Big Chuck Says: “My Dad Wore Knickers…And I Might Too!”

I think I am going to try and revive knickers as an acceptable fashion statement for men.  If anybody can do it, I think I am the man to do so.

I came across this great old photograph of my father, Don D'Imperio, taken when he was 10 years old in 1938.  As you can see he is proudly wearing what look like a fairly new pair of knickers.

Knickers is short for "Knickerbockers."  They were short, baggy pants worn by guys after the turn of the 20th-century.  They were mostly worn during sports and play. Writer Washington Irving coined the name for one of his characters in an early work, Diedrich Knickerbocker in "A History of New York."  It is from this short-legged style that today's modern baseball uniforms descended.

Apparently it was considered a rite of passage when a young boy went from "knickers to long pants."  Apparently my Dad hadn't reached that milestone yet.

I think the style makes perfect sense.  Kind of a rough and tough nuance to a comfortable pair of work pants.  Not that my job is taxing, but sometimes I do have to wrestle with an obstinate  pair of headphones or a persnickety computer mouse at work.  I think they make perfect sense. Yes, I might just be the man to bring knickers back in style.

I wonder if I can find a pair in a 42 waist with 32 legs?  Being the fashion icon that I am, however, those baggy socks would never do.

Sorry, Dad.