1810-1820 ca. Pantaloons, Probably Military, British. The type of pants worn by men in Jane Austen’s times when wars were being fought all over the world, especially in Europe. Machine-knitted white cotton decorated with cream silk braid on sides and fronts as seen on Hussar uniforms. Cut to fit the leg and button bottom at waist with three buttons. Front fall buttons over five buttoned fly, two horizontal pockets at front below waistband and fob pocket in waistband. Four metal buttons for braces, two front and two back. Cotton ‘puff’ centre back waist and two linen tapes for waist adjustment. via Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK. collections.vam.ac.uk.

Pair of men’s pantaloon trousers made of machine-knitted white cotton and decorated with cream silk braid applied down the sides and on the fronts. This imitates the hussar uniforms of the period and appeared on fashionable men’s dress. The pantaloons are cut to fit the leg and button at the bottom with three buttons. The pantaloons fasten at the front with front falls buttoning over a five buttoned fly. There are two horizontal pockets at the front below the waistband and a fob pocket in the waistband. There are four metal buttons for braces, two at the front and two at the back. These probably are original. There is a cotton ‘puff’ at the centre back waist and two linen tapes for waist adjustment.

Pantaloons also brought the glamour of military uniform into men’s fashionable dress, especially when teamed with Hessian boots. Uniforms worn by the various armies during the Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815) were often very colourful and lavishly adorned with braid and tassels. It is hardly surprising that some of these attractive trimmings should have infiltrated fashion, particularly when nationalistic feelings ran high. Civilian pantaloons were often ornamented with military-style braid that was applied in a vertical band of topside Russia braiding. They were not, however, generally decorated on the front, which suggests that this pair was for military use. The silk braid is applied in the form of an Austrian knot, which was a popular motif on pantaloons of the light cavalry such as the hussars and light dragoons.