Wikipedia
Not to be confused with Hammer pants, which were actually gold lamé harem pants, and not made of nylon.
Parachute pants are a style of trousers characterized by the use of nylon, especially ripstop nylon. In the original tight-fitting style of the early 1980s, "parachute" referred to the pants' nylon material, similar to a parachute's. Parachute pants became a fad in US culture in the 1980s as part of the increased popularity of breakdancing. The clothing company Bugle Boy manufactured the pants in the early 1980s, although they were not the first company to manufacture parachute pants. The company Panno D'or claims that they invented them, though this may not be true. However, it is true that Bugle Boy was the company that made them, seemingly overnight, immensely popular. Bugle Boy parachute pants are identifiable as having the word "Countdown" on a small tag above the rear pocket's zipper. Teenage boys, regardless of whether or not they could breakdance, were the main wearers of parachute pants. They typically cost $25-$30 a pair. During the height of their popularity, 1984-1985, boys wearing parachute pants became ubiquitous. Bugle Boy did make them for girls/women, though they remained most popular with males. They went out of fashion almost as quickly as they arrived, with the fad lasting about two years. Their slim, fitted look was eventually overtaken by much looser, baggy-style pants. Parachute pants played a pivotal role in 1980s fashion.
Usage examples of "parachute pants".
He wore blue parachute pants and a black T-shirt with a putrid-green pulse paint logo.
He was down to his parachute pants, sweaty and begrimed, the only remnant of his calling as a Ranger on Claron.
The boots had been replaced by worn sneakers, the parachute pants by stained and scruffy jeans, and the camo-top by a faded T-shirt advertising a band Eric had never heard of.
Put that heave into a small velcro pocket in the parachute pants of your soul.
Max was dressed in flowing black parachute pants and a black sweatshirt.
Moira's sweatshirt and Wally's parachute pants and sockasins were just too weird for his persona, too memorable should certain questions ever be asked.
She wore a baggy sweater, parachute pants, and wire-rimmed glasses.
He wore a powder-blue pullover, white parachute pants, and a pair of black Nike running shoes.
He looked to be sixteen or seventeen, wearing a pair of bright red parachute pants tucked down into combat boots, and an orange tank top with a slogan on the front that I couldn't read from where I stood.
She'd traded her prim woolens and sensible shoes for mukluks and drab parachute pants.
Even though she'd given up cashmere and high heels for wire-rimmed glasses, parachute pants, and baggy sweaters, she wondered if Greg still took her for a chubby, pampered sorority misfit.
And instead of pearls, cashmere sweaters, and skirts, she could now wear baggy shirts and parachute pants.
Lauren stared ruefully at her slightly pudgy stomach, confined by the waistband of her black parachute pants.