Pantaloons

“ Is there any man who cannot count a dozen pantaloons in his own social circle? Is there any man who has not seen them swarming at the west end of the town on a sunshiny day or a summer's evening, going through the last-named pantomimic feats with as much liquorish energy, and as total an absence of reserve, as if they were on the very stage itself? We can tell upon our fingers a dozen pantaloons of our acquaintance at this moment--capital pantaloons, who have been performing all kinds of strange freaks, to the great amusement of their friends and acquaintance, for years past ”

“ Now, this old tailor had shown me the pattern, after which he intended to make my pantaloons; but I improved upon it, and bade him have a slit on the outside of each leg, at the foot, to button up with a row of six brass bell buttons; for a grown-up cousin of mine, who was a great sportsman, used to wear a beautiful pair of pantaloons, made precisely in that way. ”

“ After having passed the usual compliments of the morning with him, place yourself in a fashionable attitude, your thumbs thrust in your pantaloon's pockets—the right foot thrown carelessly across the left, resting on the toe, exhibits your line turned ancle, or new boot, and is certainly a very modest attitude—your cravat finically adjusted, and tied sufficiently tight to produce a fine full-blooming countenance: corsets and bag pantaloons are indispensably necessary to accoutre you for the stand. ”

“ The younger men are of inferior stature, and nearly all bow-legged. They have turned the flowing trousers into modern pantaloons, the legs of which are cut like the old-fashioned gigot sleeve, very big and baggy at the top, and tied with a drawing-string around the waist. My first impression was, that the men had got up in a great hurry, and put on their trousers hinder-end foremost. ”

“ The outer pantaloons are usually laid aside in spring, and waterproof boots like the men’s, but fastened below the knee with drawstrings, are worn over the under pantaloons. In the summer pantaloons wholly of waterproof sealskin are often put on. The women’s pantaloons, like the men’s breeches, are fastened with a girdle just above the hips. It appears that they do not stay up very well, as the women are continually “hitching” them up and tightening their girdles. ”

“ Stripped of the cunning artifices of the tailor, and standing forth in the garb of Eden,—what a sorry set of round-shouldered, spindle-shanked, crane-necked varlets would civilized men appear! Stuffed calves, padded breasts, and scientifically cut pantaloons would then avail them nothing, and the effect would be truly deplorable. ”

“ Off came the everyday clothes, and in a jiffy on went the one white and black stocking that will be remembered by all who have seen "Hobbies." The shirt, coat, pantaloons, linen duster and hat that forms the rest of his toilet, were carefully laid upon a side table. The shirt was flapped over his head in a second, the pantaloons went on like lightning and then bending towards a looking-glass he dipped his fingers in red and black color boxes, and soon had the necessary painting done upon his face. ”

“ While they were thus employed, a tallish gentleman with a hook nose and black hair, dressed in a military surtout very short and tight in the sleeves, and which had once been frogged and braided all over, but was now sadly shorn of its garniture and quite threadbare-- dressed too in ancient grey pantaloons fitting tight to the leg, and a pair of pumps in the winter of their existence--looked in at the door and smiled affably. ”

“ Wide flowing pantaloons are often substituted for the kirimon, which trail on the ground, completely concealing the feet, and give the wearer the appearance of walking on his knees, which indeed is the delusion it is intended to produce. ”

“ By either of these processes the tension was placed largely upon the strip of cloth, instead of solely upon the thread. But this was no new idea; it is as old as pantaloons themselves. It has been illustrated in the experience of every boy, for in his sports he not infrequently tears his pantaloons, and his good mother, not content with sewing the torn ends together, and thus holding them by the direct strength of the thread, is wont to place underneath a piece of cloth, and fasten it to the main body of the garment for some distance on either side of the tear. ”

“ I would not by this remark have it understood that clothing ought not to be neatly and somewhat extensively mended, but I have seen men wear pantaloons so patched that it would puzzle you to place your finger upon a piece of the original. They have wives and daughters, but they do not spin. ”

“ Often did I see a fellow-student hurrying to the Chapel to escape tardiness at morning prayers, with this garment unbuttoned at the knees, the ribbons dangling over his legs, the hose refusing to keep their elevation, and the calico or woollen gown wrapped about him, ill concealing his dishabille.
"Not all at once did pantaloons gain the supremacy as the nether garment. About the beginning of the present century they grew rapidly in favor with the young; but men past middle age were more slow to adopt the change. ”

“ You have no doubt seen a man scratch a match on the leg of his pantaloons. Perhaps you have also seen an absent-minded man undertake to do so, forgetting that his pantaloons were hanging on a chair at the other end of the room. ”

“ There is one thing very strange about the tailor. Although the pantaloons he turns out are constructed on correct principles, he makes them all cross-legged. Like other men he pants for renown, but is mainly concerned for the renown of his pants. If you say ought against his trousers, I trow, sirs, he will give you fits. No matter how he may wear with others, the tailor tries to make others wear well. If he trusts you for your breeches, do not repay his kindness by breaches of trust.
He cuts his cloth economically, and yet much of it goes to waist. ”

“ Cheerfully he works in pantaloons whose legs have been cut off and turned hind side before, in order that the thin and faded places may come on the back of his legs and the unfaded ones on his knees; contentedly he sustains them by one suspender twisted from a solitary button in front around to another on his right side: he knows the farmer's wife has no time to take care of his clothes. ”

“ An old pair of pantaloons were procured and stuffed full of earth; some dirt, too, was put on the outside of them, so that the cloth could not be seen, and thus excite suspicion. These were forced into the aperture, and earth pressed in beneath; and he returned greatly elated with the hope that all danger was past, and that in one or two more nights our labors would be crowned with success. ”

“ The dress of the men is generally a pair of pantaloons of blue cotton, dyed tocuyo, a white or blue shirt hanging loose on the outside of the pantaloons, and a large straw hat. The women wear a piece of blue cotton or woollen cloth wrapped round the waist, and reaching down to their knees, also a shirt, or more commonly a handkerchief, having two of the corners tied together at the back of the neck, while the handkerchief hangs down before; when at work, or in their houses, both men and women generally throw off the shirt. ”

“ The little striped hornet heats his nose with a spirit lamp and goes forth searching for the man with the linen pantaloons. All nature is full of life and activity. So is the man with the linen pantaloons. ”

“ Every scholar was in place—the little ones with bare, dangling feet, their shapely sun-tanned ankles just peeping from pantaloons and pantalettes of equal length; the older lads beyond them; and off at the left the larger girls, and Sidonie. ”

“ Fashion is an odd thing! My pantaloons were of the ordinary size—what, indeed, many would call large; yet they were not thought modest by these good, oriental ladies, as showing too plainly the shape of the lower parts of the body; while they themselves had their breasts almost wholly exposed! Such is the fashion of the ladies here. Indeed, I have often been not a little provoked at the exposure which females here make of the upper parts of their bodies: they cover their faces, and expose their breasts. ”

“ This general evening amusement takes place often in the week; besides, on Tuesday, there is a general ball. There is a particular costume adopted for the society. That for the men consists of wide pantaloons buttoned over a boy’s jacket, made of light material, without a collar; that of the women of a coat reaching to the knee and pantaloons, such as little girls wear among us. ”

“ Knee-breeches and top-boots for out-of-door wear or stockings for indoor use lasted till the beginning of the 19th century as the regular costume for men. Pantaloons, loose trousers reaching to above the ankle, were worn in Venice by the poorer classes in the 17th century (for the origin of the name see Pantaloon) . ”

“ With the increased interest in physical exercise for women, ankle-length, open pantaloons also were being worn in the 1840s with a long overdress as an early form of gymnasium suit. This evidence of the early use of drawers suggests that, like English ladies, women in the United States were probably wearing a type of drawers beneath their nondescript bathing gowns during the second quarter of the 19th century. ”

“ It beats all how much help there is here, the halls seemed full on ’em, but what would our hired help say if we made ’em dress like these Hindus? They wear short pantaloons that don’t come down to their knees and then they wind a long strip of white cloth round their thighs and fasten it round their waist, leavin’ their right shoulder and arm bare naked. ”

“ These are also worn in winter by men of the lower orders, the pantaloons fitting tightly, and made of checked cotton. The peasants and porters usually wear a loose overall in summer, made of some light paper material, and in winter not unfrequently consisting of coarse straw. ”

“ As for the men, those who aspire to European garments seem to have no perception of the relation subsisting between the various parts of a gentleman's costume. To the wearer of a coat, for instance, pantaloons are by no means indispensable ”

“ When the soldiers found their pantaloons were chafing them, they would tie their handkerchiefs around their pantaloons, over the place affected, thus preventing friction, and stopping the evil; but this is not advisable for a permanent preventive. A bandage of cotton or linen over the injured part will serve the purpose better. ”

“ PANTALOONS. If you dream you have a new pair of pantaloons, it is a sign you will be prosperous; if they do not fit, and are too tight, it is a sign you will be pinched in money matters; if they are53 dark, it is a sign of long life, but if light, it denotes sickness. Young girls should try and not dream about pantaloons, for such an omen is very dangerous to them. ”

“ The prices paid in cities by good-class tailors for making summer pantaloons, runs from 75 cents to $1.25. For winter goods the prices are higher, ranging from $1 a pair to $1.50. Some tailors have their pantaloons made by men, and some even employ men to make their vests. ”

“ The pantaloons are expected to hug the leg as tightly as possible, so that the thinness of the “trotters” may be revealed in all their natural beauty. But an obstacle exists in the shape of an inch or two of superfluous leather at the top of the boot, which will have a tendency to give the limb an appearance of greater circumference than nature or fashion permits. ”

“ I suppose in that respect we are more mannish, for we know that in dress, as in all things else, we have been and are slaves, while man in dress and all things else is free. I admit that we have "got on the pantaloons," but I deny that putting them on is going to make us any the less womanly or any the more masculine and immodest. ”

“ Probably the inconvenience of the national costume for working men partly accounts for the general practice of getting rid of it. It is such a hindrance, even in walking, that most pedestrians have "their loins girded up" by taking the middle of the hem at the bottom of the kimono and tucking it under the girdle. This, in the case of many, shows woven, tight-fitting, elastic, white cotton pantaloons, reaching to the ankles. ”

“ Did you ever see me with hermaphrodite pantaloons on? [Voice: "Fornication pantaloons."] Our boys are weakening their backs and their kidneys by girting themselves up as they do; they are destroying the strength of their loins and taking a course to injure their posterity. ”

“ As for the men, they wear the usual turban, loose short pantaloons, and a waistcoat with silver buttons. With both sexes a necessary addition to the attire is a kind of cloak or mantle of leaves, in shape like a book half-open, which is fastened to the neck, and in rainy weather is brought up over the head like a loose cover. ”

“ Sometimes he will get into bed with you and bite you, because you have not resolution enough to lie perfectly still while he is tickling you.... It is well to remember before dressing that merely shaking a garment may not dislodge him;—you must examine every part very patiently,—particularly the sleeves of a coat and the legs of pantaloons. ”

“ The tall men had invariably received the short pantaloons, and presented an appearance, when they emerged from their tents, which was equalled only by that of the short men who had, of course, received the long pantaloons. One man's cap was perched away up on the top of his head, while another's rested on his ears. Andy, who was not very tall, waddled forth into the company street amid shouts of laughter, having his pantaloons turned up some six inches or more from the bottoms, declaring that "Uncle Sam must have got the patterns for his boys' pantaloons somewhere over in France ”