Vintage Wide Leg Pants

Today's post Vintage Wide Leg Pants from Vintage Dancer.

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Clik here to view. Vintage Style Wide Leg Pants- back in fashion for fall 2015

Wide leg pants are back in fashion for fall

I was out shopping the other day observing what was in fashion for fall. The one item I was most excited to see again were vintage wide leg pants. Thank goodness! I despise skinny pants with a passion so seeing so many great wide leg pants, especially those with high waists makes this vintage loving gal very happy.

Wide legs and high waist pants or trousers have been a fashion staple from the 1920s to the 1950s with the occasional recurrence before and after then too. The current trend borrows the look from the 1970s which originally borrowed the look from the 1930s so to me they are 1930s. But let’s not take my word for it just yet. Instead take a look at some pictures of wide leg pants through the decades and see where today’s wide leg pants take inspired from.

1920s Wide Leg Pants

With a great deal of 1910s to1920s fashion being inspired by Asian clothing we first begin to see the silky lounge pant. The lounge pant or pajama pant was worn by high fashion stars at home for entertaining or just beautifully lounging around the house. The pants sat at the natural waist and hung down to just above the ankle in a straight cut with a roomy fit. They often came with a matching tunic, also with an Asian design.

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Clik here to view. Actress Gertrude Olmstead, 1920s Asian pant set

Actress Gertrude Olmstead, 1920s Asian pant set

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Clik here to view. Late 1920s Asain inspired women's pant set

A full Asian pants ensemble

Some silk pants were also worn with a silk or velvet lounge jacket, a style borrowed from men’s smoking jackets.

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Clik here to view. Lousie Brooks wearing lounge pants and jacket 1920s

Lousie Brooks wearing lounge pants and jacket

These wide leg lounge pants became increasing popular the late 1920s. They were not just for movie stars. Regular folk were wearing them too- mostly at home or on vacation to seaside destinations.

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Clik here to view. 1929 casual lounge beach pajamas

Read more about 1920s women’s pants history.

1930s Pants and Beach Pajamas

By the 1930s pants for lounging at home (or sleeping in- the pajama), pants worn for casual summer beach attire (Beach Pajamas), and sport pants were a regular part of everyday fashion.

The sleeping pajama was very similar to the beach pajama. Wide legs and a tunic or button down blouse with a matching belt was the pajama style for most of the 1930s. Nightgowns were still worn too but there was something less personal about pajamas that made them more likely to be worn at home without the need for a robe as a cover up. I image many women just wore them all day long to do their chores in too.

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Clik here to view. 1930s ladies sleeping pajamas nightgowns

1937 Ladies Pajamas, Sleepwear

There were however lounge pajamas that were not meant to be slept in (although they certainly could.) Instead they were designed to be worn as leisure wear, especially to tropical destinations or cruises. Light and airy they were perfect in hot weather (they are amazing to dance in too!) They were called Beach Pyjama instead of pajama although the later was used more often. They could be just pants but often were jumpsuit with suspenders, halter tops or a scoop neck shirt in contrasting color. The front was modest but the back was all skin!

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Clik here to view. 1934 Sporty Beach Pajamas

1934 Sporty Beach Pajamas

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Clik here to view. beach pajams ladies

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Clik here to view. 1934 Beach Pajamas with exposed backs

1934 Beach Pajamas with exposed backs

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Clik here to view. McCalls Beach Pajama pattern- look at those prints!

McCalls Beach Pajama pattern- look at those prints!

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Clik here to view. 1930s style beach pajamas

1930s inspired beach pajamas at Nordstrom

The 1930s gets the credit for having the widest legs and wildest pattern in the century. They started at a nice roomy fit and went crazy with oversized pleated legs. Clown pants come to my mind when I see these monstrosities.

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Clik here to view. McCalls 1930 very wide beach pajams with a anchor decal

McCalls 1930 very wide beach pajams with a anchor decal

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Clik here to view. 1931 McCalls cover with beach pajamas

1931 McCalls cover with geo print beach pajamas

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Clik here to view. 1930s beach pajamas with very wide leg

1930s beach pajamas with very wide leg

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Clik here to view. 1930s Beach Pajama pattern by Wearing History- Highly Recommended!

1930s Beach Pajama pattern by Wearing History- Highly Recommended! Also the wide leg Smooth Sailing Trousers come ready made.

The beach pajama was not the only resort clothing or sports attire women wore in the 1930s. A more modest blouse and pant set became part of leisure wear for non-beach goers. Designed as sport clothing they were adopted by women regardless if they played or not. “Play clothes” was another word used to label this new set of clothing. Women’s pants were still not acceptable outside of playing sports or vacationing.

With a matching top and bottom set sewn as one the Jumpsuit was born. The 1930s jumpsuit usually had sleeves to keep with modest. Most of todays’ jumpsuits are sleeveless like they were in the 1970s.

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Clik here to view. Beach pajamas turned modest play wear. 1930s pattern

Beach pajamas turned modest play wear

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Clik here to view. 1930s Style Jumpsuit

1930s Style Jumpsuit at Modcloth

The pants were high waisted and wide legged but not the oversize drapery of extreme beach pajamas. The trend was a nautical one with big white sailor buttons up the fronts and a stripe down the side. A wide cuffed hem was also part of the fashion.

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Clik here to view. 1930s Women's casual pants

1930s Women’s casual sporty pants

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Clik here to view. 1937 Women's Sailor themed pants, shorts and long coulottes

1937 Women’s Sailor themed pants, shorts and long culottes

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Clik here to view. wide leg pants modcloth clear

Every Opportunity Wide Leg Sailor Pants at Modcloth

The culotte was a short pant with wide flowing leg. It looked like a cross between a pant and skirt. It often came with a matching blouse or two (one modest, one not.) Today the culotte is also sometimes called the gaucho pant and can be long for shorter.

Overalls were also part of the wide leg pant set. They were mostly a work wear item but could also be worn for leisure.

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Clik here to view. 1938 coulotte set, overalls, and pants.

1938 culotte set, overalls, and pants.

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Clik here to view. 1930s Repro Culotte Pants. On trend for fall fashion 2015

1930s Repro Gaucho Pants at Unique-Vintage

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Clik here to view. 1936 Ladies ready to play tennis in coulette, pants and pant set.

1936 Ladies ready to play tennis in culotte and pants.

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Clik here to view. 1930s custom sailor pants made by Nudee Dudee

1930s custom sailor pants made by Nudee Dudee

1940s Wide Leg Pants

In the 1940s women’s continued to wear sporty pants as leisure wear. The beach pajams was out of fashion as rationing during WW2 made the beach pajama a waist of valuable fabric. Thew new need for women was pants to work in. Sturdy cotton twill and denim pants and overalls were modified from men’s work clothes to make factory workers out of women.

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Clik here to view. 1940s Work wear and sport wear

Work wear and sport wear

With more and more women working and getting used to wearing pants in public it wasn’t long before fashion followed and women could wear pants outside of just work or leisure. Read more about the history of 1940s pants here.

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Clik here to view. Vintage 1940s pants and blouse by Wearing History Clothing

My vintage 1940s rayon pants

Pants were still wide leg with a high waist band with full hips too. Some pant legs tapered a bit during the war years.

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Clik here to view. Classy Women's 1940s day to day pants with wide legs

Classy Women’s 1940s day to day pants with wide legs

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Clik here to view. Katherine Hepburn 1940s wide flowing pleated pants

Katherine Hepburn 1940s wide flowing pleated pants

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Clik here to view. Vintage Style Wide Leg Pants- back in fashion for fall 2015

1940s style wide leg pants at New York and Company

Culottes were still worn in the 1940s but they thinned down from the skirt like shape of the 1930s to a short pant or long short with a knee length.

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Clik here to view. 1947 Women's Skirt, Pant and Culoutte

1947 Women’s Skirt, Pant and Culotte

1950s Wide Leg Pants

The 1950s is where we say goodbye to wide leg pants. In first few years pants fit much like they did in the 1940s with high waist, full hips and a wide by taped leg at the ankle. Denim jeans remained fuller than cotton pants for a little while longer but even they narrowed. The 50s pant shape was now an inverted triangle.

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Clik here to view. 1950s jeans crop pants

1951 denim jeans with a wide but getting thinner fit.

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Clik here to view. 1952 pants plaid teen sports

1952 Women’s pants and culottes

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1950s style cropped wide leg jeans at eShakti

In the mid 50s to the end of the 60s pants became slimmer and slimmer. Only with the boho hippie movement going into the 70s did wide leg, bell bottom, pants come back into fashion again. They copied the 1930s style too with a revival of flowing fabrics and extra wide shape.

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Clik here to view. 1970s wide leg pants and skirt

1970s wide leg pants return!

Shopping for Wide Leg Pants this Fall

Now that we looked at some vintage wide leg pants what about those fabulous new wide leg pants I saw in stores for fall? I pulled some of my favorites into these shop pages:

1930s Women’s Pants – Flowing extra wide beach pajamas, jumpsuits, culottes and sailor pants. Many of these will work for the 1920s too.

1940s Women’s Pants – Wide leg, high waist sailor pants, overalls, coveralls and denim jeans.