I Want Baggy Jeans

I will be the first to admit I'm not particularly well-versed in men's fashion, but when a friend told me there are men's jeans promoted as "Loose Fit", I refused to believe him. What kind of marketing is that? What kind of guy would willingly buy a pair of jeans labelled as "loose"?

A lot of guys, it appears. American Eagle does indeed offer Loose Fit jeans in its men's section. To be fair, I am coming at this from a woman's perspective. I can't imagine a girl actively wanting to buy denim that fits her loosely. Even if we do, we'd much rather say we're looking for boyfriend jeans (come on, it just sounds better). A quick Google search of "loose fit jeans women" comes up with results that direct me to "relaxed fit" jeans. So, yes, "loose fit" is not exactly in a woman's fashion lexicon. But getting over my initial disbelief, I do see why "loose" works for more comfort-orientated men. Although...through further research, things get a bit more perplexing.

Old Navy and Gap have tabs on their websites for "Men's Baggy Jeans".

Baggy? Yes, baggy.

Even phonetically, it sounds unflattering. Luckily, what Old Navy and Gap consider "baggy" is really just "loose fit", but I don't understand why anyone would think "baggy" is a good descriptor in the first place. Why not "relaxed"? Why not "casual"? If someone says you wear baggy clothing, I wouldn't bet it's a compliment.

However, my amateur status in the world of men's fashion is apparently once again showing, because when I bring this up to my friend, he shrugs, "I dunno...maybe if you're gangster?"

Clearly, I have much to learn.

Image Source: Photo 1, 2