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- undated [1875-1900] (Creation)
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A pair of narrow-leg underwear trousers (drawers) made from light yellow chamois leather. They fasten at the centre front with a button fly, featuring five white buttons, with hand-stitched buttonholes. Each cuff has a short vent, secured by an internal button. The centre back includes triangular panels on either side of the centre back seam for added structure.
The waistband, front fly, and inside cuffs are lined with brown sateen cotton. White cotton tape is sewn into the inside of the waistband at the back and both sides of the front, designed for attaching trouser braces buttons. The construction is a combination of machine and hand stitching.
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From Inside the Westminster Menswear Archive:
CHAMOIS LEATHER DRAWERS
Maker unknown
1875–1900
These men’s drawers are part of a two-piece set that also includes a longsleeved top. Chamois leather is known for its absorbency and softness, which are valuable attributes when a material is worn next to the skin. In European menswear, lower-body-covering undergarments were worn as
early as the Middle Ages and were referred to in Old English as bréc (breeches). This style of underwear is also known as long johns, named after the boxer John L. Sullivan, but were more commonly made of knitted cotton or wool. These drawers are primarily hand-stitched and have mother-of-pearl buttons on the button fly and at the ankles. Narrow cotton tapes sewn into the yoke at the waist are intended to connect to trouser braces in order to keep the underwear up.
Leather, Cotton
Archive no. 2020.23.2