There was a time in the late 80s and early 90s when you could not leave your house until you pegged your jeans. You could be just about to miss your school bus but wouldn’t even fathom running to catch it until you at least made an attempt to cuff your pant leg bottoms. Also known as a French roll, having pegged jeans, at least where I lived, was a necessity for any gender and coolness level.

Harking back to the 30s, 40s and even 50s, pegged pant bottoms made a huge comeback in the late 80s but why did we do this? What was its significance? While laborers of yore likely pegged their pants out of necessity to keep them dry and clean, we 80s and 90s kids probably did so to show off our sneakers or other fashionable footwear. Sneakers were a big deal back then and we didn’t want intrusive acid washed jean bottoms covering them up. Even if you were a poor kid like me who couldn’t afford Nikes or Adidas, you still wanted to show off your neon laces weaved up on your L.A. Gears or British Knights from Payless. For the more New Wave and skater kids, a good peg showed those classic high-top Chuck Taylors. Goth and Heavy Metal kids you ask? Yup! A good roll could highlight how badass your Doc Martin combat boots were.

Moreover, the peg was an art and an equalizer. You might have had the cheaper shoes but if your pant leg peg was tight and perfectly folded, you got cred for that. Some wealthier kid might have had more expensive sneakers than you but if that’s kid’s peg was loose and rolled poorly, that kid would receive the ire of peers for a weak-ass peg no matter his shoes.

So, how do we ensure social justice and equality now? Bring back the jean peg! There’s no need to judge each other based on race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or national origin. We need to just start judging each other on our ability to neatly roll our pant legs. Hashtag BringBackPegLegs!

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