Pants

Item number Ed1.304 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

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Description

Trousers made of white ramie. Trousers have a wide, straight waistband from which the legs angle out in a wide V. There is a continuous seam on the inner edge of the legs and rounded crotch and second seams, front and back, about one third of the width away from the centre seam. An additional seam, front and back, angles away from the centre of the crotch to one of the leg seams. The inner edge of the trousers is rounded in a convex curve, narrowing to the ankle. All hems and seams are very narrow.

History Of Use

Korean men’s traditional trousers have not changed in construction and style from the middle of the Chosun Dynasty until the present. Trousers constructed this way (wide, with a rounded crotch, no centre seam, and with the legs angled outwards) are comfortable for horseback riding and for working. When worn, the waist is cinched in with a ribbon tie, as are the ankles. The trousers taper in at the ankles to make them appropriate for riding horses. Ramie (mosi) was hand-woven by masters who were members of guilds.

Specific Techniques

The ramie cloth (mosi) is hand-woven. The trousers were constructed of six pieces, which were aligned when assembled. They were machine-stitched.

Narrative

Most of the clothing in the J. McRee Elrod Collection was made for him and his family by friends while they were living in Korea, much of it by Kim, Sung Sook. She and her family lived cooperatively in the same house as the Elrod family. While they were there, the Elrods preferred to wear Korean clothing on very cold days and for social occasions. They found it to be more comfortable than western clothing in cold weather, as public buildings were unheated in the period immediately following the Korean War. It also was more comfortable for floor seating in Korean homes, and easier to store with limited furniture than western clothing.