TIME to TALK TROUSERS - part 1

A staple in nearly every woman’s wardrobe, the trouser is a garment with a wide variety of styles, cuts, and types. In our previous article, we covered the different trouser lengths available over the years; in this three-parter, we will discuss trouser types with reference to the history of each, hopefully providing you with some vintage styling inspiration along the way! 

Moving alphabetically through the various unique styles of trouser, part one of this three-part series focuses on: voluminous 70s favourites, Bell Bottoms and Flares; the evolved, 90s version of Bell Bottoms, Bootcut trousers; kooky culottes, which have gone in and out of fashion over the years; and the military-derived fashion of cargo trousers (commonly referred to as cargo pants by our more Western neighbours).  

During these years of ultimate self-expression, the bohemian – or hippie – counterculture adopted bell-bottoms as its attire, challenging the status quo through fashion, amongst other means. It is only during the early 1970s that the bell-bottom trouser found its way into the wardrobes of the masses, with the key to the style’s success being traced back to Sonny and Cher’s television show in the US. The style became so popular, and the leg so wide, that the term ‘elephant bell’ was coined to describe the most exaggerated bell-bottom legged trousers. The term ‘flare trousers’ is instead reserved for those bell-bottoms sporting a less exaggerated flare. By the end of the 70s and start of the early 80s, bell-bottoms had been replaced by tighter-fitting trousers – the chosen style of punk rockers to complement the punk music blossoming at the time. The history of bell-bottoms, however, does not end in the 1970s: during the 1990s, bell-bottom trousers were revived with a more toned-down style and christened as boot-cut trousers.

By the late 1700s, culottes were predominantly worn by members of the aristocracy, thus becoming a symbol of upper-class oppression. In contrast, the revolutionaries that had banded together in 1789 for the French Revolution were dubbed the ‘sans culottes’ – literally meaning ‘without culottes’ – referring to their predilection for full-length trousers, thereby proudly asserting their class and status. This is an example of the weight that fashion can have on the expression of the individual, or, in this case, of an entire social class.Historically seen as an item evocative of scandal, it’s interesting to follow the evolution of the culottes from a symbol of classism and oppression, into a contentious feminist symbol representing female freedom. During the Victorian era, women were beginning to see a wider range of freedoms afforded to them yet found that their clothing was not appropriate for many of these activities, which included horse riding and cycling. Borrowing the name, ‘culottes’, from the French, they referred to bifurcated skirts that were designed to closely resemble the skirt, but that would allow women to straddle a horse instead of having to ride side-saddle. Designed for practicality over fashion, culottes became synonymous with female emancipation. As the Suffragette movement expanded and gained traction, the design of these culottes moved increasingly away from skirts. Elsa Schiaparelli took this idea further in 1931, when she wore a pair of culottes during her trip to London. Contrary to previous incarnations, this pair were quite obviously not intended to look like a skirt; they were an open challenge to the male domination of society. The press addressed her as ‘manly’, believing that she failed to fit the standard of femininity dictated to women by society. Nowadays, culottes represent the wide and varied history of fashion, which can be exclusive and oppressive, or revolutionary and visionary. Head to our blog to read a more detailed history of the fabulous culotte and its connection with female empowerment!