Bell-bottoms are trousers that become wider from the knees downward. Related styles include flare, loon pants and boot-cut/leg trousers. Hip-huggers are bell-bottomed, flare, or boot-cut pants that're fitted tightly around the hips and thighs, worn by men and women. Naval origins Bell-bottoms' precise origins are uncertain. In the early nineteenth century, very wide pants ending in a bell began to be worn in the U.S. Navy. Clothing varied between ships, however, in the early days of the U.S. In… (More on Bell-bottoms)