Trouser cuffs

[LordJohnRoxton]

What would be the period appropriate cuff? I am picking up some basic trousers for work this week, but I would like to keep the thirties and forties in mind when I have them altered...

 

[kools]

Most of my vintage pants are around 1.75". Some a bit smaller...some a bit bigger. Nothing more than 2.0" or less than 1.5". 1.75" is a safe bet.

 

[LordJohnRoxton]

Thanks ever so much! That will help incredibly!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Sears catalogs in the later '30s offered two width choices: either 1 3/4 inches or 2 inches. The catalogs call the 1 3/4 inch width a "conservative style."


IMO, your cuff width should depend on your height (or girth). Men over 6 feet tall (or stout men) look better with 2" cuffs. Shorter and slimmer men should stick to 1 1/2" or 1 3/4" cuffs.


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[LordJohnRoxton]

I wonder.... what would the difference be for the twenties? Does anybody know?

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I wonder.... what would the difference be for the twenties? Does anybody know?

By observation, I'd say that cuffs were smaller --about 1 1/2 inches wide-- in the early '20s, when jackets and trousers were slimmer. By the mid '20s, cuffs were expanding to 1 3/4", and had reached 2" by 1927 or so.

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[LordJohnRoxton]

Of course I have small feet.... maybe I can have the effect without the reality?