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About 1760 most men begin wearing breeches, a tight garment worn from the waist to the knee with stockings covering the rest of the leg, "Britches" was an informal word for breeches. Prior to this men were wearing various form if skirts and dresses (but that's another story). Pantaloons (where we get the word pants) were made popular in 1812 by George Bryan "Beau" Brummell who wore his with a foot strap (like modern ski pants) to keep the pants tight and avoid creases. Brummell, buddy to the future Hind George IV, developed a dress code that anyone, not just royalty, could follow. He dispensed fashion tips and stressed cleanliness (a novel idea for the time). Pantaloon first appeared as an English word in the 1600's and from the Italian comedy character Pantaleone who wore the first loose "clowns pants". Eventually the characters name came to mean the pants he wore. In England pants still refers only to underwear. The French Revolution of 1789 was also a revolt against breeches as being too upper class. The country peasant trouser look was in. Trousers probably derived from the words trousers-- drawers, trousses--trunk hose, and/or trousse--to cover, truss. They were looser than the tight pantaloon were favored for daytime wear while pantaloons were more evening attire. Trousers were over breeches when horseback riding to keep the more formal clothes clean. Sailors had been wearing the looser fit work trousers since the 1580s since they allowed them to roll up the legs for wading ashore or climbing rigging.

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16y ago

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