The Cutter's Practical Guide, Part 3 E-Book

W. D. F. Vincent

• Herausgeber: BoD - Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 244

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Once again we have written our ideas on Trouser Cutting. The system herein described is so simple that the veriest novice may learn it and cut smart-fitting garments by it after a few hours' study; but at the same time embracing problems so difficult that many of them still remain unsolved. We trust and believe this work will be found an advance on all our previous efforts. The Essay which won the Federation Prize was our first attempt, and of this the Secretary of the Federation wrote: - "The very exhaustive nature of the first part of this elaborate essay is in itself an excellent work upon Trouser Cutting in every shape and from; added to this, the elaborate treatment of objects with so many excellent diagrams completes a work upon cutting that has no rival." As edition after edition was sold out, we revised and enlarged upon the principals there laid down, and now, after a lapse of fourteen years, we have remodelled the system, greatly improving it in certain directions, simplifying it where possible, and illustrating its application to a large number of styles never before treated in this way. If the verdict of the trade on our first effort was a favourable one, we have little doubt it will be equally appreciative of this one, which not only contains the results of the research and experience of our younger years, but also the fruit of the maturer thought of added years and enlarged experience. This work, whilst being complete in itself, and thoroughly exhausting its own theme forms part of a series of books treating of every phase of a cutter's experience, by the aid of which we hope to place in the hands of the young man who aspires to a position in the cutting room, a book which will supply him with information of a practical and helpful character under every circumstance of his professional life.

Leseprobe

"W.D.F. Vincent was born in Junie 1860 and began his career as an apprentice with Frederick Cooper in Yeovil. After completing his training, he briefly established his own businesses in Oxford and later in Maidenhead as a clothier and tailor, though neither venture was financially successful.

While in Maidenhead, Vincent won an essay competition on tailoring, which was open to all members of the National Federation of Foremen Tailors, titled "The Great National Work on Trouser Cutting, or Defects in Trousers." He submitted his entry under the pseudonym "Oxonian" and won the first prize. This success led him to secure a position with The Tailor and Cutter magazine. In the early years, Vincent contributed numerous articles on tailoring methods and techniques to the magazine. However, due to the terms of his employment, these articles were published without attribution to him.

By the 1890s, Vincent became a leading tailoring authority. His books, such as The Cutter's Practical Guide to the Cutting & Making of All Kinds of Trousers, became standard reference work. By 1917, Vincent referred to himself as a journalist. He died in June 1926.

The Tailor and Cutter magazine and academy were operated by John Williamson & Co Ltd. In the 1950s and 1960s, many tailors displayed their Tailor & Cutter Academy Diplomas, signed by W.D.F. Vincent, as the Chairman of Examiners, as a centerpiece in their shop windows. One such example can still be seen on display at the Museum of Welsh Life at St. Fagans in South Wales."

(cf. https://vincents.org.uk/family-history/w-d-f-vincent-tailor; 15.12.2024)

This edition is a reprint of the legendary Cutter's Practical Guide series; the first book was published in 1890. Although W. D. F. Vincent wrote many books on tailoring, these are the most popular. The entire text has been meticulously read, and the images have been carefully cleaned and edited to ensure the highest quality.

Part 1 – Juvenile Garments

Part 2 – Body Coats

Part 3 – Trousers, Breeches & Knickers

Part 4 – Livery Garments in all their varieties

Part 5 – Overcoats

Part 6 – Ladies' Garments

Part 7 – Defects, Remedies, Trying on

Part 8 – Economical Cutting

Part 9 – Lounges, Reefers, Norfolk, Sporting & Patrol Jackets

Part 10 – Waistcoats for Gentlemen, Ladies, Military & Naval Officers, etc.

Part 11 – Shirts, Undergarments, Collars, Cuffs, Aprons, etc.

Part 12 – Clerical Dress

Part 13 – British Military Uniforms

Content

Introduction

Chapter 1

Taking the Order

The Finish of Seams

The Measures

Chapter 2

Drafting the System

The System in Brief

The Undersides

The Fish and the Dress

The Fly

A Study in Outline

Outline of Topsides

Walking Trousers

The Outline of the Undersides

The Dress Topside

Cutting from the Cloth

The Undersides

Balance Marks

The Ticket

Trimming

Making and Finishing

The Process of Shrinking

Sewing the Seams

How to Examine Trousers

Different Styles of Fronts and Backs

Fly Fronts

French Bearers

Inside Finish of Fly Fronts

Whole Falls

Split Falls

Inside Finish of Whole Falls

Buckle and Strap

Hip Pockets

The Principles of Scientific

Trouser Cutting

Fork

Seat Angle

The Smart Fit

The Topsides

The Undersides

The Cut for Clergymen

Riding Trousers

Bell Bottoms and Working Men's

Trousers

Military Trousers

Infantry Trousers

Cavalry Trousers

Summary of Dress Regulations

Court Trousers

Volunteer Officers

Naval Trousers

Livery Trousers

Sporting Trousers

Dress Trousers

Club Uniform Trousers

Legging Trousers

Equestrienne Trousers

Some Eccentric Styles

Trousers with no Side or Legseam

Pyjamas or Sleeping Trousers

Trousers with no Legseam

Trousers with no Sideseam

Corpulency

Bent Legs

Bow Legged

Knock Knees

Erect and Stooping Figures

Trousers for a Cripple

Sundry Kinds of Disproportion

Large Seat

Small Thigh

Large Hips

Toes turned out

Large Thigh

High Insteps

A Popular Study of the Anatomy

of the Leg

The Shape of the Various Parts

Scale of Proportionate Measures

Trouser Grading

How to Take a Pattern

Novel Ideas in Trouser Cutting

Jansen's System

The G. Smith Improved System

The Gem System

The Best Fitting Trousers in England

The Automatic System

The Federation Prize System

The Simple and Quick System

A Parisian System

An American System

Dr. Wampen's Model for Trousers

Examining the Finished Garment

Some Defects and their Remedies

Tightness at top button at

front of waist

Looseness at Front

Fulness at fork

Creases at fork

Loose material in lap

Vertical folds at fork

Vertical folds from waist downwards

Tightness at knee

Bagging at the knee

Rising from bottom

Standing away at heel

Fulness over the Instep

Diagonal Creases from Sideseam

below Knee to bottom

Diagonal Creases from Leg

to Sideseam

Loose Material at Back of Waist

Horseshoe Folds at Back of Thighs

Twisting of Sideseam

Pocket Mouth Gaping

Inability to Stoop

Trousers Riding up Leg when

on Horseback

Fulness under Ball of Seat showing

itself in Vertical Folds

Loose Material at Hip showing

itself when Standing

Dress Showing too Prominently

One Leg Longer than the Other

Dragging on the Outer Edge of Fly

Trousers too Short in Body

Too Short in the Legs

Trousers Cutting Between the Legs

Dress Taken Out from Wrong Side

Breeches, Knickers and Gaiters

Introduction

Taking the Order

The Measures

Relative Lengths of Leg

Scale of Relative Measures

Riding Breeches

System for Fashionable Riding

Breeches

Farmer's Breeches. Medium Style

Livery Breeches

Dress and Clerical Breeches

Knickers

Various Styles of Knee Bands

Spats and Short Gaiters

Military Pantaloons

Cavalry and Artillery Pantaloons

Military Regulations

Military Knickers

How to make a Highland Kilt

Leggings and Gaiters

Farmers' Leggings

Bishops' Gaiters

Spat Puttees

Gleanings

Gamekeepers' Breeches

Leather Breeches

Hints on Cleaning Breeches

and Leggings

Balance

Conclusion

https://www.becomeatailor.com

AUTHOR'S PREFACE

Once again we have written our ideas on Trouser Cutting. The system herein described is so simple that the veriest novice may learn it and cut smartfitting garments by it after a few hours' study; but at the same time embracing problems so difficult that many of them still remain unsolved.

We trust and believe this work will be found an advance on all our previous efforts.

The Essay which won the Federation Prize was our first attempt, and of this the Secretary of the Federation wrote: — "The very exhaustive nature of the first part of this elaborate essay is in itself an excellent work upon Trouser Cutting in every shape and from; added to this, the elaborate treatment of objects with so many excellent diagrams completes a work upon cutting that has no rival."

As edition after edition was sold out, we revised and enlarged upon the principals there laid down, and now, after a lapse of fourteen years, we have remodelled the system, greatly improving it in certain directions, simplifying it where possible, and illustrating its application to a large number of styles never before treated in this way. If the verdict of the trade on our first effort was a favourable one, we have little doubt it will be equally appreciative of this one, which not only contains the results of the research and experience of our younger years, but also the fruit of the maturer thought of added years and enlarged experience.

This work, whilst being complete in itself, and thoroughly exhausting its own theme forms part of a series of books treating of every phase of a cutter's experience, by the aid of which we hope to place in the hands of the young man who aspires to a position in the cutting room, a book which will supply him with information of a practical and helpful character under every circumstance of his professional life.

W. D. F. Vincent

THE

Cutter's Practical Guide

TO THE CUTTING ALL KINDS OF

TROUSERS

BREECHES, GAITERS, &c.

The following treatise on the subject of Trouser Cutting is the outcome of various editions of what was originally written as an essay for competition, and which was awarded the first prize. Years have gone by since that was first offered to the trade, and with these, changes of fashion have taken place, rendering the style of the original work out of date. The experience gained during those years has not been without profit, so that we are enabled to add much that was lacking and improve much that was weak.

The foundation of the work, however, remains essentially the same. The experience of thousands of our students, who have filled important and lucrative situations of all classes and have had for their customers all sorts and conditions of men, has been that as a system it is all that could be desired, and the man who masters the principles laid down and applies them in an intelligent manner will be able to cut Trousers to meet the most varied demands. The fact that we have had so many students under our care has helped us to realize the difficulties of the learner, and we trust we shall be able to utilize these in making this book simpler than any of its predecessors. Our aim will be to be as practical as possible, we shall keep back nothing that will be helpful, and we shall do our best to make every point as simple as possible as we proceed.

Natural History.

There is a widespread notion that Trousers are a nineteenth-century innovation, and we have seen it argued that as they are mostly used for indoor wear and city life, they will sooner or later give way to the shorter garments — breeches or knickers. As far as the first statement is concerned there is ample evidence that Trousers were worn in the most remote ages of antiquity.

About Breeches and Trousers.

If one is to take literally the book of Genesis, then Adam was the inventor of Trousers. This shows their antiquity. That his first pair were of fig leaves and that he soon changed them for the skins of animals proves their fleeting fashion.

The real beginning of trousers is lost in the darkness of Oriental mysticism, and the first actual record of them in pictorial history is when the ancient — the very ancient — Persian introduced them into his dress.

Then they were long, that is, to the ankles, and short, as in knickerbockers, and both worn with a tunic, the skirt of which reached to the knees. In both of these respects they were not far different from the trousers of today.

Ancient Egyptians of about the same period wore a skirt to the ankles in front of which suspended from the belt, hung a pyramidal- shaped form to represent a segment of the sun. This was his ceremonial dress. For less formal occasions the skirt was shorter, showing legs bare from the knees down.

Greeks, Etruscans, and Roman citizens of that time wore a skirt to the knees, while important personages, scholars, and men in authority wore long robes.

But the barbarian of Eastern Europe early discarded such feminine attributes as skirts and wore real trousers, and may be called the originators of what, not many years ago, were vulgarly called "baggy pants".

When Julius Cæsar landed in England he found the inhabitants wearing trousers, for were they not known as "Gallia Bracata"? — Trousered Gaul. Tacitus mentions them in his history. The troops of Trojan's column are equipped in them. The Museum of Pompeii contains tangible evidence that when that city was overthrown the inhabitants, or, at any rate, some of them, wore trousers, and so one might go on to show that in the ancient world both Viking and Russian, Gaul and Chinaman, Persian and German, all wore trousers.

At the time of the invasion of Britain, the Romans saw and laughed at these garments, which they named braccae, from which the word breeches is derived.

The Franks had a peculiar idea of the use of breeches, and wore them in open-work style, resembling the covering housewives put over what are humorously called "cross-bar" pie. Strips of leather were wound around the legs cross-wise, from the ankles to the hips.

For several centuries during the early part of the Christian era the robe or skirt was worn by the men of the East, while those of the West and North were given to a closer and heavier leg covering necessitated by the severer climate. They were of either the skins of animals or rude cloth, according to season.

The word trousers was derived from trossers or truis, signifying to truss or tuck up, used to distinguish the Barbarians from the Greeks and Romans.

1st Century.

16th Century.

It was used for all sorts of leg coverings and the name appears in the wardrobe accounts of the reign of King Henry VIII.

The Gauls were invariably distinguished in Greek sculpture as wearing leg coverings like unto those worn to-day.

In Scotland and Ireland the garment was known as truis, where its antiquity is only inferior to that of its Oriental prototype.

In the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy there is a pair of trousers of great antiquity. They are "grandly chequered".

Breeches, as an English word, broke into nomenclature during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Previously they had been known in England as "upper-stocks" or "slops".

In an inventory taken at Barmeston, February 28, 1581, there appears among the goods and chattels of one Sir Thomas Boynton, Knight, deceased, "Item, 6 pare of velvet brytches, with three pare of lether brytches".

In 1592 breeches were so wide that it was necessary to build in the House of Parliament a separate gallery to accommodate those who wore them. They were stuffed at the hips, a process called bombasting, as an old writer expressed it, "with woods, with flaxe, with hair also, to make their brytches wyde".

The same writer also says: "They bombasted their brytches with cattle's tails".

A pair of breeches of the period illustrated by Planche look as if they might be the prototype of the padded breeches used on the football field. They are of heavy brown cloth, heavily padded and quilted.

During the same century the gentlemen of France and Germany went into the greatest extravagance in leg coverings.

A German swell of the sixteenth century wore silks and satins, puffs, slashings and ribbons, and rioted in colours. The right leg of his unmentionables were puffed and slashed bulbously from the hip to the knee, each row of puffs smaller than the other, terminating in a bow of ribbons. The puffs were of alternating longitudinal stripes of pink and blue.

The right leg was tightly covered with red silk. The stockings were alike, of pink and blue stripes.

Another German dandy of the same period wore his right leg in puffs to the knee, each cascade of puffs caught by a drooping sash of buff leather. The left leg was very baggy, with longitudinal stripes.

The stripes were alternately yellow and black, or any other fanciful combination of colours, and the stuff was satin.

18th Century.

19th Century.

In England bombasting stopped when Charles I. went to the throne. Short trousers, loose at the knee, end in a fringe or row of ribbons or lace.

Charles II. introduced the petticoat breeches, voluminous, lace trimmed, beribboned and covered with feminine fripperies.

But now also came into fashion sterner things - leather breeches, coats, boots and spurs of the swashbuckler.

While the dandies at court also wore boots of soft leather terminating where the lace began, those of the rough rider of the day were almost hip high, because of the vile condition of the English roads, and they were very big and dashing withal, against which the sword slapped bravely as he rode or walked.

During the reign of William III. tight knee breeches were worn by all classes, and still forms a part of tho English costume. At first they did not reach to the knee and the stockings were brought up over them to the middle of the thigh. Afterwards they were buttoned beneath the knee or fastened with gold, silver or jewelled buckles.

In 1700 men of quality wore tight knee breeches, the long flaps of their satin waistcoats nearly meeting the stockings. Their stockings were of silk, the heels of their shoes were of red wood, and the buckles jewelled. Middleclass youths imitated the style of their betters, but instead of silks, satins, and velvets, were content with "red shag, striped with black".

George II. introduced black velvet breeches. In a satire written in 1727 appears the line, "Without black velvet breeches what is man?"

About 1760 the breeches began to get longer and tighter. The "London Chronicle" of that time says, "the leg in high taste is not longer than a common councilman's tobacco stopper".

Doe and buckskin breeches then came in and were made so tight that the most absurd means were resorted to for putting them on. A man said to his tailor: "If I can get into them I won't have them."

The beginning of the nineteenth century saw the dandy at his height, who went to most absurd lengths and eccentricities in his dress, the Incroyable of Paris. His brecches were as tight as they could be made, and fastened below the knee with loops of ribbons.

The cloth was of the most delicate texture and shade of colour. His stockings were fanciful in design, and his slippers of the most dainty pattern. His coat tails were long and narrow, and hung to the bend of his knee.

Various reasons are assigned for the trouser revival which took place at this time. Planche in his history of Costume says, "Pantaloons, and Hessian boots were introduced about the end of the eighteenth century." Short boots and loose trousers.

The Result of the Yisit of the Cossacks To London, have, together with Frock coats, rendered our dress more convenient and less formal.

Some tell us that they are the result of excessive drinking. At the end of the eighteenth century it was the fashion to drink to an extent almost unknown nowadays. The direct result was gout, and the indirect result, trousers. Knee breeches and stockings were unsuitable for people with swollen legs on account both of appearance and comfort.

Another version is that with the nineteenth century came "this strange disease of modern life, with its sick hurry, its divided — aims". Men wished for garments which could be put on with the greatest possible speed, and hence long trousers were adopted.

And yet another reason given is the French Revolution. To mark their contempt for old Court usages the French substituted long trousers for the Court dress.

More than one debate took place on the subject by the representatives of the people and even Robespierre joked on the subject. The term "Sansculotte" means "without breeches" and was a term of derision used by the aristocrats in reference to the popular party, but was afterwards assumed by patriots as a title of honour. The nation remembered the garb worn before the tyrant Ceasar came, when they thought universal happiness prevailed, and as they were now inaugurating a new era, when universal happiness was once again to be enjoyed, they would wear the garb of their forefathers, and so trousers were adopted.

A writer in a recent number of The Exchange said: "Trousers came into use for general wear with the French revolution. The gentlemen, the supporters of royalty and sound constitutional principles, wore breeches. The "sans culottes", who denounced every one who wore breeches, finally went beyond their opponents and wore twice as much cloth around their legs — in a word, adopted the modern trousers and made them the badge of a party. Napoleon, who was too thin at one period of his life and too stout at another to look his best in small clothes, nevertheless wore them on state occasions after he had been crowned emperor. His army was the first that wore trousers, and they kept progress step by step with the march of the French legions.

"The French trousers were seen in Egypt, in Spain, in Italy, in Germany, in Poland, and in Russia, and with them the neat gaiter. People thought that the manner in which a great conquering nation clad its legs was the correct model, and when the trousers-wearers marched over the wearers of pig-tails and knee breeches at Jena and Auerstadt a decision was given from which the world did not care to appeal."

It is well known that French fashions in clothing were eagerly copied during the early part of the last century, and that may account for their adoption by the English nation. History has strange stories to tell, and one of the lessons she would teach us is that great changes in political life bring along great changes in the dress of the people. Trousers were then handed down from the remote ages of antiquity, and what was re-introduced at the French Revolution was worn by the Persians 1,000 B.C., and possibly by races thousands of years before them.

Let the reason for their re-introduction be what it may, the fact of their popularity is beyond dispute, though it is well to note they were not accepted in all quarters without a good deal of opposition. It is related that they were not allowed at Oxford until 1810, and Cambridge prohibited them until after 1812; whilst as late as 1814 the Duke of Wellington was refused admission to Almack's because he insisted on appearing in pantaloons.

Another time the lady patronesses of the Assemblies at Almack's were much exercised. They had planned an elaborate reception and ball, and were determined that it should not be desecrated by the presence of bucks in pantaloons. Yet they knew full well that the Duke of Wellington would insist on wearing the beloved garments. They could not dare offend him. So the lady patronesses were in despair; they could not and would not yield on the subject of pantaloons, yet they could not afford to risk offending the Duke. In this juncture a bright wit suggested that the invitation contain the following clause:

"Gentlemen are expected to wear small clothes and silk stockings, but any gentleman who is conscious that his figure is not adapted to that costume may wear pantaloons.

With the exception of Wellington and two other daring beaux, all the gentlemen who attending the reception wore small clothes.

Gilray and other cartoonists of the period made savage fun of the new mode. They showed beaux with inordinately long and thin legs, and beaux with inordinately short and fat legs. They depicted men with legs like trees and with legs like compass dividers. In every respect the pantaloons were depicted as unasthetic, vulgar and uncomfortable. Artists refused to paint their patrons in them. Women ridiculed the wearers of them.

Yet the net result of all the warfare was that by 1829 pantaloons, or, as we now call them trousers, were worn by almost everybody, except the delightful old-fashioned persons who stalk so pleasantly through the pages of Dickens and Thackeray in their knee breeches and bag wigs.

They have varied in length, they have fluctuated in width, they have been made in the plainest style, they have been trimmed most elaborately, and they are certainly a distinguishing feature of nineteenth-century dress.

We are now, however, in the twentiethcentury, and, for good or evil, trousers are one of the principal garments of the gentleman's dress, and our duty is to produce them in such varied styles as will meet the requirements of our customers both as regards fit and style.

Before we procced with the more practical portions, it may be well to call attention to one or two

Important Features

Connected with this garment, and first we will mention the fact that the vast majority of men order twice as many trousers as they do coats or vests; so much is this so that they have often been taken as the speciality upon which to build a large and successful business.

In the next place they cover more than half the body, as far as the height is concerned, reaching from just above the waist to well over the ankles, and as from the waist downwards is equivalent to about ⅝ of the height it will be seen that they certainly have more than half the height to cover.

Then, again, they are a garment worn continuously, for whilst the coat and even the vest is often dispensed with when working or in hot weather, yet "decency forbids" their removal except in seclusion; indeed, they are worn as pyjamas for sleeping in, and even when bathing an abbreviation of them are put on.

The demand made upon the garment by the movements and expansions of the body are exceptionally severe, and the difficulty of making them in such a way as to retain their shape after they have been worn for a few weeks is a problem that has called forth many devices of which the best that can be said is that they alleviate rather than overcome them.

A study of the trousers portrayed on the photographs of celebrated personages, from just above the knee downwards is certainly not flattering either to the tailor who made them or the person who wears them, and we trust the remarks we shall have to make on these difficulties and defects will help our readers to avoid many of them and minimize those that are apparently irremediable.

Thus, it will be seen, the subject we start upon is by no means a trifle, but will provide scope for ingenuity as well as science. Art as well as style, application as well as genius. We will, however, lead our reader first through the simple phases of Trouser Cutting, and describe to him the system as we bother him with discussions on openness and closeness, seat angle, fork balance, and adjustment of parts.

Chapter I.

Taking the Order.

First of all then let us describe the important process of taking the order. We will assume the material has been chosen — probably of a striped pattern — checked goods being now, as a rule, voted out of court for this garment, so we proceed to book the particulars, for it is necessary to know what you are measuring or before you apply the tape.

Most gentlemen wear them Fly-Fronts and unlined, but if any doubt exists in your mind on these points it will be well to ask, though here discretion must be used, for an inquiry in this way would be superfluous with the West End swell, whereas, with the country farmer it might be very essential. In the matter of pockets, again, the fashion of the present is side pockets, but it is always well to have your customers' view on this topic. In the following pages we describe side pockets, cross pockets, and frog pockets; then there aro extra pockets frequently ordered such as hip pockets, watch pockets, cash pockets, and in country trades these are supplemented by rule pockets, &c., and all these should be carefully booked if required.

The Finish of the Seams

Is sometimes varied, so that whilst the style of the present period is plain seams, yet it is quite possible to have them raised, piped, braided, striped, and finished in many novels and eccentric ways. Another point upon which you should acquaint yourself is the size of the bottoms desired, as this has a marked effect on the length of the leg; large bottom trousers being required much longer than small bottom. You will also notice upon which side your customer dresses, for whilst the majority adjust their surplus underclothing and person on the left side, yet this is by no means universal and must be noted when measuring. True, most gentlemen who dress on the right side will mention the fact, yet it is the measurer's duty to note this without the help of his customer.