A trouser is a garment that covers each leg separately, with the two legs joined at the crotch. That one idea, two tubes and a seat, links a baby’s pull-on pyjama, a bride’s sharara, a cricketer’s whites and a tailored suit trouser. This lesson gives you the definition, the names and the parts, so every later lesson speaks the same language.
What you’ll learn
- What makes a garment a trouser, and what does not.
- The names for trousers in Indian English, Hindi, Kannada and around the world.
- The parts of a trouser, in English and in the Indian tailor’s words.
- How trousers for women, men and children differ in the same parts.
The definition
A trouser has three things:
- A body part that sits round the waist or hips.
- Two legs, each a tube of fabric of any length or width.
- A crotch, where the two legs meet and are joined, front to back, between the legs.
The crotch is what makes a trouser. A skirt or a lungi is one tube for both legs. A pair of medieval hose or Indigenous North American leggings is two separate tubes with no seat. Only when the two tubes are joined through the seat do you have a trouser. Shorts, leggings, jumpsuits and dungarees are all trousers by this test, because they all have that joined crotch.
The names
- Trousers is the usual word in India and Britain. Tailors say “a pair of trousers” or simply “a trouser”.
- Pant or pants is everyday Indian English and American English. In Britain “pants” means underwear, so take care when writing for readers abroad.
- Pyjama (Hindi-Urdu pājāma, from Persian, “leg garment”) is a loose, drawstring trouser. English borrowed the word from India.
- Salwar or shalwar, churidar, sharara and gharara are Indian and South Asian trousers with their own cuts (see Trousers across India and South Asia).
- In Kannada, people say pyānṭ (ಪ್ಯಾಂಟ್) for trousers and chaḍḍi (ಚಡ್ಡಿ) for shorts. An older word, suruvāḷa (ಸುರುವಾಳ), is used for a pyjama-style trouser. (Kannada spellings: teacher to check.)
The parts
| Part | What it does | Tailor’s word |
|---|---|---|
| Waistband or casing | Holds the trouser on the body | belt; nefa (casing for a nada) |
| Rise | Height from crotch to waist | rise, seat height |
| Crotch curve | Shapes room for the body between the legs | fork, golai |
| Seat | Covers the back of the hips | seat, hip |
| Fly or placket | The opening that lets the trouser on | fly, zip patti |
| Inseam and outseam | Inside and outside leg seams | inside leg, side seam |
| Hem | Finishes the leg; its width sets the shape | mohri (bottom opening) |
Indian drafts add a few parts of their own: the kali (the shaped panel in a salwar or kalidar pyjama), the asan or gusset piece that gives crotch room in some salwars and pyjamas, and the nada (drawstring), often finished with decorative latkans. Tailors’ words vary from town to town; learn the ones your teacher uses.
In more depth: women, men and children
The same parts change shape for different bodies. Part III covers this fully; here is the outline.
- Women’s trousers are usually drafted for a smaller waist in proportion to the hips, with more shaping over the hip and seat, and sometimes a shorter front crotch. The fly, where there is one, often laps right over left. Many women’s styles have side or back zips, or no fly at all.
- Men’s trousers are drafted for a straighter hip and need more room at the front crotch. The fly usually laps left over right. Tailored men’s trousers often have a back waistband split at the centre back seam, so the waist can be let out later.
- Children’s trousers change with age. Babies need room for a nappy and easy openings for changing. Toddlers need a longer crotch for the round tummy and room to crawl and squat. Older children need growth room: adjustable waists, deep hems that can be let down, and reinforced knees.
These are tendencies, not laws. Fly direction differs between makers, and every body is its own. The point of a good draft is to fit the body in front of you.
Length names
Trousers are also named by length: shorts (above the knee), knee-length or knickers, capri and pedal pushers (below the knee to mid-calf), cropped, ankle or 7/8, and full length. Part VII lists every one.
One-piece trousers
A jumpsuit, playsuit, dungarees, a boiler suit or a baby’s romper is a trouser joined to a top. The trouser part follows all the same rules, with one more: the body length from shoulder to crotch must fit too.
In more depth: what is not a trouser
- Skirts, lehengas, lungis, mundus and sarongs: one tube or one wrap for both legs.
- A dhoti or nauvari saree tied with a back tuck (kachche): draped, not sewn, but the tuck between the legs divides it, so it behaves like a trouser. the lesson The family: dhoti, mundu, lungi and other wraps looks at these “draped trousers” closely.
- Leggings in the old North American sense, and medieval hose: two separate leg coverings, tied to a belt, with no seat. Modern leggings are full trousers.
- Culottes and divided skirts: trousers that look like skirts. They have a crotch, so they are trousers.
Tips for learners and teachers
- Lay a trouser flat and trace the crotch curve with your finger, front then back. Feel how the back curve is longer and deeper. That difference is the heart of trouser drafting.
- Turn a pyjama inside out and find every seam. Count them: a simple pyjama may have only four main seams.
- Collect the words. Ask the oldest tailor you know what he or she calls each part; write it down with the town.
- Teachers: hand round three garments (a salwar, a pair of jeans, a child’s pull-on trouser) and ask students to name the same five parts on each.
- Use both inches and centimetres from the first day.
Common misunderstandings
- “Trousers are a men’s garment.” No. The earliest trousers were worn by riders of all genders (see History: the first trousers), and in India and much of Asia women have worn trousers for centuries.
- “Leggings are not trousers.” Modern leggings have a crotch seam, so they are close-fitting trousers.
- “A culotte is a skirt.” It looks like one when you stand still, but it has two legs.
- “Rise and inseam are the same thing.” Rise is waist to crotch; inseam is crotch to hem. Together they make the full length.
For earning and teaching
Knowing the parts by name makes you faster and clearer with customers. A customer who says “it pulls here” is helped most by a tailor who can say “the back crotch is too short” and fix it. In a class, the parts are the vocabulary for everything that follows: teach them first and test them often.
Sources and uncertain points
- Indian tailors’ terms (nefa, mohri, kali, asan, golai, zip patti) vary by region and workshop; the forms here are common in north and south Indian workshops but are not standard.
- Kannada words pyānṭ, chaḍḍi and suruvāḷa: usage and spellings to be checked by a D&D teacher.
- The direction of fly laps for women and men is a convention, not a rule; makers differ.
- The Persian origin of “pyjama” is well established in dictionaries.
- Main source: D&D ebook Encyclopedia of Trousers for Women, ch. 7 and 11, widened.
Check yourself
- Can you say, in one sentence, what makes a garment a trouser?
- Is a lungi a trouser? Is a culotte?
- Can you point to the rise, inseam and mohri on a real trouser?
- Do you know what a kali and a nada are?
- Can you name one way a child’s trouser differs from an adult’s?
Key terms
- Crotch (fork): where the legs join.
- Rise: crotch to waist.
- Inseam: crotch to hem along the inside leg.
- Mohri: the hem opening of a trouser leg.
- Nada, nefa: drawstring and its casing.
- Kali: a shaped panel added for flare.