Trouser Waistband Design Considerations

[jekarwoski]

I am about to commission a pair of odd trousers and have most of the details worked out, except for those around the waistband. I believe these items have been discussed before here, but I want to delve a bit deeper.

Re: Daks Tops - I have trousers (older RTW Daks brand) with the adjustment being made with
elastic and buttons on the waistband. I have newer bespoke with buckles and tabs which
sit slightly below the waistband (an error in judgement: I accepted these with the tabs fully
"open" ie in their most generous position. It's unlikely I will be needing to cinch these tighter.).
The former appear to be a bit sleeker and less fussy, and would seem to be a bit more
functional - actually adjusting the waisband, rather than the area below? It's almost like loosening a belt a notch. Curious for your thoughts on one design vs. the other (besides elastic eventually stretching beyond usefullness).

Waistband construction: I've seen split backs, which seem to allow for more comfort, and
discussion of fully curtained waistbands. I am interested to know your experience on these - are they mutually exclusive or does one provide more comfort or hold up better than then other. Does a selection of one of the Daks tops I mentioned automatically preclude one of these construction techniques?

Finally, since these are odd trousers and not part of a suit, with apologies to Mr. Mahon, are belt loops better?

The fabric is spring/summer weight, super 120's.

[SouthPender]

I've seen several references to the waistband treatment found on Oxxford trousers as the very best available on RTW trousers. A while back, there was a post on another forum that had some pictures of the Oxxford waistband, and the reason for its superiority was explained. I don't know whether Chuck Franke (Carlo Franco) is a LLer, but he, for one, could explain this extremely well. We might hope that someone familiar with Oxxford trousers chimes in on this thread. Alternatively, you might try to search down the thread (on AAAC, I think) that had this exposition.

[BirdofSydney]

I suspect you're right to think that a braces back really isn't appropriate for odd trousers. There are some beautiful belts about...why not wear one!

[jekarwoski]

SouthPender,
Thanks for the reminder on Oxxford. I've seen the construction but couldn't fathom the
reasoning behind it. I did find a thread on AAAC with an explanation by Son of Beau
Brummell.