Tennessee Targets Baggy Pants

33 comments on this post so far. Add yours!

• 

  hhuseland on May 11 at 11:22 a.m.

  I would love to see it, but unfortunately, there are some real basic constitutional issues in this that wouldn’t have a chance of withstanding judicial review. Only if the offender shows his/her butt past the crack line, would perhaps indecent exposure apply. Sloppy dress isn’t actionable.

• 

  Bent on May 11 at 11:23 a.m.

  Yes, they should enforce indecent exposer when they see kids walking around with their a**es hanging out. I saw a kid a couple of weeks ago at the mall and his entire backside was bare and hanging out of his pants. I wanted to walk up to him and pull them the rest of the way down…

• 

  Lynne on May 11 at 11:24 a.m.

  I think it looks ridiculous. But I think legislators have more important things to spend their time, and our money, on then the kids’ fashion trends.

• 

  Liz on May 11 at 11:30 a.m.

  I am with Lynne. I think it looks horrible too. But where do you draw the line even with the butt crack issue? What about the poor person who has lost some weight and is unaware that a wee bit o’ crack is showing? What about gals who show their thongs just a tad bit???
  It seems this could get very crazy very fast.
  And there is probably something unconstitutional about it too. One might easily say there are far more offensive clothing faux pas than this one. Skirts so short you can see the undies if they move wrong. The morbidly obese who choose to display themselves in bikinis. Speedos: on anyone who is not a competitive swimmer. Are they ALL going to be fined? If not, I can just hear the cries of “racism” on this one.
  I say leave it alone, no matter how much you want to buy someone a one way guest pass to “what not to wear”.

• 

  Sisyphus on May 11 at 11:32 a.m.

  Agreed Lynne. I’m trying to imagine the compelling public policy that caused Tennessee to get to this point. Let them learn by trying to get a job dressed like that.

• 

  Liz on May 11 at 11:37 a.m.

  OTOH, I am visualizing a kind of morbid glee at going around handing out tickets to people who commit egregious fashion errors.
  Gosh, I am one sick pup….

• 

  Charlie on May 11 at 11:43 a.m.

  Elected officials seem to gravitate to feel good subjects, like our congressmen in D.C. did with college football playoff’s last week. Waste time, feel good, do nothing!
  Each generation has it’s fashion statements, in the 40’s it was a Zoot suit with a reet pleat, the 50’s had pegged pants, the 60’s had chino’s and on and on. Given time, baggy pants will fall. ;-)

• 

  DCR on May 11 at 11:45 a.m.

  Used to be a ‘banger thing; now it’s spread to the wannabe’s, too. I think they look stupid, but it also makes it easy to identify punks with that kind of mindset, so go ahead and let them wear their baggies down low. At least they can’t run away from the police very fast.

• 

  terrymr on May 11 at 11:45 a.m.

  It looks stupid … but handing prosecutors another tool to harass the masses with is lame. Are they going to prosecute plumbers too ?

• 

  Pecky on May 11 at 11:58 a.m.

  It will be almost impossible to constitutionally legislate a fine for stupidity, poor taste and trashy behavior. Baggy pants do not command a ticket for teenage idiocy. However, private property owners can establish a dress code and eject offending parties or prevent them entering. For example, when visiting Nashville two years ago we went to the Peabody Place a huge mall in the center of the city. At all entrances to the mall was this message posted in a large glass covered sign case.

  “DRESS CODE

  Peabody Place Management supports our tenants, customers and the employees in an effort to provide an enjoyable safe environment. In doing so we will enforce a Dress Code and trepass offenders who do not cooperate with this policy.

  Appropriate non-offensive clothes must be worn at all times.
  No excessively baggy clothes.
  No clothing with profanity.
  No headbands, stocking-like caps.
  No brimless caps.
  Nol baseball caps worn backwards, sideways or upside down.
  Thank you for helping ;us keep Peabody Place safe, secure,
  clean and comfortable.”

  While strolling the mall we were privileged to see a big impressive security guard “chat” with a group of 4 young men who were violating a majority of the above reaquirement and were ejected from the primises. Quietly and unobtrusively.

• 

  brentandrews on May 11 at 12:36 p.m.

  No, they should just watch and see how it plays out in TN; it could be very embarassing, pardon the pun. For one thing this legislation is way behind the times, as is so often the case with government. I think pants are getting tighter and the baggy holdouts will soon come around, as evidenced by the high school skateboarders I know. Some of those guys are super on top of fashion trends and they’ve discovered as well that paggy pants trip you up and get in the way of skating and make you look like a thug in all your pictures, to boot. As for indecent exposure - a complaint to mall security would take care of that. Although I might ask myself first whether I would get involved if the perp were a woman, with a little thong peeking up there … and the answer would be, probably not.

  You can’t legislate fashion. There are plenty of laws against indecent exposure, already, if you want to enforce them.

• 

  tarynahecker on May 11 at 1:02 p.m.

  Hell, I see all kinds of old guys around with saggy pants. Nevermind the wide red suspenders that are supposed to be holding them up. At least the younger generation of pants saggers wear T-shirts long enough to cover up their exposed butt cracks.

• 

  Escapee on May 11 at 1:44 p.m.

  When I go somewhere, and my jeans feel too loose, I notch up the belt to avoid slippage. It looks like kids w/baggy pants are doing just the opposite. It’s gotta be an uncomfortable fit, for sure…and it looks positively awful.

• 

  spokelooneh on May 11 at 1:50 p.m.

  Tennessee has a $1.2 Billion state budget deficit, 10% unemployment, and ranks 42nd out of 50 in educational outcomes as measured by testing.

  Why are these idiots spending even 10 seconds talking about baggy pants?

• 

  BrandonHansen on May 11 at 2:36 p.m.

  “Those darn kids! Why in my day…”

  Personally it does look stupid, but does it really hurt anyone. Government in action ladies and gentlemen….

  Brandon Hansen
  Just South of North
  www.justsouthofnorth.com

• 

  Stickman on May 11 at 8:09 p.m.

  Taryn: The t-shirts don’t work. I saw a young man the other day trying to get his child out of the back of a very small car and he was wearing said baggy pants. His whole ass was showing to the public, and right across the street from the public library. Enough is enough, cover up. It was disgusting, I sure wouldn’t want my whole ass to be out there for everyone to see, all in the name of baggy pants.

• 

  Stickman on May 11 at 8:12 p.m.

  I also went to a company function once, with over a thousand people in attendance. I was sitting next to a young Filipina woman and the guy in front of us had all of the said topic hanging out. It was a quiet affair, with many topics dealing with layoffs and such, but I will always remember her laughing so hard she had to leave. I left shortly after, as the crack was just too much for me,

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