Brown leather pants worn by Melvin Van Peebles: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A pair of brown leather pants worn by Melvin Van Peebles. The pants feature a 1.5” wide waist band of brown leather with five .5” self-fabric belt loops sewn around it. There are two deep front pockets, one on each side, and an inner fifth pocket inside the proper right pocket. The pants close at the center front waist with a 7” metal zipper with plastic teeth and a .5” diameter metal shank above it. Each tapered leg is made from four panels of fabric – an upper and a lower panel for each leg. The lower panel starts below the knee and all four panels are sewn together at the inside and outside seams. There is a single fold 2.25” hem at the bottom that has been adhered instead of sewn to itself. At the back of the pants, under the waistband, is a 3" wide yoke made from one panel of brown leather. One either side, are two 6” wide pockets. There are two 4” nylon hanging loops sewn to the interior waistband. There is no brand label but the interior of the pants are lined with brown nylon fabric. Sewn to the front, proper left waistband are three black fabric labels with gold embroidered text and one white fabric label. The black label on the far-left reads [MADE / IN / INDIA]. The middle black label reads, [34], and the far right black label reads [SHELL: / 100% LEATHER / LINING: 100% NYLON / RN#2340] on the top and [SPECIALIST / LEATHER / CLEANING ONLY / SHOULD BE USED] on the bottom. The white fabric label on the far right has black printed text on the front that reads [OIA /5953 / 400/690] and [WSI / 3567 /P.O. No / Seq No] on the back.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2000s
• Manufactured by: Unidentified
• Worn by: Melvin Van Peebles, American, 1932 - 2021
• Type: trousers
• Type: pants
• Medium: leather, nylon, metal, plastic, and adhesive
• Dimensions: Length (waist to hem): 44 1/2 in. (113 cm)
• Dimensions: Waist: 15 3/4 in. (40 cm)
• Dimensions: Inseam: 31 1/2 in. (80 cm)
• Place made: United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Black Enterprise
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Fashion
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Musicians
• Object number: 2024.60.3
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: No known copyright restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.