In modern fashion

In the 1980s, baggy jeans entered mainstream fashion as the Hammer pants and parachute pants worn by rappers to facilitate breakdancing. In the 1990s these jeans became even baggier and were worn by skaters, hardcore punks,^[4] ravers^[5] and rappers to set themselves apart from the skintight acid wash drainpipe jeans worn by metalheads.^[6] They were largely an underground trend in the early 1990s, but took off in popularity in the mid-1990s. The baggy jeans were very popular along with baggy bondage pants during the nu metal era which lasted from the late 90s to the early-to-mid 2000s along with pop punk during the same time. They continued to be popular in the 2000s, but by 2003 baggy jeans started to be replaced by boot-cut jeans and trousers among white men.^[7] However, they continued to be popular among African-American and Latino men throughout the mid 2000s until about 2013.

In the United Kingdom, during the 1990s fad they were known as "baggies". However, this term faded with the original fad and now they are generally known as Phat pants and "wide-leg jeans".

In the late 2000s, rap stars like Kanye West popularised a more refined indie-inspired look but baggy jeans continue to be worn by the raver and gangsta rap subcultures.

The style resurfaced in the late 2010s and early 2020s alongside other baggy attire; possibly due to the shift to more comfortable clothing during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic and retro revival fashion trends that started in the late 2010s like the Y2K which is a fashion trend that retrospects the late 90s and early 00s while modernizing it.