Chronicles of the Willi

Well, here it finally gentlemen! Would I ever go back on my word? I hope this shall inspire y’all to expand your costume wardrobes; or begin one if that is the case By the way ladies I’ll have you know that the gentleman’s costume is far from boring.
I realized that my last post on this subject was a montage of pictures quite out of order. A little different this time. Here are my pictures and the outline/explanation/discussion is below.

B.C
We all have a general idea of what people wore in the Old and New Testaments so I won’t go in depth here. Surprisingly, the Bible has quite a lot to say about clothing. My family has been reading through Leviticus and I confess I do enjoy imagining how the splendid the priests garments looked! I give my hand to those expert seamstresses back then I still can’t comprehend how they wove an entire garment in one piece with no seams!

Greek/Roman:

These garments were generally loose robes, and made of one or two lengths of fabric. I’m putting these ancient empires together because they are very similar in their style and make (to me anyway) . The middle-upper class male citizens of Rome were entitled to Togas, which they wore over a short tunic. The Greek and Roman armor varied more in the non-essentials such as the shape of their shields or type of helmet. Nonetheless I have a photo of both Greek and Roman soldiers.

A.D

Moving on to the Middle Ages. Men’s clothing obviously varied with the type of social class, occupation, and nationality. My study here is regionally centered in Western Europe.

With the birth of the church, bishops and leaders began dressing simply or ornately to distinguish their position. Knights wore either heavy armor, or leather jerkins with chain mail on top for battle. Peasants wore simple tunics and breeches, usually accompanied by long elf-like hats. Yeomen such as Robin of Locksley wore the legendary “Lincoln Green”, snug breeches with a loose shirt/vest and belt. (If any body can tell me what Lincoln Green is I would be most appreciative)

Because the movies Two Towers, Return of the King, and the Chronicles of Narnia borrowed immensely from the Medieval style, those said movie pictures are in this category.

Renaissance: Around this time biblical doctrine, the arts, literature, inventions, and yes costumes flourished. The costumes grew in ornate embroidery, gorgeous velvets, and produced a general “look” for their shirts that continued until the Jamestown era. The “tops” (for lack of a better word) generally consisted of 2 layers of mid-thigh length shirts with a belt around it, wide sleeves gathered at the wrist, sometimes accompanied by a short cloak of the same length. They wore breeches or very snug tights, and flat hat rather like a beret embellished with feathers.

Shakespearean/Elizebethian/Pirate. I put the Pirate section in here because (in my mind) most of the buccaneer period extended when Sir Francis Drake seeking out the Spanish Main. But I just noticed that some of my pirate pictures contain a few very Colonial elements. My apologies!

Collars for both rich men and woman began to stick out horizontally around this time. But since I found so many more sensible attire for this period, I didn’t chose any pics with those collars I think this is when pants began to widen and have that poofy look. A prime example is Captain John Smith, a hero remains a paragon of perseverance for us treasure hunters :-). Loose linen shirts became widely worn, and depending upon their funds, a velvet or leather doublet went upon that. When I designed Walter’s costume for Jamestown, I decided to skip the doublet because I surmised it would be rather hot! Good thing I did too.

Armor was surprisingly still in use among the gentlemen adventurers in the New World. Knee length full cloaks were a must during cold weather, and “flop-over” boots were used everywhere.

Cavalier/Musketeer: Some of the elements of this period are similar to the previous one, but I just had to make an entire category because it is my (so far) favorite! I can’t pin my finger on it but something about just looks well… dashing.

A little background for the history buffs…Most everyone knows that Musketeers were the personal guards for the French kings beginning in 1622. But few know about English counterpart, the Cavaliers. They were birthed in the early 1640s during the English Civil War when the country was split between the Loyalists and the Pariliameners. Cavalier was the name Parliament-ers gave to staunch highborn supporters of King Charles the I.

This look or style is characterized by the “Cavalier hat”, a felt or leather hat with one side flipped up with a plume sticking out of the gap. And of course, don’t forget that mustache and goat-tee! They wore white shirts which by this time began to show ruffles at the sleeve ends and on the collar. A belt was worn over the shirt, or a doublet or jacket. Their capes were knee to floor length, and they wore the same type of flop over boots. Depending on the occasion, Cavaliers and Musketeers wore leather or white gloves that “belled” out half way up the forearm. They were both known for their extravagance and attention to dress.

An then for duels which were so common in those days a Musketeer or Cavalier would always carry about their rapiers. The French style rapier looks rather flimsy to me, I prefer the English myself (like the one Walter has). But then again I’m biased.

Colonial: The ruffles got more ruffly, and the knee-length coat with the open front typifies this period. Top it off with a tri-cornered hat! Though I’m sure they wore boots when they were riding, they mostly wore knee-length breeches, white stockings, and buckle shoes. Men would wear powdered wigs to make them look older and wiser. Interesting thought - back then age was respected and valued.

The military style of this period basically stayed the same to the Napoleonic wars. So pardon me if some of these look the same as the next section.

Napoleon/Regency. (I’m calling the military costumes Napoleon, and the civilian dress Regency. Same time period)

Officer’s clothes especially in this period were studded with gold buttons, braids, and shoulder embellishments. Color of their uniforms and shape of their hats varied greatly with nationality, position or branch of service (i.e. army vs. navy) They wore swords or sabers as well as pistols.

The Regency gentlemen wore frock tail coats, waist coats/vests, top-hats, ruffled white shirts, breeches and riding boots, and a special type of white tie called a Cravat. Many Equestrians more or less dress this way for dressage or hunting events. All men (except those who were staying at home or dancing) wore English riding boots, which haven’t changed that much if you look at them today.

Civil War: The civilians continued the top hat and their coats generally began to look like Abraham Lincoln’s, except on formal occasions tail-coats were worn. Their casual coats might have been split in the back, but they certainly began to look more “suit-ish”.

The soldiers of both North and South had the same basic style. Their jackets had 2 rows of buttons and were reached about mid-thigh, with a sash or a belt went on top of that. The enlisted men were stuck with those short caps that we associate with the Civil War. One reenactor told me they did a horrible job of keeping the sun of your face and neck!

Frontier/Cowboy: This overlaps on the civil war and actually continued through the early 20th century. I’m sure everyone knows what a cowboy looks like and with good reason. They are popular chaps. Why even Teddy Roosevelt himself was a cowboy at one time! And since Mexico does has something to do with the Wild West, so I’m throwing El Matador in here as well.

Early 1900s: This period is typified by Tweed suits, or the “Sherlock Holmes” cape/cloak, along with boater or derby hats. This is as far as my study goes because I don’t really care for any of the styles after this period -they got a little strange! Fashion mainstays are still fashion mainstays: Suits. Jeans. Button down shirts.

Some more resources on gentlemen’s period costume are:

Gentlemen’s Emporium and Jas Townsend

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Filed under: Odds and Ends, sewing on January 29th, 2008