First Ever Trousers

Vogue # 9231 was published in 1985. My daughter turned 2 that November, and I was still in law school at the University of Texas at Austin and running a part-time CPA practice.

I love the comfortable, loose-fitting style. I made the short version of the pants. (pant? I'm never sure which to say) out of an old bed sheet. As I mentioned earlier, the waist was too large, so I took gathers in the back, which resulted in side seams that fall way toward the back. Not something I would wear in public if I wanted to make a good impression, but it works great for around the house and working in the garden. In fact, I love them (it?). Here I am wearing the bedsheet pants and a practice shirt I made from cheap muslin. White muslin is the absolute perfect fabric for a hot, sunny climate.

The pants make my butt look huge (of course, my butt is huge relative to the rest of me, so these pants are only being honest). This would be a marvelous thing if I lived in a time and place where large butts were considered things of beauty. Not so good in the present time and place, but one of the benefits of being an old lady is that one doesn't have to worry too much about conforming to current standards of beauty.

I'm just finishing up the same pants in a peach-colored linen. These will definitely by wearable in public, with a loose-fitting jacket as shown in the pattern illustration, or a long, loose-fitting shirt.