Did you know that men's slacks now have elastic straps in the waist for adjustable sizes?

Question

I know they probably say it is for the comfort of all different size and shaped men, but do you think it may be because we as a race are getting fatter and this way our pants can grow with us a little bit more?

Answer 1

Not exactly...

There was a company called "Sans-A-Belt" that made pants with a wide elastic waist band going back to the 60's. That was for the older over weight guys. The waist band sort of held "things" in and also comfortably held the pants from falling down over the hips.

Also, there were many manufacturers that made pants with a buckle on each side. On the inside there was an elastic strip, and you could adjust the buckle, and with the elastic strip, you could adjust the waist almost three inches.

These pants have been around even longer.

If you want to talk about how the baby boomers have changed styles as "we've" gotten fatter as we've gotten older, you have to take a look at jeans.

Full cut or relaxed cut, as opposed to regular cut jeans, are a direct result of the general populaces' expanding waist lines.

That was started by Levy's as a way for baby boomers to continue wearing jeans and deal with the changing body shape.

Answer 2

I think that this is great for the over forty crowd that has spread a little more than they want. Remember we have a huge percentage of baby boomers who are setting the trends in fashion now. Men like to be comfortable too.

Answer 3

Elastic straps in the waist of men's slacks - it's been a long time!

Answer 4

I knew they made them for kids, which are great! My son has short legs so the adjustable waist works great for him. I don't think it's cause we're getting bigger. I'm pretty sure they would rather you go buy all new pants for that. But, you never know.