Here’s a fascinating article about trousers in the Regency Era written by M.M.Bennetts. Seriously, for those of you who write Regency romances, this is a must read. It’ll crack you up:

Inexpressibles, what were they, you ask?  Very very tight, usually knitted of silk, trousers–almost like today’s women’s leggings, designed to show off a gentleman’s muscular legs to best advantage.  They were also known as bum-clingers and the term inexpressibles said it all–for what respectable woman could express that?… Read the full article here.