You would be tremendously surprised the socio-political attachments a piece of garment has to the past, and how far the fashion of wearing them dated back to. As a result, TrendTrangle has decided to delve into the history of culottes, to see where this incredible garment came from.
My original reactions to culottes was uncertainty. Yes, it was. Why? Nothing but simply a question of whether this was something I could pull off, especially with the wave of skinny jeans and jeggings being come and gone. (The tight fight in fashion) However, this trend diminished and I started to see more and more culotte styled trends and wide leg trousers popping up, which literally sparked the desire of owning and wearing some culottes. When I first tried them on, it was heaven on my legs. It felt exactly as a skirt would, breathable on the legs, but more practical and comfortable for every wear occasions.
Of course, ever since that first experience, culottes have been largely part of my wardrobe fashion, who would have known? Yet my obsession for wearing culottes sparked my mind to wonder where such a genius creation came from, and what the potential history behind the culottes was. That said, this post will dig deep into the history of the culottes, and how this could be an inspiration for the current trend of wide legged trousers.
Culottes are presently huge in fashion for their trendy and loose style, few people have expressed their uncertainties about the garment, which is understandable. You either love them, or you hate them! They are the perfect item to wear in the summer and in the upcoming autumn season, as a fashion piece of high vintage style. I say vintage because culottes have been around a lot longer than expected.
Back in the Renaissance period: culottes were all the rage. This time it was mostly worn by the aristocratic men, portraying their powerful and all manly demeanor by wearing the pants in society. During this period the style was fastened around the knee by either buttons, strap or draw string, and was worn with socks that covered the lower leg.
By the time the French Revolution came around, culottes became a symbol of wealth and upper-class. Those who didn’t wear culottes had a term of their own called the ‘sans-culottes’ which meant ‘without-culottes’ in French. This highlighted the social hierarchy of the time, pointedly distinguishing the lower and higher class based on the wearing of culottes. How traditional. It tended to be the poorer or lower classes that were labeled as the ‘sans-culottes’ but during the revolution, the term itself entangled with a political meaning. The middle class often engaged in the statement of ‘sans-culottes’ and refused to follow the norm of capitalism, with the statement referring to ‘all men being equal.’ However, due to their out of norm ideology, these revolutionists of ‘sans-culottes’ soon became known as savages in society. No surprise there!
The political component of the culottes only strengthened when it became the first feminist garment for women during the Victorian era. This style of culottes more so mirrored the current trend we have today, with it giving the illusion of a skirt. This garment purposely hung like a skirt, but in fact was split in two. It had pleats wrapped around it to disguise the pant element of the garment. It was worn during that period more so for practical reasons as opposed to a simple fashion choice we have today, as it made sports for women easier. Women would wear these pants for horseback riding, which allowed them to sit properly and ride the horse as opposed to the original side saddle form taken. This made the culotte garment for women acceptable in the Victorian society, as long as it was it was disguised as a skirt.
The first public appearance of clearly defined culottes was by Elsa Schiaparelli, an Italian fashion designer, in 1931. She was condemned over the non-feminine look the culottes portrayed and received great controversy of it by the British press who claimed it looked ‘manly, with a hint of lesbianism.’ This simple act soon furthered to an extent where people became hostile to anyone who wore her clothing, and the French too had to ban women from wearing any type of pant, unless for horseback riding. That went from 1 to a 100, real quick!
Since then, culottes have been coming in and out of fashion throughout the decades, today is one of the biggest current trends as everyday wear. The McPall Pattern company defined culottes as ‘the zombies of fashion,’ suggesting that there is a love-hate relationship on the notion of wearing culottes ‘we say we hate them and won’t wear them, but every decade culottes rise from the dead and it’s yet another culotte moment in fashion history.’ Despite the oddly apocalyptic portrayal of culottes, you cannot deny McPall’s words that the trend of wearing culottes has in fact re-emerged in the fashion industry today. In this sense, they are the ‘zombies of fashion’ and regardless of the grotesque association of this description, as a regular wearer of culottes, one cannot deny the breathable and cooling effect these pants have on making you look trendy and chic.
Are you a culottes or wide leg trouser fan too? let me know in the comments below!