HISTORY64 - Pants

In a recent blog article, I asked for suggestions for future articles.  My daughter-in-law, Cinta Burgos, suggested (among other topics) that I should write about the history of pants.  Initially skeptical, after a quick investigation, I found a lot of interesting material and decided to go ahead.

 

Pants have been worn since ancient times.  They are now the most common form of lower-body clothing for men.  Practical and comfortable, there’s no wonder that they’ve been adopted by both sexes as part of their everyday dress. 

After a short introduction to “pants terminology,” I will cover the history of pants from ancient times through the present, first concentrating on pants for men, and then the history of pants for women.  I’ll conclude with a look at a couple of practical additions to pants - pockets and belts.  I will primarily focus on pants of Western Culture.

My principal sources include “A Brief History of Trousers,” kingandallen.co.uk/journal/2016; “Trousers,” Wikipedia; “A History of Trousers and Pants in Western Culture,” bellatory.com; “Jeans and Trousers,” Britannica.com; “Trousers Through History,” womens-fashion.lovetoknow.com; “The History of Pockets,” artofmanliness.com; “The History of Belts,” joojoobs.com; “The History of Belt Buckles,” tiesncuffs.com; and numerous other online sources.

Introduction

Pants are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending across both legs as in robes, skirts, and dresses).  Pants are generally made from textiles, fabric, or leather. 

While the words pants and trousers are often used interchangeably, trousers generally refer to tailored garments with a fitted waistline, belt loops, pockets, and a fly-front with buttons or zipper.  The word pants is the broader term and can refer to a variety of historic and modern pants.  (See the Modern Pants section below.) 

North Americans call men’s undergarments underwear, underpants, or undies to distinguish them from other pants that are worn on the outside.  The term drawers normally refers to undergarments.  Many North Americans refer to their underpants by their type, such as boxers or briefs.

Ancient Times

There is some evidence, from figurative art, of pants being worn in the late Stone Age, as seen on the figurines found at the Siberian sites of Mal'ta and Buret' (25,000 to 13,000 BC).  Fabrics and technology for their construction were fragile and disintegrated easily, so often were not among artifacts discovered in archaeological sites.

The oldest known pants were found at the Yanghai cemetery, extracted from mummies in Turpan, Xinjiang, western China, belonging to the people of the Tarim Basin, dated to the period between the 13^th and the 10^th century BC.  Their deft combination of weaving techniques and decorative patterns - displaying influences from societies across Eurasia - yielded a pair of stylish yet durable pants. The pants were made of wool and had straight legs and wide crotches, and were likely made for horseback riding.

 

This pair of approximately 3,000-year-old pants, the oldest ever found, displays weaving techniques and decorative patterns that were influenced by cultures across Asia.

Note:  Pants were first invented because robes were uncomfortable to wear on horseback.  In fact, those who wore trousers in battle had the upper hand over those who wore robes.  For this reason, civilizations all over the world adopted this form of dress to survive battle.

Ankle- to calf-length pants, wide or narrow, with seamed or wrapped legs, were part of the dress of the ancient Chinese and Mongols, the ancient Western World peoples of Scythia, in today’s southeastern Europe (Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Romania), and Persia (including today’s Iran and Turkey), in southwestern Asia. 

Trousers enter recorded history in the sixth century BC, on the rock carvings and artworks of ancient Iran, and with the depictions on ancient Grecian ceramics of stocking-like leg coverings, featuring stripes, dots, checks, or zigzag lines, of ancient soldiers, and male and female riders.  

Also, ankle-length trousers, sometimes luxuriously woven, and artistically sewn out of fabric and leather, are documented as being worn by men and occasionally women of northern European tribes.  The Celts, a nomadic people of Central Europe, wore pants, though documentation is sketchy at best. The style, copied from Scythians and Persians, spread through Central Europe around the third century BC.

Greeks and Romans

Ancient Greeks and Romans equated the wearing of trousers with savagery, and referred to those early trouser-clad people as barbarians, from whom they vehemently strove to distinguish themselves. 

The Greeks did not wear trousers since they thought them ridiculous, using the word "sack," as a slang term for the loose trousers of Persians and other Middle Easterners.

When the Romans conquered Celtic Briton in the first century AD, they called the Irish "wild people."  However, as the Roman Empire expanded beyond the Mediterranean basin, the greater warmth provided by trousers (compared to togas) led to their adoption. 

Two types of trousers eventually saw widespread use in Rome:

Feminalia were snugly fitting knee-length pants.  Though the name might suggest that they were worn by women, in fact they were worn most often by men.  They were called fem-inalia because the pants covered the length of the thighbone, or femur.  The most famous Roman to wear feminalia was the emperor Augustus Caesar (63 BC - AD 14), who wore them through the winter to protect his sometimes-fragile health.

Augustus Caesar wearing feminalia pants.

 

Braccae were loose-fitting trousers that were closed at the ankles. 

Roman general’s braccae pants.

 

Both garments were adopted originally from the Celts of Europe.  Feminalia and Braccae both began use as military garments, spreading to civilian dress later, and were eventually made in a variety of materials including leather, wool, cotton and silk.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire (fifth century AD), these pants became common throughout Europe.

Middle Ages

In the early Middle Ages in Europe, men wore snug-fitting woolen leg coverings, fastened to the belt of an undergarment.  Worn under short or long tunics, these pants served as protection from cold and as functional clothing.  Women also wore leg coverings or loose britches under dresses in colder weather or when traveling.

In the 10^th century wool or linen trousers began to be referred to as breeches in many places.  Tightness of fit and length of leg varied by period, class, and geography.

 

Open legged trousers can be seen on the Norman soldiers of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.

After 1350, the demand for male leg coverings altered dramatically.  As a result of the change in knights' armor from chain mail to plate armor, leg coverings had to fit the contours of the body more closely.  The leggings became a second skin and were made into a single garment by attaching wedge-shaped inserts or fly flaps. The stocking-like hose of the 15^th century had attached feet and patterns displaying coats of arms. 

16^th - 18^th Centuries

By 1500, men wore voluminous knee breeches with attached hose or tights.  Fashionable men wore them in bold colors.  

By 1550, the breeches became a greatly exaggerated fashion, stuffed to balloon around the upper leg.

By the end of the sixteenth century, the codpiece (a covering flap or pouch that attached to the front of the crotch of men's trousers, enclosing the genital area) had been incorporated into breeches which featured a fly or flap opening.

 

A codpiece was a common feature of men's trousers during the Renaissance, oil on oak painting by Pieter Brueghel the Younger.

The 1600s saw men’s pants embellished with buttons and ribbons.

Large pantaloon styles gradually slimmed into simple breeches that were fastened below the knee.

During the French Revolution of 1787, and following, breeches came to be seen as an aristocratic conceit, and men adapted the longer, ankle-length styles of the working class. 

Execution of French King Henry XVI by guillotine in 1793.

 

19^th Century

It was only during the 19^th century that we started to see men’s pants like the ones we wear today. 

The trousers of the first half of the 19^th century had varying styles; some were extremely tight, others were broadly pleated trousers (Russian or Cossack pants), and sharply flared, below-the-knee “sailor” trousers. 

In the 1830s, trousers were long, close fitting, and equipped with straps that fit under the soles of the feet.

Trousers of the 1830s.  Note the straps under the feet.

  

The mid-1800s saw a looser-fit trouser with a button-fly front instead of the earlier "falls," a front panel that buttoned around the sides.  Men's pants began to appear in the dark or neutral colors that would rule menswear until the present day.

In the late 19th century, men's pants began to appear in dark or neutral colors.

 

Jeans (or dungarees), made of denim, were introduced in the late 19^th century, created and marketed for California gold miners.  Double stitching added to the durability of these pants that have changed little over the years.  Sailors helped pioneered the wearing of jeans, which became more popular in the late 19^th century in the American West because of their ruggedness and durability.

Modern Pants  

In the 20^th century, British Queen Victoria's eldest son Edward, Prince of Wales, who would become Edward VII, gave his name to the Edwardian fashion period and is credited for setting the tone for men's trousers in the modern era.  Edward introduced trouser cuffs to lift the trouser hem.  Edward was also known to wear a type of shorts while on safari.  The shorts had an adjustable hem.

Men's sports and leisure clothing became a field for experimentation with the development of knickerbockers, jeans, Bermuda shorts, chinos, and other styles.

By the end of the Great Depression, exclusive men's tailors incorporated zippers into fly closures.  By the 1950s, zippers had become the main closure for trousers.

Note:  The zipper closure was invented in 1890 by Whitcomb Judson, an American traveling salesman.  First used as shoe fasteners, zippers did not become a garment closure until the 20^th century.

The later 20^th century saw an explosion of trouser styles.  Though men's dress pants have changed little since the 1930s, today it is not unusual to see men wearing shorts, a type of pants once worn only by children. 

Various styles of trousers have come and gone through the modern era, with certain styles disappearing for decades then coming back full force.  The stirrup stretch-pants of the early 1960s returned in the 1980s.  Capris disappeared and made a come-back.

Embraced by farmers and laborers, jeans ultimately became the iconic garment of the late 20^th and early 21^st centuries and are, today, a staple of almost every wardrobe.

Jeans are a stable of a man’s wardrobe today.

 

Types of men’s pants - historic and modern.

Type of Pants	Description
Bell Bottoms	Pants that widen into a bell just below the knee; come in high or low waisted styles.  Popular in 1960s counter-culture movement.
Breeches	From the 10th – 18th century:  wool or linen trousers began to be referred to as breeches in many places.  Tightness of fit and length of leg varied by period, class, and geography.
Capri Pants	Fitted mid-calf pants.  Introduced in 1948 by Sonja de Lennart.
Cargo Pants	Loosely cut pants originally designed for military workwear, civilian rough work environments, and outdoor activities - distinguished by numerous large utility pockets for carrying tools.
Chaps	Leather pants without a seat, worn by a cowboy over ordinary pants to protect the legs.
Chinos	Developed in the mid-19th century for British and French military uniforms.  Now civilian pants made of twill (textile weave with a pattern of diagonal parallel ribs) cotton or cotton-synthetic blends.
Convertible Pants	Pants with zip-off legs that become shorts.
Cut-Offs	Jeans that have been cut into shorts; usually without a finished hem.
Daisy Dukes	Very short shorts.
Dress Pants	Usually refers more formal or military pants.
Gauchos	Loose, skirt-like pants with just-below-the knee hems; often paired with boots.
Jeans	Hard-wearing trousers made of denim or other cotton fabric, for informal wear.
Jodhpurs	Tight-fitting trousers to the ankle, where they end in a snug cuff, and are worn primarily for horse riding.
Khakis	Light yellowish-brown pants usually made of cotton or wool.
Knickerbockers	A form of bicycle or golf pants ending just below knee with a fastener.
Leggings	Close-fitting, elastic-band pants made of stretchy material such as spandex or lycra.  Closely associated with tights, yoga and stretch pants, and hose.
Overalls	Loose fitting pants with a bib-like extension above the waist, fastened over the shoulder with straps.
Pantaloons	Baggy pants gathered at the ankle.
Pedal Pushers	Shortened capris or lengthened shorts.  End just below knee; convenient for bike riding or clam digging.  Similar to knickerbockers.  Introduced in 1944.
Shorts	First worn by boys under 8 years of age; gained popularity as 20th century advanced.
Slacks	Not-too-tight pants mainly worn with matching blazers or even comfortable tees.  Usually made of blended fabric or wool, these pants look more dressed up than chinos or your regular jeans.
Sweat Pants	Casual variety of soft trousers intended for comfort or athletic purposes.  Usually made from stretchy knitted jersey fabrics of differing weight.

 

Most trousers today are held up through the assistance of a belt which is passed through belt loops (see below) on the waistband of the trousers.  However, this was traditionally a style acceptable only for casual trousers and work trousers; suit trousers and formal trousers were suspended by the use of suspenders attached to buttons located on the interior or exterior of the waistband.  Today, this remains the preferred method of trouser support amongst adherents of classical British tailoring.  Many men claim this method is more effective and more comfortable because it requires no cinching of the waist or periodic adjustment.

Women’s Pants

Despite being worn by both sexes in ancient times, trousers were a “masculine” garment for hundreds of years.  From the 15^th century until the late 19^th century, women very rarely donned men's trousers.  Instead, women wore long, voluminous skirts.

Victorian society strictly regulated propriety in attire.  The concept of women in pants was considered inappropriate, though a few appearances of trouser-clad women shocked or amused society.

In the middle 1800s, women began to clamor for freedom of movement.

Elizabeth Smith Miller invented a type of long, puffy pants that were gathered at the ankles.  Worn with a short (knee or calf length) dress and made famous by early activist Amelia Bloomer, these bloomers caught the attention of the media, who ridiculed the style.

 

Bloomers soon became a symbol of women’s rights because early activist Amelia Bloomer wore drawers long enough to stick out from under her dress.

 

But by the 1880s, women began to appear in public wearing toned-down bloomers or knickers for bike riding, horse riding, and other sports.  They were safer to wear when cycling, as the trousers were far less likely to get caught in the wheels.  

 

Woman’s cycling costume from the 1880s.

 

In Western society, it was Eastern culture that inspired French designer Paul Poiret to be one of the first to design pants for women.  In 1913, Poiret created loose-fitting, wide-leg trousers for women called harem pants, which were based on the costumes of the popular ballet Scheherazade.  This loose style of pants eventually found its way into women's wardrobes as hostess or palazzo pants, sometimes worn at the beach. They became quite popular in the 1930s.

Women air pilots and other working women often wore trousers.

Frequent photographs from the 1930s of actresses Marlene Dietrich and Katharine Hepburn in trousers helped make trousers acceptable for women. 

Katherine Hepburn in wide trousers from the 1940s.

During World War II, women employed in factories, or doing other "men's work" on war service, wore trousers when the job demanded it.  Posters of female workers encouraged women to wear practical bib overalls and dungarees, or what we now call jeans.

In the post-war era, trousers became acceptable casual wear for gardening, the beach, and other leisure pursuits.

In the mid-20^th century, women's pants generally featured a side zipper.  Social norms of the 1940s and 1950s dictated a feminine modesty that seemed threatened by the easy removal enabled by front-zip slacks.  Side zippers also created a smoother line in the form-fitting slacks of the day.

In the 1960s, André Courrèges introduced long trousers for women as a fashion item, leading to the era of the pantsuit and designer jeans and the gradual erosion of social prohibitions against girls and women wearing trousers in schools, the workplace, and in fine restaurants.

Yet, despite their increasing popularity, trousers weren’t considered acceptable women’s attire for business or dress occasions until the 1970s.  In fact, in some places, it was illegal for women to wear trousers!  Various U.S. cities, in the 19^th and 20^th centuries, passed legislation barring women from wearing trousers.  Until January 31^st of 2013, it was illegal for women in France to wear trousers.

Note:  Pat remembers that at the University of Michigan in 1966.1967, women could not wear pants in her dorm dining room.  And my daughter-in-law Cinta recalled that it was 1994 before women were allowed to wear pants at the medical device company she worked for.

These days, trousers are worn by women for all occasions without any masculine connotations.

Practical Additions to Pants

Belts and Belt Loops.  The first belts in history were worn by people of the Bronze Age, between 3300 and 1200 BC.  During this time, belts became necessary and were widely used for carrying objects particularly weapons and tools.

The first known belt material used by men was made from softened tree barks.  From this prehistoric time, belts have developed and evolved in many different parts of the world.  Its materials have also evolved from tree barks to a more durable and reliable one. This led to the discovery and use of treated animal skins called leather.

While certain belts may have been made of leather, most early belts were lengths of cord or string tied at the waist (over the pants) to secure them. 

The earliest found custom belts and custom belt buckles were known to strap body armors of Roman soldiers and their gladiators.  Along with soldiers, traders or merchants, too were also believed to be the early users of belts and buckles.

There have been reports of archeologists finding evidence of custom belts and custom belt buckles dating back to the early 6^th and 7^th centuries in Europe.  In the 1500s, decorative belts and custom-made belt buckles seem to have been worn for the first time as a symbol of status in Regional Spain.

While belts were widely used in the early centuries, belts and buckles became popular only in the 1600s.

In the 1800s, the invention of suspenders largely started to phase out the belt, due to the high-cut waists of trousers at the time, making them difficult to wear comfortably.  Once exception to this came in the form of military officers, who would often intentionally buckle their belts extremely tightly to give the impression of a slim, triangular figure to be more imposing.

Women also began to wear belts and sashes, though primarily in conjunction with dresses to help define the waist.

Belt loops on trousers is an invention of the early 1900s.  (A 1908 Macy’s catalogue offered men’s trousers with loops.)  In 1922, Levi Strauss & Co., got the idea to put loops on its jeans to accommodate belts since many of the company’s customers wanted more flexibility and security than could be obtained with traditional suspenders.  But beginning in the 1920s, with the rising popularity of pants being constructed with belt loops, belts began being worn for the purpose of keeping up pants.

Pockets.  The first pants pockets weren’t like the sewn-in pockets we know today, but rather separate bags detached from clothing.  From the 15^th until the mid-16^thcentury, men and women carried essential items and currency in a pouch that was typically tied around the waist or hung from a belt.  As thieves became more of a problem in the 17^th century, people began to cut slits in their pants, and tuck their pouches inside their clothing for safekeeping.  This practice necessitated making the bags flatter and easier to reach into, so they would be more accessible and not create a significant bulge.

As men’s garments became more form-fitting, it became harder to fit a pocket purse between clothing and body.  The next obvious step then was to attach the pouches to the clothing itself, and tailors began to sew pocket bags into the seams of men’s breeches.  By the 18^th century, side/hip pants pockets were provided in men’s pants.

Women continued to carry pouches under their billowing dresses through the late 1800s.  Accessed through a hole in the back of the skirt, these proved popular with pickpockets, and it became common for women to carry a small drawstring handbag in their hand instead.  Attached pockets made their way into some women’s garments, but never quite took off as they did for men, as the more fitted fashions of the 20^th century precluded their possibility - lest they ruin the line of the clothes.  Women thus largely returned to using outside pockets – i.e., purses and handbags - while men embraced the use of inside, attached pockets.  Lately, however, some women, tired of having to carry purses, have demanded that pants include pockets, so there is a trend in that direction.

 

Nowadays it’s not who wears the pants in the family, but who carries the credit cards.