Ban-Roll waistband

Fashion Synopsis

The patented Ban-Roll elastic waistband promised to ‘not roll, curl or crush,’ and with endless nights boogieing down on the dance floor, that was no easy promise. When John Travolta fed his Saturday Night Fever at the disco, you can bet it was the Ban-Roll waistband that kept his slinky polyester shirts fitted snugly inside his high-waisted sansabelt slacks when sweating up a storm.

Even with the revolutionary stretch of polyester, pants needed help to maintain their cool heights without sagging and stretching. Sansabelt slacks were everywhere, and it was the patented Ban-Roll waistband that guaranteed comfort and confidence with your belt-less bottomwear. With Ban-Roll, you never had to worry that your pants might take a break and visit your ankles while you were bumping and hustling on the dance floor.

The Ban-Roll waistband was a specially constructed piece of corrugated elastic that kept the pants fitting snug against the body by way of gripping onto skin or other fabric. Males lack the necessary hips that help to fight gravity and keep pants on, usually forcing them to rely on either belts or suspenders to keep their pants up and their shirts tucked in. The Ban-Roll compensated for that hiplessness.

Funk all-stars Sly and the Family Stone kicked this look into high gear when they paired double knit polyester flares with a high, three-button waistband. With all their groovin’ around the stage, the texturized elastic did double duty as both a fitting device and a built-in suspender.

While piles of plaid polyester pants remain unbiodegradeable in Goodwills around the world, the Ban-Roll still survives. Polyester slacks with the patented elastic remain a favorite of athletes and P.E. teachers in high schools everywhere. Now if only they made regular elastic waistbands into the super-gripping Ban Roll…the favorite playground pastime of ‘pantsing’ might be destroyed before it shames again!