Men's trousers

Men's wide-legged linen trousers (with a patch on one leg) come from the early 20th century from the village of Drelów in Biała region. They were sewn by machine. They were tailored from four parts: two legs sewn together on the inside (96 cm long, 24.5 cm wide), a belt (96 cm long, 3.5 cm wide) and a strip of rectangular fabric sewn in the back under the belt. They are fastened at the waist with a button (the opening at the front is 15 cm long). Trousers of this type were usually worn in summer as festive clothing, and when worn out were intended for everyday use. They are sewn from self-made linen made in a weaving workshop in the household. To obtain the lightest possible shade after washing, usually in lye, they were dried in the sun, which was supposed to ensure bleaching. At the beginning of the last century, the trousers were worn mainly on weekdays to work, while trousers made from factory fabrics in black or navy blue were put on as festive dress. Their cut was the same. Very often, for urban fashion, they had their legs ironed at the edge with a coal or soul iron to add elegance. In this part of the Lublin region, men wore trousers made of linden, birch or elm bast, cut into strips. Before putting them on, they were wrapped around the foot and calf with a piece of cloth called ‘onuca’ and tied with a string attached to the shoe. The way of wearing them ensured that the legs clung tightly to the body and did not curl. At the beginning of the 20th century, in the area of Biała Podlaska, men increasingly often wore high boots with uppers, into which the legs were inserted.