Pants and belt from an S1W uniform: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A pair of black cotton and polyester cargo pants (a) and a black canvas belt (b) from an S1W uniform worn by Brother Roger. The ankle-length pants have slightly tapered legs that close around the ankle with black ribbon ties that are looped through the cuffs. The pants close at the center front waist with three (3) round black plastic buttons, with the bottom two hidden from the facing side by an additional placket sewn on the button band. There are two (2) inset pockets, one at each side waist, and two (2) cargo pockets, one at each outside edge of the legs just above the knees. There are also two (2) cargo pants on the back of the pants. All of the cargo pockets have a flap closure with two (2) black plastic buttons hidden with an additional placket just as the front waist closure. The adjustable waist band has seven (7) self fabric belt loops and a length of black canvas tape at each side that closes with an adjustable metal slider belt loop.

A tag sewn at the interior proper right below the waist identifies the fiber content, care, style number "PII100-92-C-SE60", and the manufacturer "Propper International, Inc." A tag at the interior center back waist contains size, measurement, and style information, with the name "ROGER" handwritten in black ink over the printed information.

The belt is made from black cotton canvas and closes with a silver metal flip top closure. It is looped through all but the third belt loop counterclockwise from the proper left front waist.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1992
• Manufactured by: Propper International, Inc., founded 1967
• Subject of: Public Enemy, American, founded 1982
• Type: belts (costume accessories)
• Type: trousers
• Medium: Pants: cotton and polyester with plastic buttons;
• Medium: Belt: cotton with metal buckle
• Dimensions: Inseam: 32 in. (81.3 cm)
• Dimensions: Waist (width & circumference): 16 x 34 in. (40.6 x 86.4 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Costume
• Topic: Hip-hop (Music)
• Object number: 2011.33.8.6ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Public Enemy
• 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.