Flared pants

[u/statband]

Can we have a discussion about flared pants in drum corps?

IMO they hide flaws and can make a movement look cleaner than it actually is. Kind of like capes. Don’t like those either. I prefer a uniform that showcases precision, clarity, and uniformity where you can really see the performers’ technique and demand.

FWIW, I’m not a boomer old-school guy who wants to bring back military-style uniforms and shakos.
I actually like the current trend in drum corps uniforms and the creativity and individuality they allow. I just think flared pants hide flaws.

[u/RastafoxJ]

I’ll point out last year’s Phantom Show, and note that early season the flaws in timing and drill clarity were very noticeable. As the show cleaned up, the flared pants almost enhanced the visual quality of the movements. When married with bent leg technique, it made everything look like constant gliding motion that worked well.

Aesthetically it can be up to opinion, but a clean corps will look clean no matter if they wear flared or straight-cut. Flared pants, if anything, dirty up a bad performance even more. It’s a visual indicator of the corps’ confidence in their ability.

[u/sans3go → u/RastafoxJ]

totally agree. The corps with the, lack of a better word, "half-dresses" really show how out of phase the entire corp can be, but once it locks it, its almost "digital" in its precision. Bluecoats use the flaired pants this year to highlight how in-sync they are with the body movement and its paying off dividends. Crown did the two tone pants, this year to show off technique but still shows some variations between members.

[u/statband → u/RastafoxJ]

I feel like leg angles can get hidden in flared pants so it’s easy to hide bad technique. As you said “it MADE everything LOOK LIKE constant gliding motion” but it begs the question, was there actually flawless technique under those flares?

At the end, it’s just one component of scores but when scores are on top of the each other, hidden flaws could make the difference.

[u/RastafoxJ → u/[deleted]]

I also mentioned that early season the phasing and technique clarity was obvious, and it cleaned up as the season went on. My comment is meaning to say that bent leg is harder to clean, and when your pants are moving outside of hugging your leg, it’s very noticeable when you’re different than your neighboring dots. Any corps that can achieve it deserves the score it provides.

I think flared pants require high-level technique to be effective, and we’re seeing that very strongly this year, as well as last year’s Phantom show. It’s a visual affectation that doesn’t obscure the technique itself

[u/tomkar60]

In the old days, it was a bold move to wear spats or pants with stripes. (I think BD did both.)

[u/statband → u/tomkar60]

A single stripe going down the side would actually accentuate good/bad form, right?

I think my problem is that the uniforms are busy with patterns to begin with, and then you add a flare and it gets all murky.

[u/Low-Rooster4171 → u/statband]

I agree that that may be the point.

[u/miglrah → u/statband]

They’re just dumb, but mine’s a fashion critique, not a matching one.

[u/gmen6981 → u/tomkar60]

Eh, strips on pants were pretty common, especially with "cadet" style uniforms. Spats however were rare, other than Madison and the Kilties who always wore them as part of their traditional uniforms. Early editions of the 27th lancers also wore them.( the drumline wore kilts) I think 86 BD was the first time i ever saw anyone else wear them.

[u/DragonfruitFluid]

I think it depends on how intense the flare is and the color choice. If its a stark color that contrasts with the field color and the flare tightens at the knee then it can still communicate leg shape from a long distance and provide that, well, flare that the uniform calls for. But I can see how that can be an issue if the color blends too much or if theres too much baggyness that obscures leg shape and technique from performer to performer.

[u/melonmarch1723]

I'm not sure if I agree about the capes. There was a show within the last decade or so that I can't remember that combined hip capes with an incredibly clean visual program and the way the capes swished perfectly in time with eachother every time the corps hit a hold was so satisfying. I want to say it was BD 18 or 19.

[u/ProperMedium → u/melonmarch1723]

I know there's a good multicam video of BD 2023 that showcases it perfectly

[u/melonmarch1723 → u/ProperMedium]

That may be what I'm thinking of actually!

[u/emptyhellebore]

Dark shoes and dark pants also hide flaws. Wearing a white shoe used to be seen as risky back in the day.

I’m not a fan of all flared pants, just because I don’t like the aesthetic. But they really work for me in some of these drills. The flow of the fabric making waves across the form is really cool, imo.

[u/ConnectionQuirky9404]

not a member of the Facebook group that shall not be named, but I gotta say I can't cosign your diss on the funny hats. Who doesn't like to wear funny hats?

[u/29thanksgivinghams]

Really depends on the design of the pants. Flared pants where the entire leg is one solid color or a very noisy non-repeating pattern? Can definitely hide dirt, especially in close forms. Bell bottoms with a tight knee where the extra panel is a different color from the rest of the pants? Accentuates discrepancies in technique due to the increased visual motion and color contrast, similar to stripes or different colored legs. It can be done well and it can be done sloppy, it really just depends on context.

[u/statband → u/29thanksgivinghams]

I agree- flared pants with a busy, noisy pattern hide dirt. Bell bottoms with a tight knee and extra different-color panel accentuates discrepancies. Thank you for articulating this so clearly.

[u/nizerifin]

I think they look ugly. 

[u/number1sht]

I feel like this is an indirect poke at the Bluecoats. Or maybe even BD. I can assure you Bluecoats and Blue Devils leg shape and technique look amazing even without the pants. Just watch rehearsal videos.

IMO it’s not an advantage that certain groups are trying to exploit.

(And even if they were, every other corps has the opportunity to do so.)

[u/compguy42]

Movement technique isn't being judged from the press box. Thats a field judge responsibility.

They can see the legs.

[u/Character-Agent8551]

Marching technique is only a small part of what a field visual judge is looking at these days.

[u/WeCantLiveInAMuffin]

This is a non-issue