History of Men’s Leg Wear (Pants) Through the Regency Era by Suzi Love

Welcome to History Undressed, Suzi Love!!! She's written a fascinating piece on Regency clothing for us -- specifically men's leg wear. Love it! Enjoy!

History of Men’s Leg Wear (Pants) Through the Regency Era

by Suzi Love

Many names have been used for men’s leg coverings through history : Latin braccae, loin-cloth, breech-cloth, breech-clout, braies,  britches, Scots Breeks, trousers, pants, pantaloons, knickerbockers, plus fours, jodhpurs etc. Or even Oxford bags, a baggy form of trousers worn by members of Oxford University , especially undergraduates, in England during the early 20th century.

By the early 1800s, men’s clothing was rapidly changing. Culottes, or knee breeches, and their previous distasteful association with rich aristocrats, particularly in France, were being replaced by first pantaloons, and then trousers. ‘Showing-a-leg’ no longer seemed important as clothing, and lifestyles, became more relaxed.

Breeches before the turn of the century were looser fitting around the hips and made of wool, cotton, or linen, while some silk breeches were still worn on very formal occasions or at court. But coats became  higher cut in the front, so waistcoats and pants were more exposed and the style of pants needed to change.  

Breeches were fall-fronted with a broad fall, the early ones being very wide, hip to hip,  and gradually becoming narrower, hip bone to hip bone. Waistbands were buttoned and then the fall closed and buttoned over the top like a bib. A French Fly was fastened down the centre, but Englishmen resisted this style as it was considered a racy French style.

Riding breeches, or buckskin breeches, were still worn for comfort. These were tighter fitting and had either, or both, button and ties for fastening at the knees. They became longer, to the tops of long boots, while for daywear, pantaloons and trousers replaced breeches.

The word ‘Pantaloon’ comes from the French pantalon, from Italian Pantaleone, a traditional character in 16th-century Italian comedy and literally means a covering for each leg from waist to ankle.

Trousers were fairly close fitting and ended around the ankles, with slits on the sides for foot access. Some had under-the-foot straps to keep them anchored in place. For day dress, stirrups were worn under the shoe but for evening wear, under the foot.

Evening dress pantaloons and trousers were generally of white or black kerseymere or cashmere. Peg-Top Trousers, named for a peg-top cone-shaped spinning top,  were wide and pleated at the top and had very narrow ankles.

Evening dress stockings, whether worn with breeches or pantaloons, were white or natural colored silk, though by the 1820s black silk was popular.

Suzi Love is an Australian author of historical romance, from Regency to early Victorian, and from sexy to erotic.

You can find more of her historical articles at http://www.suzilove.com

And more historical men’s fashion at :

Fashion Men 1800- 1820 http://pinterest.com/suziloveoz/fashion-men-1800-1820/

What's Covering His Naughty Bits?

Welcome back to History Undressed!

I couldn't resist an undressed pic of Gerard Butler...sigh...

So far the polls are saying people are most interested in clothing. Well since we are history undressed, today we will discuss the fabulous life of men’s underwear. Next week I will do female undergarments.

I’m not going to go into t-shirts or *gasp* men wore girdles? I’m simply interested in what covered the naughty bits…


(And yes, men like Beau Brummel wore girdles…it kept their back straight, among other excuses...)



Modern man's skivvies aren't that much different than men of yesterday. But you have to admit that today's man looks sexier than hell in underwear, or at least this model does, YUM!


In ancient times the men wore loincloths, and actually it is noted that shepherd's in France were still wearing them in the 1800's.




But let us move forward to the middle ages in England, when braies, codpieces and chausses came into being.


Below is a picture of Charles V wearing his sexy braies and codpiece.

Men back in the day sure loved to show off the masculine shape of their...legs.



Braies in the middle ages were made out of linen. The man would step into them like pants, and they tied at the waist and around the leg to keep them on. In earlier medieval years the braies and chausses were much baggier, and became more closely fit towards the 1500's. If you look closely at this picture you can see that his braies went to about the knee, where his chausses took over the covering of his legs.


A codpiece was the flap over the genetalia that either tied or buttoned closed. Added to this were the chausses, which covered the legs to keep them warm. Chausses usually attached to the braies with a cord or tie. Nothing was worn over the chausses so you could say that anybody could see a man's underwear all day long.



It should be noted that paintings of workers typically show their braies as being more pant-like than what we think of today's underwear.



The painting above, of Charles V, was done in the 1500's. Prior to men wearing shorter doublets that let it all hang out, they wore tunics, which were longer, and would cover the braies. But that is another day...



The codpiece at first was worn out of necessity, seeing as the braies were open, and chausses only covered the legs, a man could be completely exposed... And with the shortening of the doublet in later years, a man could be walking around with his package hanging free. Which could be good or bad, depending on how naughty you were.




Henry VIII was known for padding his codpiece...was he compensating for something?



This picture of Jonathan Rhys Meyers, from Showtime's, The Tudors, is skantily clad in his hollywood version of braies. Hold on, I need to wipe the drool off my chin...

The picture of the real Henry VIII exposes his over stuffed cod...piece.


Henry's padding of his codpiece set about a trend and many more men would pad their codpieces, and even shape them oddly...trying to bring attention to their virility I'm sure.




During the Regency and Victoian eras, men's underwear changed only slightly. There were no longer any braises and chausses, but drawers and hose.






The drawers were about knee length, with an opening in the front for personal matters, ie. urination, or in my mind, easy access! They were made of cotton, wool flannel and for some, silk.





I don't know about you, but I prefer Colin aka Mr. Darcy in the buff...


Now onto sexy highlanders...What did they wear under a kilt?





You guessed it...nothing! Talk about sexy...








If you ever encounter a highlander, I dare you to ask him what he has underneath, you may be surprised at the answer... They love it when a lady asks, it gives them a chance to tease you. Here are some typical answers:

How badly do you want to know? (very badly!)
On a good day, lipstick. (Bad boy!)
Sorry I'm a bit shy, and not good with words. Give me your hand... (he's not shy at all!)


Hopefully some of the information in this blog is helpful to you. If not, at least you can drool over the pictures!

Until next time...let's keep these men of history, undressed...