Knickerbockers

Accession Number: CR.71.22


Label 1: Knickers, USA 1925, Outseam 35,” Purchased with Costume Council Funds

Label 2: MP, 0203, RKO PROPERTY


This pair of knickerbockers is made of light brown cotton corduroy dyed with a dark brown zigzag pattern. There is a metal snap at the waistband and four dark brown plastic buttons in the button fly. The garment has two side seam pockets, a fob pocket on the right hand side, and two back pockets. The left hand back pocket closes with a medium-brown plastic button. The legs of the garment end in cuffs made of brown and black hounds tooth check. There is a two-pronged metal buckle on each cuff. The garment is not lined; however there is a strip of white fabric on the inside of the waistband. On the inside of the garment, the right back pocket is stamped “RKO PROPERTY.”

During deconstruction, the cuffs were removed. The seams of the knickerbockers were removed until there were four large corduroy panels, two for each leg. On the strip of white fabric on the inside of the waistband, a third label was uncovered. A small paper label, printed in blue ink and with hand written numerals, had been glued to the fabric and hidden beneath the construction of the fly.

Label 3: N. 1387, Yds. 131, Folder 8, In case of error return this ticket.

A damaged pair of boxing gloves were disassembled. Using the pieces as patterns, a new set of pieces were cut from the corduroy. Each glove required four pieces: one for the back of the wrist, one for the back of the hand, one for the palm side of the hand, and one for the palm side of the thumb. The pieces for the back of the hand and the back of the wrist were machine-sewn together. The pieces for the palm side of the hand and the palm side of the thumb were also machine-sewn together, and a strip of the hounds tooth check fabric was machine-sewn on top of the seam. To the inside of the palm piece, a piece of white fabric from the original glove was sewn along two lines, leaving a channel into which a tubular piece of foam from the original glove (used as a grip when the wearer makes a fist), was inserted. Next, a final piece of fabric from the original glove was attached to form the pocket into which the hand would be inserted. The original fiber stuffing from the gloves was sandwiched between the new front and back pieces and these were hand-sewn together. The openings of the gloves, at the wrists, were bound with strips of the hounds tooth check fabric, and tabs of the same fabric, along with the metal buckles from the garment, were attached to the wrists to allow for the tightening and securing of the gloves. The piece of pocket fabric with the RKO PROPERTY stamp has been appliquéd to the outside wrist of the right hand glove. A blank piece of fabric from the same pocket has been appliquéd to the outside wrist of the left hand glove.

The accession number has been embroidered onto two pieces of fabric from the garment’s pockets, and these have been appliquéd to the wrists of the gloves.