30s-50s British Suit Trouser photo resource

[herringbonekid]

Much of the perceptions of clothes seems to be instilled by "opinion-makers" such as television, fashion mags and movies.
If it is constantly hammered into the public that A is sexy and B is not, enough people will start to buy into it.

if young men also buy into the common idea that high waisted trousers aren't sexy it will put them off ever trying a pair, and also put off manufacturers considering them a viable option to make.
look at RRL ... i'm fairly certain they consider the high waist a risky non-seller.

on the bright side though, i think that waists have definitely risen in the last couple of years going by what is seen at menswear hotspots such as Pitti Uomo, influenced by trouser makers such as Ambrosi who are de rigueur among the Italians.

 

[herringbonekid]

i've just sold these trousers on ebay. they're unusual in that they have outward facing pleats which made me at first assume they were American, but the metal buckle is stamped 'British Made'. seems very unlikely that they would have been using imported British buckles in the US in the late 40s - early 50s.

 

[Fastuni]

I have very similar British trousers (blue-grey) with self-belt (but buttonfly).
They were made by Hepsworth and are dated 1948.
They have also outward facing double pleats.

 

[herringbonekid]

curious. outward facing pleats are a rarity in the UK in the 20s-40s.
it's possible that UK trousers started copying U.S. ones in the late 40s and 50s to be more 'up to date'. you see a big American influence in British clothing around that time.

 

[Two Types]

I once saw a suit that had been tailored on the Finchley Road in 1948 (if I remember correctly): it had outward facing trouser pleats and the jacket also had an American look. I imagine it was made for one of those young men who wanted to look like an American.

 

[Claudio]

if young men also buy into the common idea that high waisted trousers aren't sexy it will put them off ever trying a pair, and also put off manufacturers considering them a viable option to make.
look at RRL ... i'm fairly certain they consider the high waist a risky non-seller.

on the bright side though, i think that waists have definitely risen in the last couple of years going by what is seen at menswear hotspots such as Pitti Uomo, influenced by trouser makers such as Ambrosi who are de rigueur among the Italians.

Still needs to trickle down to the everyday Italian streets that high raise 'Ambrosi' trouser but being popular in Pitti is surely a first step indeed. I see the highrise more popular on London streets (in a 'repro' kind of way) more so than in Italy IMO (where its just a high rise of a newer style as Italians are so good at doing)