Formal trousers
Trousers for formal day attire
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Typically, formal trousers are intended to be worn with braces with a fishtail back covered by a waistcoat, and have pleats for correct ironing result and comfort. Likewise, for traditional reasons of formality, they do not have turn-ups, since these are considered less formal.
Name
The British synonym "cashmere striped trousers" refers to the actual name of the stripe pattern, and not to the fabric. Similarly, the slang term "spongebag trousers" or "spongebags" is due to the perceived similarity of the distinctive stripe pattern to traditional sponge-bags, a bag of toiletries (but does not apply to check patterns). In Germany, the synonym "Stresemann trousers" occurs, for the same reasons that the less formal stroller or black lounge suit is called a "Stresemann".
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History
These trousers were introduced in the first half of the 19th century as a complement to the, then widely worn, frock coat. As established formal day attire trousers, they were subsequently worn to go with morning dress, which, along with its less formal equivalent black lounge, in turn, gradually replaced the frock coat as a standard of formal day attire by the 20th century.