Men’s costume zero to hero – Part 02 – Breeches
For the reconstrution of a fitting bruoch (breeches) I have consulted different original pictures for the lack of findings. The model seems to be almost the same for this time, knee-length and a little oversized.
Lombardia around 1365-1370
Interesting Detail of the breech-belt and the attatchment of the hose
Buttigliera Alta, Italy around 1410
hose fastened to the breeches with a knob and a Breech-belt detail
Anatomia of Guy de Vigeganot around 1345
Hose fastened with some kind of knot
Smithfield decretials around 1300 – 1340
wrapped breeches
Rutland Psalter around 1260
interesting detail from the leg, where small ties seem to hold the breeches together
Holkhalm Psalter, England around 1350
Collection of breeches in medieval painting (larsdatter.com)
Different theories for the reconstruction of breeches
Our site on the topic male underwear
Very interesting reconstruction of 12-13 century breeches with one piece of cloth
Psalter of Jean de Berry, Paris um 1369
Since most trousers found before and after the 14th century show pattern solutions with 02 tubes for the legs and a gusset inbetween, I have decided to do the same type of pattern, following the ideas of Purrucker and Lehnert, not Thursfield. The construction method is also shown in an original document (Archives Departementales du Nord, Musee 342, Folio 45 recto). I unfortunately know too few of the said document to tell you any details about it and I have no rights to show you a scan of the page. Please have a look at it yourselves in “Le costume médiéval de 1320 à 1480: La coquetterie par la mode vestimentaire XVIe et XVe” or you send me a message, if you know what i mean *winkwink*
The material is white linnen, I simply cut a rectangular piece of linnen twice in the middle as shown above and folded the middle part to the top and the sides to the middle. The middle part (or gusset) does not have to be very wide, it can also be quite small.
Then I sewed it together, leaving the lower part of the leg tubes open since that can be seen on many original pictures. Like that you can afterwards easily fold the sides over each other to stick the breeches into the hosen.
The upper part of the seams I left open and I only casted the sides of the fabric, that leaves two wholes in which it is possible to attatch the ties of the hosen to the breech-belt. This can also be seen in some original pictures.
“Not sexy at all.” said my model :-)
The other parts of the series:
