Trouser and drawer fitting

[dermax]

Good morning, folks. Let me start off by saying what a great resource this forum has been. I've been a reenactor for years in various periods, but I'm new to the Civil War. I've spent a good year researching prior to making purchases and I've been very pleased with how it's worked out thus far. I purchased a complete set of uniform kits from a highly recommend and well reviewed vendor. I'm friends with a few great seamstresses who were going to put the kits together for me.

The issue shirt and sack coat are spot on. These are not finely tailored suits, nor should they be, but they fit. The problem comes with the lower body garments. I have a 36" waist (natural waist at the navel) so that was the size I ordered. The finished drawers have an internal waist diameter of over 46". The trousers have an internal waist diameter of around 44". To this day (or at least recently) military pants have a few inches of adjustability, but 8" to 10" seems a bit excessive to me. I look like a subway commercial. We can do a little "fitting", but to make the drawers - for example - stay up at all, I'd need to have the buttons attached on my hip. They're that big. And that much fitting is about as farb as just grabbing a Chinese sutler pair. Or maybe I'm wrong...

And that's the question. How much "adjustability" is to be expected in trousers or drawers? 10" oversized? My Hugo Boss designed "marching through Poland" pants are adjustable around 6". I trust the seamstresses; I married one of them. To me there are two possibilities, either I was sent the wrong size or I was sent the right size and my expectations are way off from reality. I'd appreciate any input.

Thanks

[LeftCoastYank]

Re: Trouser and drawer fitting

Hi Mike,

Dan Wambaugh of Wambaugh, White & Co. wrote a pretty good article about this topic a while back call "Waisted Talent." Here's a link to it.

[Ambrose Bierce]

Re: Trouser and drawer fitting

Having made many pairs of trousers and drawers over the years, I think you may have been sent the wrong items, per your supposition. Your lower-garments don't fit and 10" of adjustment is way too much in the way of being oversized. Period garments should fit you reasonably well without hanging off of you like a peanut sack.

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: Trouser and drawer fitting

Mike,

If you measured your waist as directed by the business from whom you purchased the kit, then that is way off. I have ordered finished garments using my true measurements and had them come to me waaay off size. So, your experience is not unique.

The good thing about a finished garment is that you can simply send it back. Kits... not so much.

The good news for you is that your trousers are too big, rather than too small. You should be able to tailor them down to fit. There are a lot of us on here who can help guide you through the alterations and/or point you toward more resources.

A GREAT resource for you to be aware of if you plan to have more clothing made (or make yourself) is Elizabeth Stewart Clark's Sewing Academy OnLine: http://thesewingacademy.org/index.php

You will find TONS of great info.

As for your trousers...
You'll want to get an idea for how trousers "should" fit, then start assessing how your trousers "do" fit. My hunch is that, the legs of the trousers are probably oversized, just like the waist.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: Trouser and drawer fitting

Hallo!

I do not know if it applies here, but...

Being new to CW era uniforms, there is a "learning curve" of sorts when it comes to the fit AND where the trousers ride. We see this often at so-called Mainstream events where lads are wearing non-Period trousers down on their hips sometimes to the point that "butt cracks' show when their shirts ride up because their trousers are not worn "high waisted" and their is a draft or "gap" between the bottom of the jacket and the top of the incorrect modern style narrow straight waistband.

Another Point I would add is that makers do not all use the same sizing concepts. As a result it can take time to learn whose sizes are what, For me, I often had to order a 'size' up from one maker or a 'size" down from another. Or go with the exact 'size' from a third in order to achieve the same look and "fit."
One maker I had to request that the trouser legs be made narrower, as each leg was something like 2o or 22 inches across and I could have put three of legs into one pant leg.

:) :)

Last, but not least, some makers use their own patterns adapted and adopted to "modern body morphology" while others are use more Period ones. One famous maker's more Period patterns made coats and jackets that were snug across the back of the shoulders , so some modern lads bought a "size" larger so as to get a looser and more modern comfortable fit especially when raising the arms.

Curt

[dermax]

Re: Trouser and drawer fitting

I thank you all for the responses. I don't like kicking dirt at vendors - particularly when I'm really pleased with 95% of the items that I've gotten from them - but now that it seems almost a certainty that the wrong size was sent out, I've contacted them to see what can be done.

To me the drawers seem like a write-off, they're just too big all the way around. Maybe they can be replaced. I still have hope for the trousers... perhaps they can be cut down to fit a little better. I have a feeling that that in itself is a potentially long and in-depth topic. The problem with kits is that you don't really know what you've got until it's done. I'm assuming it would be more correct to make altercations to the finished garment, since a frontline soldier would be more likely to fit his finished pants than cut down pieces before they were fully put together.

The oddest part is how wonderfully all the "top half" garments fit and how off the "bottom half" garments fit. Instructions were followed to the letter. Must have just been an off day.