USSR Air Force Trousers

[Marvin]

Greetings
These are currently for sale on ebay.
My question is about the lining and trim used on the interior of the pants.
Was this a practice to conserve material or a personal option?
Thanks for your comments.

[Kohima]

Wow! Groovy.
Any number of reasons behind this...
Many Soviet Officers simply purchased the necessary cloth to produce such garments and, in order to save money, had the item made by their wives, mothers, etc. As you know, the gymnastiorka and Sharovarii are based upon well established civilian clothing, so it was not difficult to produce these things. A Russian friend of mine recalls how his grandfather was issued a length of cloth, for his wife to make his uniform.
Alternatively, they may have been re-lined by a theatrical wardrobe, using whatever came to hand, due to excessive wear.
As you say, these appear professionally made by a tailor, so your guess that it was merely making use of scarce available cloth would make sense.
Either way, I like them!
Nice find, did you get them in the end? (I only just stumbled across this thread, I’m afraid).
Bob

[Marvin]

Thanks for the information Bob. I was beginning to wonder if people thought I was of my rocker.
The reason for asking is that I pick up a female uniform that has similar traits. I have read that the women would modify their uniforms to make them feel more feminine.

[Kohima]

Who knows?
Maybe the lining was fashioned from one of his wife’s dresses, so he could feel a little closer to her... (I’m welling up).
I’d love to see the modified woman’s uniform you have.
Sounds interesting.
All the best,
Bob

[RichieC]

In old times, these types of linings were referred to as (loosely translated): "Babushka's aprons"...