore
Sagging is back
Image credits: Annie Mole (not the actual photo)
Sagging (wearing pants that sag so that the top is significantly below the waist, sometimes revealing the wearer's underpants) was one of the quintessential 2000s trends.
According to VOGUE writer Alexandre Marain, it was born in American prisons where belts were forbidden due to suicide risks. Back then, prisoners tended to wear baggy pants, even upon release, so that they could recognize their fellow ex-inmates. In the '90s, the trend was made famous by rappers, who saw it as a way of rejecting the traditional way of life.
But in the last few years, due to the return of the Y2K styles, designers have allowed themselves to glamorize sagging, revisiting it, and injecting it into many of their collections.
Take for example Simon Porte Jacquemus, who made it into one of his recent signatures, or Miuccia Prada at Miu Miu whose mini-skirts were showing the models' underwear for Spring-Summer 2022.
As the story went viral, its author revealed more details about the encounter
Saggy pants have long been the center of wary glances
Image credits: Annie Mole (not the actual photo)
"My mom is an old midwestern white woman who proudly wears $1 Walmart shirts because they're cheap," WhatALowCreditScore explained to Bored Panda. "She doesn't think about fashion in any deeper sense."
"She told the story herself for a few years following the pantsing, usually with a tone of embarrassment. She wasn't mad and seemed impressed at his reaction. No one else on the bus said anything and usually, when she told the story, it was as an amusing anecdote that didn't turn into any kind of in-depth conversation."
Sagging, due to its origins, has often received concern from parents and middle-school principals.
Local officials in some U.S. communities were even stretching to find a connection between sagging pants and crime; as a city council member who wanted to ban sagging in Ocean City, Md., told The Washington Post in 2013, "If you dress like a thug and think like a thug, chances are you're going to act like a thug."
Cities in Tennessee, Louisiana, and Texas, among others, tried to enact laws in the 2000s that would punish pants-saggers with fines, penalties, and even jail time. Transit agencies and school systems also took measures.
But WhatALowCreditScore doesn't think that his mom's action came from distrust or malice.
"Her choice to pull down someone's pants was likely an intrusive thought that won," the Redditor explained. "I don't think she would do it again today despite likely still hating the sagging style."
Interestingly, it has been theorized that the long-lasting controversy may have contributed to the longevity of the style, still seen today. So it very well might be that in addition to exposing her "horrible giant granny panties," the woman also contributed to the popularity of the style she was found so repelling.
"Don't pull down other people's pants," WhatALowCreditScore added.
And people applauded the guy for his quick reaction
Some also shared their personal stories
