White Tie - Double striped trousers

[Happy Stroller]

Apparently the British formal dress pants for White Tie functions is double striped vs single stripe for the American equivalent. I understand the British distinguish between their double stripe White Tie pants and their single stripe Black Tie pants by referring only to the former pants as full dress pants. Better put on a raincoat the next time one attends a Black Tie function.

For the American equivalent, the single stripe is in front of the trouser's side pocket slit opening.

I suppose that would be the same position for one of the two stripes on the British trousers. Can someone tell me where the other stripe is on the British trousers? Is it further in front of the first stripe? Or, is it behind the side pocket slit opening? And how far apart are the two stripes?

 

[Happy Stroller]

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For the American equivalent, the single stripe is in front of the trouser's side pocket slit opening.
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Oops, I meant to say the single stripe is behind the trouser side pocket besom slit opening.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Can someone tell me where the other stripe is on the British trousers? Is it further in front of the first stripe? Or, is it behind the side pocket slit opening? And how far apart are the two stripes?

lol Stroller, you are keeping me in stitches (pun intended)! I haven't laughed so much in months.

How much longer will Loungers let themselves be strung along by such nuttily arcane (and very amusing) questions? It's as if the London Lounge has sent over an infiltrator! lol

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[herringbonekid]

Happy Stroller, i'm afraid i have no idea what you're talking about.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Happy Stroller is a one-man London Lounge. If I didn't find him funny, I'd have to slap him on both cheeks with a wet herring.

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[Baron Kurtz]

I believe the double stripes are either side of the side seam. There are probably etiquette issues to determine the distance between the two stripes.

You are right on the mark re. full dress vs dress trousers. From the military, i understand ...

bk

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Yes, it comes from the military. Double stripes denotes a higher rank.

I read somewhere that the military stripes originally had a functional purpose: they covered and thus protected the seams of the trouser legs from wear and tear.


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[Tomasso]

Apparently the British formal dress pants for White Tie functions is double striped vs single stripe for the American equivalent.

I believe that both British and American White Tie dress require trousers with double stripes.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

They did -- until the end of the 1950s. Newsphotos show a lot of men at Kennedy's Inaugural Ball wearing evening tailcoats with single-striped trousers.

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[Matt Deckard]

They did -- until the end of the 1950s. Newsphotos show a lot of men at Kennedy's Inaugural Ball wearing evening tailcoats with single-striped trousers.

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Fools

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I suppose the manufacturers saved some money somewhere.

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[Happy Stroller]

lol Stroller, you are keeping me in stitches (pun intended)! I haven't laughed so much in months.

How much longer will Loungers let themselves be strung along by such nuttily arcane (and very amusing) questions? It's as if the London Lounge has sent over an infiltrator! lol

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Thanks for your London Lounge lead, Marc.

I found the London Lounge website wonderful. There was a huge article relating to White Tie dress of the 1930s by someone called etutee, if I recall that name correctly.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Well, you and the London Lounge are a match made in heaven. I'm sure that site has anticipated whatever questions you may have, no matter how arcane.

In any case, I'll miss you pulling our leg.

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[Happy Stroller]

Happy Stroller is a one-man London Lounge. If I didn't find him funny, I'd have to slap him on both cheeks with a wet herring.

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Please feel free to do so, Marc. Herrings of any color but red please.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

lol lol lol

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[Happy Stroller]

Well, you and the London Lounge are a match made in heaven. I'm sure that site has anticipated whatever questions you may have, no matter how arcane.

In any case, I'll miss you pulling our leg.

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Unfortunately, I am still waiting for my application to join the London Lounge to be accepted.

There was a pretty good sketch showing a gentleman wearing double stripe formal pants. His hands were in the hip pockets. At least one of the two stripes was in front of the pocket. But I'm still not sure about the other stripe's position.

 

[shindeco]

No one has actually answered the question so here goes:

both stripes are in front of the side seam. When you put your hands in the pockets, you should see both stripes on the pocket.

In a brazen attempt to predict some other arcana that you may be wondering about :

The braid (it's usually just narrow grosgrain ribbon) is usually about three sixteenths of an inch (4 mm) wide; the space between the braids is slightly less than the width of the ribbon; it doesn't go on to the waistband (assuming there is one); ummmm, I can't think of anything else, sorry

 

[Happy Stroller]

Thanks, Shindeco.

I wonder if the single stripe is much broader than each of the double stripes, perhaps twice as broad, say?

 

[manton]

One reason why single stripe dress trousers were so common in America is that Brooks Brothers (by far the single largest source of white tie gear in this country) used to (and may still, for all I know) sell all its formal wear as separates. That is, the trousers were over here, the various coat styles over there, the vests over there, etc. Nothing was sold as a complete set. You bought everything individually in your own size. It was all made from the same cloth, and had the same trimmings. To save money and simplify things, they only had one model of dress trouser, and it had a single stripe. Thus, if you got tails from Brooks, you bought their one and only (single stripe) dress trouser, along with your tailcoat. Savile Row, on the other hand, as well as all the NY tailors, considered two stripes de riguer for white tie.

I can sort of see Brooks' point. It's sort of galling to have to buy two nearly identical trousers, the only difference being the presense or absense of one stripe.

 

[David V]

Is pocket placement different with formal (tails) vs. lounge(tux)? I have heard that the pockets on tail coat trousers were forward so that when you put your hand in your pocket you did not push back the tail.