Because.
There has never been given an official explanation, it's just for our fanservice.
The whole "they're not panties so it's not embarassing joke" hinges on the fact that they have never explained why they don't wear pants.
In SW-verse they ARE wearing pants, those ARE pants to them, it's simple as that. It's completely different universe, why can't we just accept that in SWverse people don't see anything odd about not wearing clothing that properly covers the legs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGQEAiZJMco

also, for the witches at least, there are functional reasons for not wearing pants. the strikers. in the earliest iterations of strike witches, they wore skirts when they weren't fying.

also: the reason they don't wear pants is because they are girls in the 1940s. you should be asking why they aren't wearing skirts.

>>633
>in the earliest iterations of strike witches
What do you mean? How early? I have no memory of something like this

>>634
In the pilot they wore longer shirts or shorts or something while on the ground. Plus the character design was atrocious (that's where the whole Yoshika's hair is a bird comes from)

>>635
The bird hair in case anyone wanted to see it

>>635
Skirt =/= long shirt. Many current witches have shirts that don't show panties if the angle is normal.

>while on the ground
In the ova they do not change their clothing depending on whether they are on the ground or if they are in flight. Hartmann has those dumb shorts on all the time and Lynette has skirt on all the time.


So the "they wore skirts when they weren't flying" is false, some of them wore skirts, but they wore them all the time, and no one changed their clothing for battle.

And I still don't see any indication to believe that trousers would necessarily obstruct the strikers. It might be "true", but it's still something the fans just made up, not something entirely canon the series creators told us.
As >>572 said, we have never been given an explanation, and that's the point of it all.

>>638


i was referring to the first manga that got cancelled after like 4 chapters

>>639
Maidens of the blue sky, it lasted 3 chapters. I forgot they wore skirts when on the ground, but it's not translated so I wonder if they explain it. Although being an early iteration, I'm not sure if something said in it has any weight.

As I said, I don't doubt it's not "true" that pants and skirts would be impractical during flight, it's not that hard to deduce, but I would like to know if that has ever been said anywhere officially. Like in Maidens of the blue sky, even though it's outdated.