Fashion trends are changing every day. Society has seen several changes in people’s outfits based on current trends, such as hair styles, shoes and especially clothes. One clothing item, in particular, has made a significant comeback: mom jeans.

Mom jeans are one of the most immense trends in the fashion industry, largely powered by teenagers and young adults. First seen around the late 1980s to early 1990s, “mom jeans” became a fast fad among middle-aged women. This style of jeans started to gain popularity again around mid-June of 2020.

Not too long ago, anything with the word “mom” in front of it had a negative connotation. Mom jeans were always viewed as “not trendy” or “uncool” by anyone besides mothers before 2020. At first glance, it is surprising to see something with a long history of being associated as untrendy and outdated to abruptly emerge as a trend.

The rise of mom jeans was fueled by the social media platform TikTok, an app that allows creators to upload short-form videos for users’ entertainment. These videos have a variety of genres such as comedy, dance, fashion etc.

These jeans gained an enormous amount of fame when TikTok users, typically having a younger audience, saw them all over their feed, otherwise known as the “For You Page”.

“I personally, like many others, started seeing mom and baggy jeans rise in popularity from TikTok,” freshman Kaitlyn Irwin said. “Many others also see them on their Instagram ‘Explore Page.’”

Mom jeans are high-waisted jeans with straight legs. These jeans have a more “baggy” and “relaxed” look.

Many of those currently sporting mom jeans say they are being worn more for comfort rather than skinny jeans. After being in quarantine for almost two years, our bodies have become accustomed to a more comfortable, relaxed lifestyle. Several of us were practically living in our sweatpants or pajamas.

After everyone returns to a more social lifestyle, many are in the market for comfortable, but presentable clothing. Mom jeans fit this category perfectly, so it’s no surprise they have drastically risen in fashion.

Another reason many are seen wearing these jeans is the variety of looks the jeans come in. These jeans can be seen in different washes and colors, including light blue, dark blue, black, gray, brown etc. They also can be seen with rips. These jeans can be found in various different styles, like patchwork, embroidered, printed and color block jeans.

The stores with some of the largest sales in mom jeans are Pacsun and Hollister. However, because these jeans have become so popular, you can find them almost everywhere. Mom jeans are also sold at Target.

Mom jeans are also found on many online websites since their growing fame. Since the rise of online shopping many customers have been purchasing their jeans from online stores for instance, Shein, which is a popular online shopping website which provides customers with cheap and affordable clothing items.

“I usually buy these jeans on online stores, one I usually buy them off is Shein,” freshman Rhania Suarez said.

Not only is there a large variety of styles of these jeans, but there are also various clothing items to pair with the jeans. Major clothing items that are being seen paired with mom and baggy jeans are cropped shirts, oversized shirts and high-top converse.

Mom jeans have such a broad range that they are being seen in different outfits. They can be worn casually, which is the majority. On the other hand, they are also being seen in formal or business casual outfits.

With the comeback of mom jeans, they are seen everywhere on everyone, including celebrities. Some celebrities seen with mom jeans are Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid and Gigi Hadid. Even though these styles of jeans were not the most popular three decades ago, they are now sold in almost every clothing store.

Who knows how long these jeans will be at the top of the list of trends. We as a society have seen an abundance of trends fall out in the span of months.

“I feel these jeans will stick around for a long time because of the comfortableness, uniqueness, and overwhelming love for them,” freshman Dylan Greenstein said.

Distinctive and unique, these jeans are adored by society. As life goes on and trends fall and rise, only time will tell if these jeans continue to remain an outfit necessity.