The History of Sailor Pants
Sailor pants began as part of a practical work uniform, worn exclusively for many years by Navy men. But sailor pants always had a fashionable side, even when old salts wore them on the high seas. The bell bottoms are roomy and comfortable. The lines are sharp. The buttons catch the eye. Not only are sailor pants retro; they were also retro when your great-great-grandmother was a girl. The appearance of sailor pants on women's clothing racks, then, isn't all that surprising.
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What's a Uniform?
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During the Revolutionary War, Navy leaders needed ships and ammunition and had no money to spare for niceties such as uniforms. Sailors wore short pants or pantaloons, tied at the knees to keep them from getting tangled in the rigging, shirts or jumpers, handkerchiefs as sweatbands or neckbands, short jackets and flat, narrow-crowned hats.
After the war, the Navy received scant attention and eventually disbanded. The U.S. government didn't reinstate it again until 1797. In 1802, the Secretary of the Navy issued regulations for officers' uniforms, but not for enlisted men's. As more officers and enlisted men chose to remain in service after the War of 1812, the Navy grew in professionalism and finally developed an official uniform for enlisted men in 1817.
Officially Dressed
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Each ship's captain decided how he wanted his crew to dress and deducted the cost of clothing from the sailors' pay. Navy files carry a description of one such outfit, which consisted of a flat canvas hat, complete with ribbon streamers, a blue buttoned jacket and blue bell-bottomed trousers. The first official Navy uniform in 1817 had a summer and winter version. The summer uniform was made of white duck, a heavy canvas-like fabric. The winter uniform consisted of blue wool pants and tops, red vests with yellow buttons and black hats. By 1841, the regulation enlisted men's uniforms had blue vests rather than red, black handkerchiefs and shoes, blue pants, and blue tops.
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Speaking of Fashion
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Through the years, enlisted men continued to wear bell-bottomed trousers. Folklore insists that the reason for bell bottoms was to enable the sailors to roll their pants up while they swabbed the decks or to pull them off easily in the water, but a Navy document states that there's no evidence for either reason and suggests that bell bottoms evolved from pantaloons.
Another popular myth about sailors' pants concerns the 13 buttons on the fly. Although patriotic, the common explanation that the 13 buttons represent the 13 colonies isn't true. Sailors' pants had seven buttons in the late 18th century and 15 in the early 19th century. Finally, in the mid-1800s, the pants were redesigned with 13 buttons for purely stylistic reasons.
Hippies Liked Bellbottoms, Too
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The graceful flared bottoms of today's women's sailor pants look familiar to anyone who grew up in the '60s and '70s when blue denim bell-bottomed jeans were popular, as well as "flares" made of other fabrics, colors and patterns. Although the nautical look was not a fad then, anything with flared or belled bottoms was "in."
The trend toward adopting nautical styles for women's fashions goes back further than the hippies. Following World War II, clothing manufacturers picked up on the country's patriotic pride and adapted bell bottoms for women's fashions. Not only were they symbolic of the Navy, but they were also comfortable and fashion-forward for the times.
Today's Sailor Pants
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The women's sailor pant has a mid-rise waist, button fronts or buttons on each hip. They come in all sizes, including plus, and many fabrics, including denim. You can also buy authentic Navy sailor pants at Army-Navy surplus stores. They still have bell bottoms and button flies, and if you really want that sailor look, you can buy the rest of the uniform, too.
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