Breeches

Breeches are a man’s bifurcated outer garment, covering the lower body from waist to knees or just below the knees. The term “breeches” is synonymous with any form of short pants or trousers and has been used to describe several types of men’s lower-body undergarments and outer garments from classical Roman dress through the twentieth century. However, breeches as a fashion garment were standard everyday attire for European and American men from the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries (American men after 1565). ... In common usage today, breeches are essentially distinguished from trousers and pants by length.

Eighteenth Century By the end of the seventeenth century, breeches were quite simplified in shape and trim, slimmer and more fitted to the shape of the legs, but still cut with fullness in the seat, or over the hips and abdomen. they had a cuff or band that fastened just under the knee and were worn with separate stockings that rolled up over the knee. Throughout the eighteenth century, the fit and details of breeches changed as the style of coat and waistcoat changed. During the first two decades, breeches were virtually hidden under the knee-length vest and coat of the three-piece suit, and a somewhat baggy fit did not matter. As coats were cut away after mid-century, breeches became very slim and fit closely over the thigh and knee. As breeches became slimmer, they were cut on the bias to give movement to tightly-fitted thigh and seat areas. Knee-band closures included narrow cuffs with buckles, buttons, or ties. After 1730, as waistcoats shortened, the front of the breeches over the abdomen was more visible. for a smoother appearance, the buttoned-fly front changed. Breeches were closed down center front with a “fall,” a large square flap five to eight inches wide, that buttoned to the waistband to cover an open fly. The center-front buttoned fly remained a less fashionable alternative to falls.

Breeches reached the end of their fashionability as standard men’s garments by the early 1790s. Two other alternatives were gaining prominence, and the term “kneebreeches” was used to distinguish tham from pantaloons and trousers. Trousers were practical, ankle-length, loosely fitted bifurcated garments closely identified with the working class. In France, the combination of kneebreeches and silk stockings was called culottes, and it was this elite style seen in such sharp contrast to the working class trousers that identified the French revolutionaries as sans culottes. Pantaloons were a type of longer, closely fitted men’s day-wear breeches that fit into the top of riding boots. They became a very fashionable alternative to trousers and were worn with a strap under the sole of a shoe to increase the effect of the clingingly tight fit. (Encyclopedia Of Clothing And Fashion, Breeches)

For three quarters of the eighteenth century there was no essential change in the male mode established in the middle years of the reign of Louis XIV. Male dress consisted of coat, waistcoat and breeches.

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Kneebreeches were universally worn throughout the century. They were fairly loose and fitted over the hips without the need of either belt or braces. They were closed below the knee with three or four buttons, and at first the stockings were drawn over them. From about 1735, however, the breeches, closed with an ornamental buckle, were worn over the stockings. (Laver 134,6)