So one figure that pops up a lot in old silent films and cartoons is the character who is so broke, he's wearing a barrel on suspenders instead of a pair of pants. Putting the ridiculousness aside for a moment, a watertight barrel seems like a very skill-intensive object to make. Given that a lot of people would have sewn their own clothes at a time when barrels were still in common use, was a pair of pants really worth more than a barrel?

Also, if anyone wants to go above and beyond, when did the whole 'barrel-and-suspenders' cliche begin?