I first saw this kind of trousers at my job, sorting costumes, and I thought it was pretty smart. They are called ‘fall front trousers,’
‘drop front trousers,’ or sometimes ‘flap pants.’ Zippers were not in use in the nineteenth century, and having a button front closure on trousers might have been seen as uncomfortable or not elegant enough, the trousers were closed with a ‘flap’ which buttons on the sides or top. Under the flap, the waistband has a front closure so you can open the flap without dropping trou (convenient, convenient.) The pockets are also located under the flap. Trousers like this were worn from the French Revolution onwards (1790s), around 1840 the centered trouser closure was introduced but for a long time the two styles existed simultaneously.



Picture credit to vintagetextiles.com


My very favourite emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was a big fan.
Now you might think, I want one of those! Luckily, Marc Jacobs thinks they’re very sexy too:


I like them, except bathroom emergencies might be a bit of a problem for the clumsy-fingered.
They’re victorians, there are no bathroom emergencies. They just dispose of everything magically! ;) But yeah you’re right, it’s a lot of buttons to unbutton.
I’ve worn them, or a replica of.
It takes a little getting used to but when you do, it’s no harder to unbutton in a hurry than a modern button fly is.
It’s a lot of buttons though (>.<) Thank you for stopping by! :)
[...] Check it out! While looking through the blogosphere we stumbled on an interesting post today.Here’s a quick excerpt‘drop front trousers,’ or sometimes ‘flap pants.’ Zippers were not in use in the nineteenth century, and having a button front closure on trousers might have been seen as uncomfortable or not elegant enough, the trousers were closed … [...]
i think this website is ok but it should describe the victorian clothing more because this says to by victorian mens clothes
Iona, thank you for your input! I’ll write something about Victorian clothes soon! :)
fantastic invention, it should be bought back in fashion, even unto the local supermarkets with big names, not just overseas, but all over the world, i love that type of old clothing