Flood pants are shorter than average pants and were originally worn by cyclists to prevent their pants from getting caught in bike wheels. They are also called “high water” pants and have been in popular culture for decades. They differ from capri pants and culottes in cut and length.
Flood pants are pants that are shorter in length than the average pant. Although they are similar to capri pants, they differ from them in that they appear to be too short to be worn. While practical in origin, its use is often perceived as a fashion faux pas. These pants have been in popular culture for decades, so consumers and individuals may call these pants many different names, including three-quarter pants, pedal pushers, clam diggers, shants, shpants, jams, waters. high or culottes.
There are different ideas about what flood pants are. Some designers may use the various names for them interchangeably, but others may have clear ideas about what each term means. For example, culottes are more like capri pants than your average flood pants. These different definitions often influence design choices.
The common thread in the flood pant concept is that the length of the pants generally ends around the shin. This gives the impression that they are too short, although the wearer may have intentionally chosen pants of that length. To expound on the perception of these pants, they are also called “high water” pants, because they are supposed to be the length they would be if wearers rolled up or lifted their pants legs to wade through ankle-deep water. Average-length pants can be rolled down, but highwater pants are simply made to be that length.
The intentional short design of flood pants has a practical origin: cyclists adopted flood pants, or pedal pushers, as a precaution to prevent their pants from accidentally getting caught on bicycle wheels, spokes, chains, or crank devices. These pants also grew in favor with riders because they were less prone to getting dirty from dirt, oil, and grime on the bikes. Wearing pants of the usual length would often require the use of bike clips designed to narrow the bottom of the pant leg or hold it over the ankle to prevent it from getting dirty or getting caught in the bike’s mechanisms. The use of pushrods simply made riding a bike easier for cyclists.
It should be noted that the flood pants are their own type of pants. Capri pants and culottes may be similar in style, but they differ from flood pants in cut and length. While capri pants can be tapered to flatter the figure and culottes can be shorter than a flood pant, flood pants retain the appearance of an overall pant without additional tailoring or shortening.
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