Parachute pants are a style of trousers characterized by the use of ripstop nylon and/or extremely baggy cuts. In the original loose-fitting, extraneously zippered style of the late 70s, "parachute" referred to the pants' synthetic nylon material. In the later 80s, "parachute" may referred to the extreme bagginess of the pant.

They are typically worn as menswear and are often brightly colored. Parachute pants became a fad in US culture in the 1980s as part of an increased cultural appropriation of break-dancing. Early break-dancers occasionally used heavy nylon to construct jumpsuits or trousers that would be able to endure contact with the break dancing surface ("break pad") while at the same time decreasing friction with the dancing surface, allowing speedy and intricate "down-rock" routines without fear of friction burns or wear in clothing.

Some, possibly apocryphal, sources attribute the use of genuine parachute nylon having been cut to make such trousers possible. In the early part of the 80's, parachute pants were more tight-fitting and only later became looser. In the later 80s, the term "parachute pants" was used to describe any pants that were somewhat voluminous and narrow at the ankles, sometimes cinched with a tie cord running through the lower hem (unlike bell-bottoms or wide-leg baggy jeans) in order to increase mobility for dance moves requiring flexibility.

Due to both the use of nylon in the parachutes, and the large baggy appearance of the parachute pants, the style of pants became known as parachute pants. Often, early outfits were of a single color or slightly patchwork in nature as they were sometimes made of found materials. When manufactured and marketed as fashionable clothing, parachute pants were often constructed with lightweight synthetic fabrics, making this variety of pants more suitable for fashion than break-dancing.

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