So my Dad asked me a little while back if I could make him some vintage style trousers. Gee'ed up by the sucess of my golfing knicker attempt I agreed to give it my best shot. He'd been watching a lot of The Hour, he told me, and wanted an outfit similar to one of the stars. I had a couple of (untouched) vintage men's trouser patterns in my arsenal and after some umming and ahhing and concluding that front pleats might not be the most flattering for anyone with more meat on them than a rake, I chose a flat-fronted, 1934 wide legged style.
After a lot of confusion around the fly-area (which was solved by borrowing a pair of similar style trousers and retro-engineering in my head) we had a partially successful mock-up pair. I had extended the length in the body as well as in the leg as my Dad is a very tall man, and as the waistband was just a little bit snug after a big dinner we agreed that a V shaped cut out at the back would work well for flexibility and fit in with the style very well.
The V shape left me scratching my head a little when it came to the belt loops, and whether they were even needed as it was obviously a style for button braces. Bit In the end I thought that it's better to at least give him the options, and the do add a little bit of visual detail.The fabric for the final trousers was an absolutely lovely grey/green in pure English Wool with a very subtly herringbone weave. It was exactly the right weight for what was needed and it was an absolute bargain! (always helps.) It was unfortunately just a smidge to short, but I hid a seam in the turn ups and get creative with the cutting. It worked brilliantly, and I think he looks the bee's knees in the finished pair, pity you can't see the button-up tank top he convinced my Mother to knit for him at the same time!
