Flared trousers were originated in the early 1800s by:

When a sailor fell overboard he could take the pants off over his shoes then tie knots in the legs and fill the pants up with air to use as a flotation device

Paul Sonnabend, Maybe not surprisingly? We had to do this in the pool during Navy bootcamp. Along with floating, in case we could not swim. I could. And did. And our flared dungarees? Great floatation devices prepped just the way you said. Hooyah. 5 years Navy. 1983 to 1988. Surface warfare ships. Tin can fleet. All east coast. Still a Navy man at heart. Ready to die for my country today, 31 years after my enlistment ended. I might not be active duty? I never stopped being a sailor. Navy until I die.

“Bell bottom trousers, coat of navy blue, she loves her sailor and he loves her, too.” Okay. I can remember a song from 1944. Why can’t I remember where I left the book I was reading ten minutes ago?

Paul Sonnabend, , and this was taught at least through WWII

Another Shotley Boy! Mal Mitchell, we know all about bell bottomed trousers don’t we and how we used to widen them by getting them soaking wet, stretched over the base of buckets on the foreshore and making sure we retrieved them before “Charlie” was sounded on the bugle in the morning (0600 as I best recall).

Collin, dead right.

Having once worn bell bottoms as part of my Royal Navy uniform, they were flared for the purpose of rolling up to scrub decks with long handled scrubbing brushes.

tinaloflin, more spandex makes them fall off I think.

Paul Sonnabend, I was taught that at the summer recreation program at the lake I grew up at, but I had no idea that that practice was around then. Makes sense, though. I just never thought about it.

Here in Nigeria, we called stuff like that "bunko". Though people do not use it any longer, exception of the papas

Because as we age, our long term memory allows us to remember things from long ago. Our short term memory doesn’t work as well and in some cases is almost non-existent,but you probably already know this.

I like Paul Sonnabends explanation. It makes more sense. He musta been a sailor or the son of one.

I remember having to do the trouser flotation thing in swimming class at school

mmariano, 50's was when I wore them.

Waiting weeks never received my order

collin, cool.

Paul Sonnabend, I remember reading that somewhere. That's smart. I think leggings might not work that way, unless if it has more spandex than usual.

Actually, I dispute the assertion that American sailors were first. More probably they were British as there would have been far and away more of them. The reason for their use was to facilitate rolling up the trousers to prevent them becoming wet as the sailors swabbed the decks; a frequent requirement.