Length of trouser leg with Officers Pinks

[Better Duck]

Triggered by the full length pictures of Paddy in his jackets - and trousers (lucky for us . On some of them you can see the trouser leg falls easily over the (officer's low quarter) shoes, which brings me to my question.

On Duxford last July I bought a pair of ELC Pinks (beautifully made!!) with the trouserleg way too long. I'll have to ask a trusted seamstress to shorten the legs, but how far: what was the usual trouserlenght in WW2 for those trousers? Does anyone know that and maybe even may post a picture (if Paddy's length of trouserleg as shown above, wasn't the norm in those days?)

Thanks,

Peter

 

[Mojave Jack]

I'm not sure how standardized it was, but the regulation for Marine Corps trousers is to have a 3/8" bias cut (with the longer portion to the rear), and long enough to break once on the toe of the shoe. The cuff of the trouser should just touch the welt of the heel block in the back.

 

[Zemke Fan]

Like most everything else WWII-AAF...

I think that the trouser length varied widely by individual. However, given the muddy conditions at a lot of the UK and Med. bases, I've seen a lot of "greens" that are hemmed pretty high. Of course, the pinks were primarily and "off base" garment, so they might have been longer. -- ZF

 

[Story]

The answer is in the Officer's Guide (probably the 1942 version) - hopefully someone has it.

From what I remember (and don't cut cloth on my word here), the length is dictated by one 'break' in the front crease and the preferred hem is a "West Point style" (lower in the rear than the front, slight angle).