The Anatomy of an Icon: The Evolution of the JPoL Strap Trouser

(4 minute read)

In last month's blog, I mentioned test marketing the strap trousers at The Electric Ballroom market in Camden Town by wearing the sample pair that I'd made. Little did I know back then that they would become such an iconic JPoL design, adorning the legs of so many people from all walks of life from all over the world, and ending up in a museum! So how did the design come about, how have the strap trousers evolved since their inception in 1999, and why have they remained such a staple of the Strikingly Unconventional wardrobe?

The strap trousers were my first real foray into the world of garment design and pattern cutting. My T-shirts with detachable sleeves were selling fairly well, but I wanted more of a complete outfit. I already had a bunch of 15mm wide webbing and some black plastic side release buckles that I used for the detachable sleeves. My knowledge of pattern cutting was minimal, though, and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to cater for different sized bodies. So I settled on the idea of “self tailoring” trousers - ones that you could pull in or let out to fit. I bought a Vogue trousers pattern and started playing around with it. After wearing the sample to The Electric Ballroom market a couple of times, it became clear that I needed to make more of them. I remember turning down an invitation to Adam from Lab4's wedding because I was on a mission to finish 8 pairs of strap trousers before my next market (Adam later went on to commission a pair of tartan strap trousers with a bespoke Lab4 logo panel). I also had to make myself another pair of trousers because I sold the ones I usually wore to Brighton Museum, along with my boots and a T-shirt with detachable sleeves, for their permanent Renegades Fashion Exhibition.

One of the joys of the strap trousers design is the flexible fit. This proved particularly useful when it came to inventory, with one of two sizes fitting most people. Ramping up production, especially in advance of events such as Erotica and Whitby Goth Weekend in the mid to late 2000s, was made easier with the purchase of a secondhand Eastman industrial cutting knife from Pete, one of my fellow traders at The Electric Ballroom market. This beast of a machine could slice through dozens of layers of fabric in one afternoon. It was scary as hell to use, but it was so satisfying to cut 36 pairs of trousers in one day, knowing that they'd fit most people between a 28 inch and a 36 inch waist! The sewing did, of course, take a lot longer than a day. But, by then, I'd broken the stitch regulation bar on my Nan's old Singer sewing machine through overuse, and I'd bought a Wimsew industrial flatbed machine. And Elaine was working with me.

The early strap trousers design featured patch pockets and a detachable bum flap, but in 2006, based on feedback from customers, I refined the design to include self welt pockets instead of patch pockets. I also switched from 15mm webbing and fastenings to 20mm, and invested in a webbing cutting knife. The range of fabrics that the trousers were available in increased, with a choice of pinstripe, black, marine camo, urban camo, or woodland camo top fabrics, with either black, red, blue, purple or silver linings. I did a few short runs with a space-age looking silver material and a steampunk khaki over the years, as well as a couple of bespoke combinations. I made strap trousers for Blaize Bailey, formerly of Iron Maiden, to wear to his wedding, and Wayne Hussey from The Mission UK bought a pair at an event he was headlining, and I was trading at, in Edinburgh.

As the JPoL range diversified into other garments throughout the 2010s, however, it became clear that I needed to focus the choice of the strap trousers to just one off-the-peg fabric combination, and that was pinstripe with a red lining. With their subtle bondage possibilities, all-round crotch zip, and “subversion of the corporate” vibe, the pinstripe strap trousers were great to wear to a variety of alternative lifestyle events. But, in 2016, TG tightened their dress code and the words “I could make the strap trousers out of leather” fell out of my mouth. Making leather garments generates quite a few leather offcuts, so, in a nod to the designs of Stan Leather and SAM Sylvan in the 1990s, I put these scraps to good use and added patchwork leather strap trousers to the JPoL collection.

In 2025, a former Chippendale visited my stall at London Alternative Market, ordered a full pinstripe suit - strap trousers, strap jacket and corsetwaistcoat - and enquired about getting some trousers and a corsetwaistcoat made from the William Morris parody fabric that is exclusive to JPoL. Initially, I thought that the strap trousers in this finely detailed print would be too much, but, once I'd made them, I changed my mind. They looked great and added another element of subversion to the design. 

I still love making and wearing the strap trousers. They are flexible in their fit, changing as your body changes over the years. With a trunk full of leather offcuts in my studio, I'm keen to add a pair of black and green patchwork leather strap trousers to my personal collection of smooth leather, and William Morris parody ones. If reading this has made you want to get a pair of your own, check out the listings in the Clothing section.