Are we better off without pants?

[antisocialmunky]

Ever since western civilization has had the congnizance to look at back on its past, it has been just a tad obsessed with the fact that people did not always wear pants, but some combination of tunic/skirt. So I ask this question, was the adoption of pants from the Indo-Iranians really such a good idea?

-The pants + shirt uses more cloth than a tunic or the shirt + skirt combo. Thereby costing more time in labor and skill to produce which could have been put to other things like... well not weaving pants! Weavers could have specialized in other things like metallurgy and stuff.

-Pants are more intricate to make. A toga or tunic takes less man hours.

-Despite being useful in cold weather, most people live in low-mid latitudes and pants actually increase the amount of surface area that radiates heat. If instead you had a single tube with foot holes that was flexible enough to allow comfortable movement, you could save heat.

-Over-tight pants decrease fertility and I for one don't like my junk getting in a bind.

-It takes less time to put on a tunic or skirt + shirt combo. Those man hours over the period of several centures would add up big time and lead to mroe time to do other things like science.

So EBers, are pants worth it? Think of all the time, energy, and resources that would have been saved if people weren't making pants and instead other forms of clothing?

(yes I expect a 100% serious discussion about how pants have retarded progress in the western world. But seriously, why did we end up with pants vs other forms of bottom clothes? Seriously, why did pants take over?)

[Caveira]

Banquet for thought


My take on it: you're a travestti!

no seriously, actually, it sounds reasonable, there's nothing we can do now though

[A Very Super Market]

Well, you don't need to worry about scraping bare skin if you're wearing pants.

[Fluvius Camillus]

It's late night here so it's rather a funny discussion.

I think pants are good, because they offer some more protection. The little things that may hurt your legs are taken by the pants, ideal for workmen who work outside.

~Fluvius

[m046720]

I feel pants are the way to go. no animals can crawl up to your what-not.

[Watchman]

And less frostbites on your wossnames during cold winters.

Also, pants have pockets. /discussion

[Ibrahim]

well, arabs conquered more land than the romans, while wearing Kilts

I guess its a good idea to dress in a dishdashah (arabic for "long tunic"). Its loose and comfortable, and it protects legs just as well as pants.

my grandad used to wear it when he was alive.

[IrishHitman]

well, arabs conquered more land than the romans, while wearing Kilts

Yeah, but looked who they conquered and how.
Easy pickings except for the Persians.

[Ibrahim]

Yeah, but looked who they conquered and how.
Easy pickings except for the Persians.

I know-I'm just jk.

in any event, I must say, practical or not, a properly worn persian pants or roman tunic, or modern dishdashas, pants, or highland kilts are all way better than this

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

if there is anything more impracticle, then its having your pants like you're about to use the toilet

[bobbin]

Ha! can't agree more, there was a boy in my old school who used to wear his jeans so low there was actually a gap you coulds see through between the top of his trousers and his boxers. Most unpleasent.

[abou]

I'm quite fond of the University of Edinburgh tartan. I should probably get one since renting it for every special occasion will wrack my wallet.

[IrishHitman]

Ha! can't agree more, there was a boy in my old school who used to wear his jeans so low there was actually a gap you coulds see through between the top of his trousers and his boxers. Most unpleasent.

What?

Barbaroi Americans....

CRUCIFY AND/OR ENSLAVE SUCH PEOPLE.

[Ibrahim]

Ha! can't agree more, there was a boy in my old school who used to wear his jeans so low there was actually a gap you coulds see through between the top of his trousers and his boxers. Most unpleasent.

most distasteful.

but I can tell you, you got lucky; when I first came to Texas, and got into Boorwood* high,anywhere between 1 in 20 to 1 in 6 males in any given class wore that style at any one time. I kinda stuck out, seeing that I prefer high-waisted pants.

*actually brazoswood. "boor" was a pajorative addition reffering to the low intelligence level of the non-AP students.

[miotas]

If anyone here has ever been in 40+ heat then you will know that the less skin you have exposed to the sun the cooler you will be, plus you avoid having nasty burns, I can't imagine how painful a sunburnt penis would be, I'm cringing just thinking about it Of course the best item of clothing to keep you cool when it's hot is a big floppy broad brimmed hat, even better is a flap cap(but those look daggy )

[Andronikos]

Of course the best item of clothing to keep you cool when it's hot is a big floppy broad brimmed hat, even better is a flap cap(but those look daggy )

Or that Arabian dress mentioned by Ibrahim. Actually if it wouldn't look weird I would wear turban or hat all summer.

Back to topic. I believe that underwear has many pros. One of the the most prominent is that it protects against infection (especially women who have shorter urethra). Infection of urinary system could be really nasty (haven't experienced myself fortunately).

[miotas]

Or that Arabian dress mentioned by Ibrahim. Actually if it wouldn't look weird I would wear turban or hat all summer.

I agree that it would be cooler, but I don't think it would be as practical as trousers, and why is wearing a hat when it's hot weird?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I do

[Aemilius Paulus]

So what would Romans wear in/near the Alps, in the winter?

[Mikhail Mengsk]

I think pants were introduced by eastern peoples who used them for riding horses. Their use would have become common in roman-barbarian kingdoms, i think. Anyway, they are obviously better for riding and for rough terrains, where larger tunics would become trapped by plants, spikes, and other similar.

All of this is IMHO, i've no historical evidence of that.

@Aemilius- they wear their standard clothes, i think. Culture is hard to change, even if you are freezing your jewels XD

[Andronikos]

why is wearing a hat when it's hot weird?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I do

I believe it is not, but in my country among young people yes. Baseball caps or bucket caps (I don't know if it is considered being a hat) are more common. Man wearing a hat is a rare sight in the streets.

[fleaza]

i think itd be easier to run in pants than in tunics. plus, tunics would rip easier because of the ease in which an object can catch it and rip it

[lobf]

Go walk through a field or forest in a dress and then tell me how much pants suck.

[miotas]

Go walk through a field or forest in a dress and then tell me how much pants suck.

Do it often do you?

I have changed my opinion on matter, pants have been outlawed in this country, and there hasn't been a single complaint from the populace. Clearly pants are unnecessary.

[Cadwalader]

Sure trousers may be less practical than tunicae, but should we also quit EB forever and begin playing with pine-cones? Trousers are the height of civilization! Whenever I put mine on, I think about the proud tradition of pushing through the wilderness, driving the savages in front of them like a farmer's shovel does with dung. Care must be taken in this age of globalisation, for once man has dorned the trouser, there will be nothing to stop him.

[The Persian Cataphract]

I'll be blunt.

Trousers are useful because they are, de facto, more versatile and practical than togas (Taking several hours to properly arrange), kilts or dishdasha-robes; first of all, they protect the legs better from cold and surfaces which could cause chafing while at the same time retaining most if not all of the mobility with little hindrance, in difference to a long tunic-robe like the dishdasha.

Another useful property with direct military consequence was heat loss; only idiots wear leg armour of any kind without a cloth-backing or spolas. Same gor any limb or part of the body, really. Fact is, this philosophy was applied to wearing loose clothing on top of the armour as well for the exact same reasons providing double isolation. Eventually Graeco-Roman fashions would adopt several aspects from Partho-Sassanian styles, which can be seen in early Byzantine art and onwards.

The adoption of trousers is actually quite a rational process; Herodotus makes an admission for the Persian entrepreneurship to have discovered most of the world, either by sea (Sataspes) or by horse-back (Likely the medium of transportation used by Scylax of Caryanda). Because there was no faster means of transportation than by horse, it also comes as no surprise to read about laudatory passages of the Greeks in regards to the Achaemenid royal couriers. The royal road itself was obviously built for swift horseback transportation between Lydia, Cappadocia, Babylon, Elam and into Persis.

Trousers are worn today, because we'd look like tools in elaborate blankets which take several hours to arrange just for shits and kicks. The Kandys/Kantûsh also prevailed against the Chlamys, as our jackets and sweaters resemble the former model the most. Practical clothing catches on everywhere.

[Atilius]

I for one have to say that Pants are overrated. Honostly, if i could, i probably wouldnt wear them. It gets so humid here in minnesota that its unbearable to wear pants. Shorts are ok, but pants, meh.

Gah! What about mid-January when it's twenty below and you're outside trying to get your @!#%&@!!! car started? Don't you want to have children?

Trousers are useful because they are, de facto, more versatile and practical than togas ..., kilts or dishdasha-robes; ...

Indeed, sir.

I'd like to add a little-known fact: pants can save your life.

Should one be so unfortunate as to be accidentally precipitated out of a water craft and in to the, uh..., water, one need only slip out of one's trousers, tie the trouser legs together near their bottoms, grasp the trousers firmly by the waistband above the water and then bring them down sharply, submerging the waistband. This action forces air into the trouser legs, and by keeping the waistband submerged in front of one while placing one's head between the inflated trouser legs, and leaning back so that one's head rests on the knot tying the legs together, one has an improvised life jacket.

It actually works; I had to do it in order to get a merit badge when I was a boy scout. Regrettably, the air leaks out in about 30 seconds or so, but you just repeat the process. It's better than treading water anyway. Or drowning.

[Celtic_Punk]

jeans like those foolish scene or emo kids wear are extremely bad. A good pair of semi baggy pants of a breathable material are best. I like wearing my old BDU pants on the regular because they're made of breathable material plus they give me a lovely amount of room down there.

I live in Canada, it's either shorts or pants in the summer, Pants are a must in the winter. Unless you're a damned fool