Sans Culottes: Why Today’s Baggy Trousers are Rooted in Protest.

Namely, in the French Revolution.

(Which had numerous roots in fashion, and is very fascinating from a fashion historians lens. But that’s another story.)

Sans-Culottes literally translates to ‘without breeches’, but in 1793 the Sans-Culottes were a revolutionary society, and militant group, whose rejection of the slim fitted trousers of the social elite was a demonstration of camaraderie with the ‘poor and virtuous’ artisans and peasants that they deemed to be morally superior to the clergy and ruling class.

If you aren't up to speed on your French history the French Revolution was a 10-year uprising and period of political upheaval that led to the overthrow of the French Monarchy.

In an act of reclamation through physical presentation, which is a beautifully common thread throughout fashion history, these culottes were worn in an act of celebrating the ‘ordinary’ people of France. Both uplifting the groups of society who were in the midst of overthrowing a royal family, but also to celebrate the social mobility and freedom that came with the revolution.

Now, if you’re here you probably are well aware that Fashion has been a visual indicator of social status since humans came to be. With Tudor monarchs enlisting Statuatory Laws to enforce class divide through fashion, and women’s positioning in society being visually showcased with feminine, impractical daily uniforms.

In the 1700s fabric was extremely expensive, clothing wasn’t mass produced like it is today and dressing in beautifully hand made, elegant clothing was an important display of wealth. The fashionable dress for men was a three piece suit and every detail down to the fabric choices, tailoring and trims was an important indicator of his status. One important detail of these fashionable outfits was that they were form fitting, and actually quite restrictive, indicating that their wearer was a man of leisure, not of the working class.

So what were the Sans-Culottes wearing?

They were wearing the uniform of the working class, as many of them actually were farmers, artisans and other workers. Their clothing was practical, looser, and a basic coat and waistcoat would sit atop ‘le pantalon’. This siginficant difference in immediate and recognisable attire is what could tell you who someone was with a single glance, and is where the Sans-Culottes chose to take their name. They had a pretty typical uniform as detailed by historian Katy Werlin: ‘a short jacket (le carmagnole), wooden shoes, (les sabots), and a red cap of liberty (le bonnet rouge)’.

We don’t tend to think about it now, but there is so much power in visibly showing where your allegiance lies - think of the watermelon keyring, or rainbow badge that you might wear today. Or of other powerful political groups who visibly reinforced their presence like the Black Panther Party.

Another historian, Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell, has defined the Sans-Culotte’s adoption of this style in comparison to how we might reject authority today: “Their working-class trousers served as shorthand for their radical pride in their humble origins and egalitarian values. In many ways, it was comparable to young people proudly wearing torn, distressed, or sagging pants today: a deliberate and highly visible rejection of authority and polite society in general.”

Today we don’t necessarily equate baggy trousers with revolution, but quality they are still doing something disruptive (despite being a mainstream fashion trend, adopted by the elite, rich and celebrity) we connect them with teenagers, skateboarding, being slouchy, being messy, being imperfect. And in an instagram-fuelled world where actually every minor feature of our physical identities are carefully and intentionally crafted, been able to pretend that we are chucking on some baggy trousers that are practical, and not thinking about how we look for hours each morning - is an attempt at rebelling. Or looking like we’re rebelling.

It’s interesting that there’s a shallowness in todays use of baggy trousers to feel like we’re challenging something. The Sans-Culottes anti-fashion, fashion also become somewhat of a trend and was adopted by some of the elite classes to show their political sympathies, their rejection of the norm was what today we’d call ‘interesting and disruptive’. It also might have saved their lives, as being visibly on the side of the revolution was important in a terrible revolution that saw many people lose their lives for as little as wearing the wrong colour.

We might not find ourselves at risk when we wear baggy trousers today. But plenty of our more deeply rebellious and politically motivated clothing can still result in extreme reactions. Young men in hoodies and young women in keffiyehs, for example, have faced terrifying repercussions for this clothing and its noted affiliations.

Class boundaries are extremely blurred now, with the majority of the ultra-rich cosplaying as working class because we all know thats who the real creativity sits with. But you can still speak through your clothing, and you’ll consistently hear us say that what we choose to wear each day is as important as everything else we say and do that day.