Parachute Pants
Parachute pants are a style of trousers characterised by the use of nylon, especially ripstop nylon. In the original loose-fitting, extraneously zippered style of the late 70s/early 80s, "parachute" referred to the pants' synthetic nylon material. In the later 80s, "parachute" may have referred to the extreme bagginess of the pant. They are typically worn as menswear and are often brightly colored. Parachute pants became a fad in US culture in the 1980s as part of an increased cultural appropriation of breakdancing. Parachute pants played a pivotal role in the 1980s in fashion.
Happy Pants
Happy pants were worn mostly by teenagers, especially girls in the 1980s. Fun kids fabrics were used to make the happy pants. This meant those who wore them, had their own unique pair of happy pants. In Australia, happy pants were a basic, elasticised pair of shorts, made from children's range of bright and bold designs in cotton fabric. The shorts were not too tight, not too baggy, and finished in length just above the knee. In 1986, Dolly Magazine released an 80s happy pants pattern for the basic elastic shorts. As most teenage girls had done Home Economics, they made their own shorts for happy pants.
Source: “Parachute Pants.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 15 Apr. 2011. Web. 16 Apr. 2011.
Source: “1980s.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 14 Apr. 2011. Web. 15 Apr. 2011.
Source: “1980s.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 14 Apr. 2011. Web. 15 Apr. 2011.