The London Lounge

Some simple things we take for granted, but they were not always so. Trousers creased front and back, rather than side to side, apparently were "pioneered by Edward VII" [1], or at least his tailor, but why and to what advantage?

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_VII refers to Middlemas, Keith (1972), Antonia Fraser (ed.), The Life and Times of Edward VII, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, p. 201, ISBN 978-0-297-83189-1

This I think I may know...

Either (or both) of 2 reasons:

(1) Edward (as with all British Princes at the time & since) was brought up to be a sailor - of particular cultural significance at the height of Empire. Sailors (of all ranks) had to store their clothes in sea chests which required tight packing and trousers were folded in half along the seat, the leg bottoms paired up, and together concertina-ed a few folds from the bottom and then rolled up to the waistband, and then trussed with string.

Modern sailors' "bell-bottoms" used to (and possibly still do) have the horizontal creases (7 of them? I seem to recall) at the leg bottoms. When I was a cadet (army in my case) my school friends who were naval cadets had to iron in these creases in, if the concertina approach hadn't achieved the effect.

(2) Alternatively... breeches - and in the modern incarnation of riding breeches - should never have creases anywhere. Having them pressed with creases marks one out as a total bounder* apparently.




*As a total bounder myself, I would of course wear a crease if given the chance, but I don't ride, thus I remain undetected. Maybe we can keep this our little secret...

Thank you. I got a copy of the book wiki cites, and it has no more information than was cited.

Women, as a group, are still addicted to the side-to-side creases. Probably that works best for jeans, where front creases are somewhat frowned upon. I remember trying to tell a nanny/helper about the way men's trousers are creased, so any of my khakis coming out of the dryer would look something close to OK. I just got the blankest look in return.

Found this in Clothes and the Man, A guide to correct dress for all occasions, Sydney D. Barney, London, 1951, (p.17):

Brummel would not sit down in public for fear of creasing his trousers!

The development of the modern man's clothing and variations of style are a fascinating study, and most of the changes have been influenced by such trivial incidents as the creases in Beau's trousers.

It is said that King Edward VII once fell from his horse and was carried into a nearby cottage to rest whilst his clothes were dried and pressed. The nervous cottager ironed His Majesty's riding trousers with creases back and front. The King approved of the novelty—and it became the style that still prevails.

His son, King George V, was almost similarly responsible for another change in trouser style. One day he had to cross a muddy field to attend a function, and stooped to turn up his trousers as a precaution, but forgot to turn them down on reaching the platform. From this inadvertent incident we have the permanent turn-up. Very many changes in men's fashions can be traced back to similar events, and this applies even more to Service uniforms which are, indeed, pages of history.

PS: Interesting also, that a certain Alan Flusser, took the title of this older book for his own.