ODIOUS TROUSERS.

Auckland Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 143, 18 June 1887, Page 4 (Supplement)

ODIOUS TROUSERS.

A Pica for tbo Knio Brooches of Long Aeo.

No article of clothing moro distinctly reveals the condition of a man's purse than the trousers, The fraying at tho lower edge of tho log, which is sure to come with much wear, is generally taken as a sign of very narrow moans, and the bagging at tho knee, which is also inevitable, beside producing a foundered appearance, like that of a horse which is " gone " in tho forelegs, is a sign that a man has only one or two pairs. It is assumed by the world generally that nobody would wear trousers bagged at tho knee, with all the term implies, if ho could •afford the number of changes necessary to pi'event this phenomenon. In fact, almost the only marked difference remaining in our dny between the clothes of a man ot' fortune and leisure and those of a toiler of moderate means lies in the straightnoss arid smoothness which mark the trouser-leg of the former. His wardrobe always contains a great many pairs. At any, theatre, too, the makeup of a poor teacher or literary, man, or poor devil of any. kind, includes invariably a pair of bajrgy trousers.

And though last, not least, the condition of the trousers in muddy weather is something which it is painful to dwell on, tho conversion of an inch or two of tho bottom into a wet and filthy band is only prevtintable by turning them up, and we all know how' this looks. An effort has recently been made td'mcct the struggles of men of low trousers to escape tho bngeing at the knee by the invention of a machine called "the trousers stretcher," which is literally a metal rack on which the offending trousers are stretched over night and the deformity effaced by a powerful tension in tho direction of their length. It may therefore be said tha,t on the whole kneebreeches are the more democratic of the two. They undergo no degeneration in wear except what comes from the actual destruction of the cloth. They reveal nothing as to the condition of a man's wardrobe until they reach their last stage. They always look neat and tidy and do not come in contact with the ; mud, leaving that to be encountered by a boot or stocking, which can be readily changed. Bub they are in summer a hot garment, owing to their fitting so closely round the knee—a defect, however, which is perhaps compensated by the possibilityj without damage to appearance, of making them very loose. ■

They are, too, now making a gallant effort to regain their old supremacy and oust the trousers. They have made conquests ■of most of the sporting.men and athletes, and have made considerable gains in the continental armios. The Turks, who abanr doned them under Mahmoud, tho reformer, for the (on them) hideous trousers, have gone back to the breeches. Some faint attempts have been made to introduce them again into evening dress, but these have failed, owing in part to tho light and frivolous character of tlioso who have made them. If undertaken in a serious spirit by any oj the crowned heads, or by great warriors and statesmen, or in this country by great railroad men or stock operators, the enterprise would probably succeed.—"New York Herald."