Parachute pants

Not to be confused with Hammer pants, which were more like Harem pants, and not made of nylon.

Parachute pants are a style of trousers characterized by the use of nylon, especially ripstop nylon. In the original tight-fitting extraneously zippered style of the late 1970s/early 1980s, "parachute" referred to the pants' synthetic nylon material. They are typically worn as menswear. Parachute pants became a fad in US culture in the 1980s as part of the increased popularity of breakdancing. A clothing company, Bugle Boy manufactured the pants in the early 1980s. They were not the first company to manufacture parachute pants. The company Panno D'or claims that they invented them in the early 1980s, though this may not be true. However, it is true that Bugle Boy made them immensely popular with teenage boys mostly. They were around $25-$30 a pair. During the height of their popularity, 1984, they were worn by many teenage, or younger, boys. Bugle Boy did make them for girls/women, but were mainly seen on boys/men. They went out of fashion almost as quickly as they arrived, with the fad lasting about two years. Parachute pants played a pivotal role in the 1980s in fashion.