20's/30's contrasting trousers

[volvomeister13]

I've recently gotten some 1920's and 30's jackets that would go well with contrasting trousers. I'm thinking of having a pair of 1920's trousers copied, once in cream and again in light gray for a second pair. For the cream, flannel of course, but what about the gray pants? I've seen many pictures of this look and I love it, but not sure what fabric to get. Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[herringbonekid]

why not grey flannel too ?

 

[Papperskatt]

Flannel would be the ideal choice both for the cream and the grey.

By the way, SimonC is working on cream flannels for his clothing line. Two models; one late teens/early twenties and one 30s cut. Take a look: http://sjcforum.com/showthread.php?tid=41&pid=2327#pid2327

 

[Edward]

Yes, Simon's flannels are exactly what I thought of too. Otherwise, moleskin might be nice. I'd also suggest corduroys in a wide-wale, silver-grey.

 

[GHT]

why not grey flannel too ?

Perfect when matched with an Aquascutum blazer. Did you know that Aquascutum is latin for watershield? So called because the company founder, John Emary, discovered, and patented, a method of waterproofing wool. You get that, and other trivia, on a leaflet, with every new blazer. Well you did when the company was British owned.

The cream flannels are a perfect foil for a maroon blazer, topped of with a straw boater.

 

[Rabbit]

I've recently gotten some 1920's and 30's jackets that would go well with contrasting trousers. I'm thinking of having a pair of 1920's trousers copied, once in cream and again in light gray for a second pair. For the cream, flannel of course, but what about the gray pants? I've seen many pictures of this look and I love it, but not sure what fabric to get. Any ideas?

Thanks!

Ideally flannel, I agree with the others. Hopsack is a nice change of pace; it's a fairly open weave, woven 2x2, and adds texture due to its weave while flannel - which is a twill - adds texture due to its mottled character.

If you choose flannel, try to find a fabric that at least tries to mimick the stiffness of vintage fabrics. Contemporary fabric books have lots of nice, soft wool cloth with 5% cashmere in it, often with a beautiful mottled texture. Resist the temptation, as you will find that even a low percentage of cashmere - I'm talking strictly of contemporary cloth - makes the trousers pill all too soon, and they simply won't hold a trouser crease no matter how you press them.

I once had a lovely mottled orange-ish brown wool suit made in such a fabric. The jacket wears nice, almost like a sweater, but the trousers are simply not made for constant wear.

 

[herringbonekid]

there were lots of cream trousers with various grey fancy stripes around in the 20s too. practically impossible to find such fabric now though in wool, but sometimes you can find something similar in cotton or linen.

 

[Two Types]

Cream flannel and grey flannel are the perfect choice. I also wear cream moleskins. Moleskin is maybe not the most traditional of vintage casual fabrics (having been mainly used for country wear and work wear, as far as I know) but it is hard wearing and is a very good weight, meaning it drapes in a way many modern flannels can't manage due to their being too lightweight.

 

[Dostioffsky]

These catalog pages from 1920 have a nice variety of odd trousers: https://archive.org/stream/eatons19202100eatouoft#page/n267/mode/2up. Unfortunately the pictures aren't great, but it still gives an impression of what was available. Not yet mentioned, I think worsted trousers with a subtle stripe pattern are very nice.

Striped cream/white flannels as HBK mentioned:

Edit: Another pair of striped flannels, a bit more subtle:

 

[Patrick Hall]

One of my favorite odd trousers is made of covert cloth. Very sturdy stuff, and drapes pretty well. Obviously it's a lighter weight than what you'd find in a covert coat.

 

[volvomeister13]

Thanks everyone!

HBK, I know just the sort of fancy striped cream pants your talking about. I've seen a few vintage examples lately but sadly none in my size in wearable condition.

Rabbit, thanks for the lowdown on the cashmere. In my search for fabrics I've come across a lot of wool-cashmere blends. I'll be sure to avoid them. By the way, I recently commissioned a snap brim fedora from the venerable Art Fawcett and all the photos you posted on the VS hat thread were a huge help.

 

[Rabbit]

You're welcome. I forgot to make clear that cashmere contents even below 5% are better avoided.
I suspect that the addition of cashmere to wool in so many contemporary fabric books is done with the mere instant pleasure of feeling the cloth in mind - plus it boosts the fabric price which, with the high cost of tailoring in general, doesn't seem to bother some of the bespoke customers.

 

[volvomeister13]

You're welcome. I forgot to make clear that cashmere contents even below 5% are better avoided.
I suspect that the addition of cashmere to wool in so many contemporary fabric books is done with the mere instant pleasure of feeling the cloth in mind - plus it boosts the fabric price which, with the high cost of tailoring in general, doesn't seem to bother some of the bespoke customers.

Ouch. Yeah, I don't quite understand the modern world's obsession with soft suiting fabrics. Sure it feels nice on your fingers, but I always feel such stuff is better suited to a blanket than a suit. Give me the sturdy vintage stuff any day.

 

[volvomeister13]

I'm guessing a solid flannel would be better than worsted fabrics, herringbone, etc?

 

[herringbonekid]

there were plenty of worsteds in various fancy stripes or subtle weaves around in the 20s, as well as tweeds, serge, cord, cotton duck... the list goes on.

probably better to avoid any fabric that looks like it could have belonged to a suit though, if you're after an odd / contrasting trouser.

 

[Rabbit]

there were plenty of worsteds in various fancy stripes or subtle weaves around in the 20s, as well as tweeds, serge, cord, cotton duck... the list goes on.

probably better to avoid any fabric that looks like it could have belonged to a suit though, if you're after an odd / contrasting trouser.

How true. 1920s patterns were unlike anything that came later. Where would you find stuff like this today? I've seen a few good ones that came close, though.

 

[herringbonekid]

amazing fabric... are they your's Rabbit ?

 

[Broccoli]

I also own a pair of duchess like those! But in cream flanell.

 

[Rabbit]

amazing fabric... are they your's Rabbit ?

Yes, they are. They came from the same estate as the two buttoned-belted overcoats from the early to mid 20s and the navy Paletot from the early to mid 30s that I posted in the overcoats thread some time ago.
The cut is just as amazing as the fabric, a high rise combined with relatively narrow legs. The man who owned them must have been exactly the same frame as I.

 

[Papperskatt]

Those trousers are amazing, Rabbit.

What size are you, volvomeister? Three pairs of inexpensive cream flannels got listed on UK eBay recently, sizes 31.5", 32" and 38".

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Original-...080?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4194748b70
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1920s-Ori...015?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4194748f17
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Harrods-O...468?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4194748cf4