1930's pants

 In between all the 1870's sewing that I am doing right now, I made myself finish something that will be useful more often than a trained gown, namely a pair of 1930's trousers that I will wear at work. (After all, I had promised myself to make more everyday clothes this year - it felt too stupid to make a something like a fourth 1880's dress and then complain about having nothing to wear for all the days were "normal" clothing is required. ) I have been having trouble finding well fitting pants for a long time, so when I found this pattern that seemed like they would fit my large thigh to waist ratio, I was more than happy to try it.

There is not too much to say about researching and construction of these pants - I followed a pattern, they fit, I love them! They also fit into the Historical Sew Monthly challenge "gender bender". In the picture, I am experimenting with the sailor style that seems to have been popular at the time.


The facts:

What the item is: 1930's Pants

Fabric/Materials: A wool/synthetic blend (as I found out when it melted when I ironed it...)

Pattern: Wearing History's Smooth Sailing 1930's trousers

Year: late 1930's I think.

Notions: Zipper, snap, silver wire for throwing together a belt fastening until I can find a real one

How historically accurate is it? I think the pattern is well researched and I followed the instructions. However, the pattern states that the fit is a bit adapted to suit a modern taste - they are less baggy at the back side than they would have been at the time. Here is a good blog post by Wearing History about the look and fit of early women's pants. I have no idea what fabrics typically was worn, but at least grey wool feels reasonable. Minus for plastic zipper and weird belt fastening.

Hours to complete: 2 h taping the home-printed e-pattern (ouch). Maybe 5 h actually making them? Surprisingly, they fit at first try except for waist size, but I guess the VERY wide trouser legs helps, as I have thighs that are large compared to the size of the rest of me...

First worn: I have been wearing these several times at the office, and I really like them. It feels like they have a retro style without feeling like wearing a costume to work. And they are really comfortable!

Total cost: Something like 180 kr, 19 eur, 22 $.