Wearing trousers hanging lower than the waist has been a fashion statement for rebellious young people for years, but now lawmakers in a Florida town have banned the style.
On Tuesday, the Ocala became the fourth place in the US were the fashion, known as “sagging”, has been banned after the City Council voted unanimously to prohibit anyone wearing trousers more than two inches (5cm) below their natural waistline.
Councilwoman Mary Rich had previously proposed the regulation in 2009, but her colleagues did not share her zeal for policing fashion and feared that such a law could lead to racial profiling, with the style most commonly worn by young black males.
However, the law was passed by a unanimous vote on Tuesday, as Rich told WFTV9 that showing your underwear was “disgraceful” in their “clean city”.
Those falling foul of the fashion police will receive an official warning the first time they are caught wearing their trousers too low, followed by a $500 fine or a jail sentence if they they re-offend.
Sagging is a style that came out of the US prison system, where belts are banned and inmates are given unfitting baggy trousers that would slip down below their bottoms to reveal their underwear. The fashion soon moved into popular culture with rebellious teens looking to US music icons, such as “bad boy” hip hop stars that had spent time in prison and imitating their clothing styles.
Towns in New Jersey, Louisiana, and Tennessee have already introduced similar regulations outlawing the fashion.
2 Comments
Should it be made illegal for women to have their bras/ cleavage on display too ?
What are you on about Mel? Cleavage showing should be made compulsory (only by women tho). I agree about low-riders being banned;the most stupid fashion craze ever in my opinion. Not only do they look awful,they’re dangerous.