a decent pattern for men’s 30s trousers. this one is from 1934.
i did have this one:
which is a picture of 1933 oxford bags, but it’s a bit much for your average swinger. The Squeeze adores his, though. of course. aren’t they huge? like giant 70s flares. and doods were wearing these in the 30s. originally over plus 4s, which were a little riske at the time. especially on oxford university’s campus, where they were banned. blokes wore oxford bags over their plus 4s to hide the illicit shorter trousers.
while plus 4s were far more radical than the large trouser, they’ve not had a big revival in melbourne swing. i can think of only one guy who’s ever worn his out in public.
i’ve been looking for a decent pattern or picture to inspire a pattern so i can finally make a pair of trousers for a friend who requested them aaages ago.
i’m still scared of making men’s trousers. goddamn The Squeeze. he’s ruined my confidence in my sewing for men…
Hey hi, I’m looking for an Oxford bags pattern – any idea where I might get one? Where did you find that one in your blog? Cheers, Ian
hi Ian,
I don’t actually own that pattern – I found the picture online doing a search in google (dunno what key words – it was a while ago). But I did make up my own pattern (which I never did end up making). I simply started with the top part of a normal pair of men’s trousers, then gathered the hem just below the knee, then added a cuff to tidy it all up (a cuff with a button hole is a good idea, otherwise they’re really hard to get on and off). Some sort of tweed or wool or decent trouser fabric (suiting) would be best.
You could probably find a pattern for plus-fours if you google ‘men’s fashion’ and ‘swing’ or some permutation.
good luck!