Trousers

Trousers were working-class dress in 18th-century Britain, worn mainly by sailors and miners. They were also worn by little boys during the period 1750-1800 as part of a boy’s ‘skeleton suit’. However, when the Prince of Wales (from 1820 George IV) wore a pair to stroll in along the beach at the new seaside resort of Brighton, Sussex, trousers became fashionable informal daywear for men. This pair retains the fall-front closing found on 18th-century breeches. By the 1820s trousers were acceptable formal daywear for men and remain an essential element of the male wardrobe.