Low rise jeans and pants are not the same thing as low slung jeans and pants. Unfortunately retailers are careless with their descriptions and confuse the two. They can describe low slung bottoms as low rise bottoms, which makes searching for jeans and pants with lower rises a little useless. Just to confuse the issue more, low slung jeans and pants can have high rises.
Low rise is built low. Low slung is worn low. Low slung is a styling choice and not a rise measurement. I’ll elaborate.
The rise is the distance from crotch point to top of waistband. The waistband is on or just below the hip bone and measures 6.5 to 8.75 inches in length. The intention of the design is to fit low when you pull them on. The pattern is drafted to sit low, meaning the waistband, pockets, and proportion of the garment are built for this placement. The visual effect is FITTED on the crotch point. The crotch point does not hang disproportionately low. Jeans in the late ‘90s and ‘00s tended to be low rise.
Low slung bottoms have higher rises than low rise bottoms. They are intentionally worn lower than their designed rise thereby creating a slouchy, relaxed, and oversized look. They are NOT FITTED on the crotch point. The crotch point hangs low, the pants slouch lower on the hips, and sometimes even lower than traditional low rises. You get the look by sizing up or choosing a relaxed cut so the jeans and pants drop on the hips and slouch. The “slung” part refers to the jeans hanging lower than the pattern intends. Low slung bottoms are on trend.
Low rise and low slung jeans and pants are generally not the easiest silhouettes to fit, style and feel fab in. In my experience dressing clients, low rises are easier to fit and wear when you are shorter in the rise and the silhouette isn’t tight on the legs. Low slung styles can be comfortable and dramatic, although you have to watch that the crotch point doesn’t hang too low, that the waistband doesn’t dig into your hips, and that the level of slouch fit is to your liking. Like I said, these are tricky fits.
