Plunging Pantlines

TREND Celebrities wearing pants so low they're exposing new expanses of belly--and cleavage from behind

HOW IT STARTED The return of '70s fashion began pushing waistlines south, but pop stars have taken the trend to new depths

JUDGMENT CALL Sexy? Isn't this why we used to laugh at the refrigerator repairman?

Low-riding jeans have been growing in popularity for years now. But on the theory that any good fashion trend must eventually be carried to its absurd extreme, some celebrities are really taking the plunge--flaunting not just navel rings but also jutting pelvic bones, drastic bikini waxes and even a bit of cleavage from behind. Witness Destiny's Child's Beyonce Knowles, who briefly flashes a startling rear view in a scene from MTV's Hip-Hopera: Carmen, which made its debut last week. Or Janet Jackson, whose bikini string rises a full three inches above her jeans on the cover of the premiere issue of Blender magazine, out this month. Or Josie and the Pussycats star Tara Reid, whose down-to-there pants left jaws on the floor during her appearance on MTV's TRL.

Riding the rear view's newfound popularity, Frankie B.--a Los Angeles clothier that specializes in the super-low cut and caters to such well-known bottoms as Reid's and Jennifer Lopez's--has seen its sales hit $1.5 million since launching in 1999. The company's next celebrity customer could be internationally acclaimed U.S. soul singer Nikka Costa. Her domestic debut album doesn't hit stores until May 22, but the CD's bottom-baring cover photo, above, already has people talking. "If you want to talk about my ass, go right ahead!" Costa says, cheekily.

--By Rebecca Winters