From uniform to civilian wear... practical?

[Edward]

Recently, as I've been looking at my wardrobe and planning what I'm clearing out to release space (and hopefully funds) for more vintage style pieces, I've been eyeing up some of the reproduction WW2 era uniform trousers and wondering....

Really, I ended up along this track looking again at Indiana Jones' costume - the trousers of his adventuring gear always put me in mind of USAAF officer's pinks. This in turn reminded me of my earlier years when 90% of the trousers I wore were 'combats' purchased from various army surplus stores. It seems to me that there are a very wdie range of late 30s / early 40s style military trousers in production for the re-enactor market. Has anyone had any luck purchasing these to wear in the context of civilian clothes? Obviously, the aforementioned pinks would be great, but what else? (I'm very much liking the presumably RAF pair of navy trews that Captain Jack sports in Torchwood). I even saw a pair of plain black Panzer division trousers that I think would look great... presuming they have "normal" ankles, not some sort of breech-cuff? Am I absolutely mad here, or is this viable? (Obviously I'd avoid designs with side-piping....).

 

[thunderw21]

You're not mad at all.

I haven't used any of my wools or pinks for everyday wear, but I have worn my HBT trousers on multiple occasions. Comfortable, useful and the look good.

I'm sure other repro WW2 clothing items would work well for everyday use. Heck, some do it already. I remember Rooster used a British battle dress or similar uniform for daily wear and it worked quite well.

Vintage military items are great inspiration for everyday items. There's a reason we see military-inspired clothing in retail stores. Recently I've been thinking about making a jacket similar in design to a "Panzer wrap", though I hope any nazi connection to the design would be lost on all who would see it.

 

[MrBern]

I havent dealt much w/ woolen reproductions. Some of the lesser repros are reported to pill.
But yes, in my college days I wore the black cotton combat pants dyed punk black & loved them.
Right now I have several WWII era US GI & officer pants that I mix in with modern shirts & jackets.
Then in the summer I switch to surplus khakis.
Military jkts can be a hard sell, but the trousers are classic & work well with everything.
That is if you like highwaisted trousers in 18 oz wools & heavier....and dont forget the suspender buttons.
The repros are generally a bit lighter.

 

[Story]

This might give you some additional perspective -

http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0952-4649(1993)6%3A4%3C283%3A'YBFFT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-J

'Put Your Best Face Forward': The Impact of the Second World War on British Dress
Peter McNeil
Journal of Design History, Vol. 6, No. 4 (1993), pp. 283-299
This article consists of 17 page(s).

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Edward,

Original Army, Navy, and RAF gear (1950 pattern and earlier) is readily available in your size. For a fraction of the cost of repros. And without the . . . erm . . . modern fit issues of the repros - that is, the terrible fit of modern repros. They can often be found unissued (unworn).

The KD trousers i was wearing last night, for example, were 1950 pattern RAF. You'll generally pay around 10-20 GBP for these, depending upon condition, but 20 GBP is pushing it for even a mint pair. I prefer the Army issue with the field dressing pocket, but it's not like they're rare either.

bk

 

[Feraud]

Military pants are a definite option for civilian wear.
Here are a couple of examples I recently found.

They go great with leather jackets, boots, sneakers, etc.

 

[BellyTank]

The trousers Feraud has pictured above, in the first image, are post WW2 US Army wool or wool/nylon sergeof a darker-than-WW2-OD shade. They are readily available from US surplus and of course, eBay. I have some of these and they will do for a civilian ensemble- you could even dye them. They have that great cut- fitted above the bum and thenn wide, straight legs.
Perfect.

You can get them on eBay for as little as US$10.

B
T

 

[Edward]

Thanks, guys - useful information.

BK, where did you find those in London? Anything I should bear in mind for eBay searches, or features I should watch out for? It's been a while since the local army surplus places were my first port of call for all my wardrobing needs, but I do recall an awful lot of stuff that was more recent used to get labelled as nearer war era!

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I didn't find them in London. Alan Eardley found them in Exeter. My other pair (with the field dressing pocket) i found in Aberdeen.

That being said, these things aren't all that rare in the London Surplus shops. And eBay is packed with originals in all sorts of sizes.

bk

 

[LordJohnRoxton]

This thread leads into a question I've been mulling over for a bit. I would like to get a few pairs of tropical drill pants (from WPG) but I'm unsure about where the waist would lie. Modern measurements put the waist darn near the hips... where did it lie back then?

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Well, on the waist. Where else?

As an example, at 5' 2" or so, i need 11.5" rise. Not the 6"-7" rise standard to modern repros.

bk

 

[skbellis]

WPG Waist

Maybe I am odd, but I wear my waist high for modern standards. I wear my WPG trousers around the navel, which I consider to be my waist. I can't stand these guys I see who have their "waist" positioned barely above their private parts and then claim to wear the same size waist as they did in high school , despite their big bellys.

Cheers,

---Scott

 

[LordJohnRoxton]

Exactly my thinking! I find that many trousers today, especially jeans, are not even cut to be worn at the proper waist any longer!