F8 - Green Convertible Combats

The original combats were bought from some shop or other in Manchester's famous Arndale Centre, but they were not to remain untouched for long. The seams were cut up to the point of the double-thickness material, which somewhat constrained the length of the flare. Red flare panels were inserted, connected to a zip, allowing the flares to be closed off if desired, which is not often. This is a useful feature for people who cycle, since it allows them to prevent their flares from getting caught in the mechanism - always a source of worry.

A decorative strip of red, patterned border was added around the nonflared part of the hem, a small length of the same border was sewn (back-to-front) on to the back pocket, and a red pinstripe was sewn up the outside of each leg. A row of beads was added to the covering flap of both side-leg pockets to complete the trousers.

These trousers are, as has already been noted, good for cycling. However, this also exposes them to the risks of road accidents, and indeed this pair bear the scars of an incident. A reversing car had caused the wearer of these trousers to swerve into a space where there wasn't any space to swerve into, causing a loss of verticality. As a result, there are patches of thinner, paler material on the right knee, where the pavement hit it. But never mind, all concerned survived...

W=37, w=24½, l=35: θ_F=6.49°, V_F=3924 ml, C=0.20