Posted on July 17, 2008

N.J. Councilman Starts Crusade Against Saggy Pants

Christine Sloan, WCBS-TV (New York), July 15, 2008

Instead of “stick ’em up,” it will be more like “pull ’em up” now that fashion police in New Jersey have started a crackdown on baggy pants.

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Bart Johnson says wearing his pants low in a fashion statement, but one [Peterson] councilman is saying pull it up. He’s even crafted a proposal to ban “baggy pants.”

Teenagers and even little ones and women are sporting the fashion. The “saggy” or “baggy” look, where pants are pulled down and boxers are exposed seems to be all the rage these days.

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Councilman Anthony Davis tells teenagers to pull it up every day, and soon he’ll be introducing a proposal that would make walking around like this in Paterson subject to fine under the city’s indecency law.

“We’re tired of seeing your behind,” Davis said. “We don’t want to see your back side. We don’t need to see your underwear. We don’t need to see your drawers. Wear your pants.”

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But others fear a dress code in an urban area could lead to profiling by police and that government shouldn’t be telling people what to wear.

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Cities have had a difficult time pushing through the baggy pants pans. In Irvington, N.J., a councilwoman recently had to pull her proposal after facing legal questions.