When did "petal pushers" become Capri's?

[caty]

When I was growing up--you know, back in the days of record albums instead of CDs--capri pants came down to just above the ankle and were tight fitting from top to bottom. Petal pushers came down to the mid calf. Bermuda shorts came to just above the knee, while mid thigh length shorts were just plain shorts. And then, of course, there were the short shorts. Now we are calling petal pushers-- Capri pants.

So, what happened to petal pushers? And, what do we call the ones that come to just above the ankle now?

[Sequoia]

1. I thought it was "pedal" pushers as in you can ride your bicycle

and the cuffs don't get caught in the bike's chain.

[Phillycat]

2. You are correct.

[caty]

8. You're right--I think that was the reason they were called that.

[Arugula Latte]

3. And where do "clamdiggers" fit into all of this?

I'm confused as well ... :crazy:

[GoddessOfGuinness]

6. Maybe they dig clams on the Island of Capri?

:shrug:

[Sanity Claws]

4. Hey, you forgot clam diggers

What about gauchos too? Then there's knickers.
Lots of odd names for pants that end below the knee but above the ankle.

[caty]

7. Clam diggers usually had cuffs that put the length just above the ankle.

Gauchos were ankle length, but very wide in the leg. Didn't knickers have elastic around the bottom of each leg?

[Sanity Claws]

9. Gauchos were not ankle length

At least not as I remember them. They were about mid-calf length and you were supposed to wear them with boots. That was so cool back around 1974

[caty]

10. Sorry--I meant above the ankle.

But I think they were a little longer than mid calf.

[mwooldri]

14. Knickers? That's ladies underwear!

Ask any brit and they'd tell you that knickers refer to women's panties. And pants are men's underwear, not trousers or jeans.

Anyway it might just be marketing hype. Capri pants has a better ring to it than pedal pushers.

Mark.

[Jazz2006]

5. Around the same time that

"culottes" became "skorts", I think....

hee hee.

[1monster]

11. Caty: You are showing your age... About the same as mine, I'd guess.

:evilgrin:

[El Fuego]

12. On the Dick Van Dyke Show Mary Tyler Moore wore "capris"

I read that she wore Capri pants (that's what they were called at the time) and it started a fad. That was in the 60s.

[bertha katzenengel]

13. my mom called those pants both pedal pushers and capris

:shrug:

I think Mary Tyler Moore popularized them in "The Dick Van Dyke Show."