Clothing

Clothing
'''Sailors wore specific clothing to do the job of running a ship. Much like a blacksmith wears particular clothing to suit the specific needs of his craft (heavy apron etc).'''

'''First of all, any seamen had all of the maritime skills that go along with it. Secondly, you would have all of the skills of a naval mariner, that is, have all the skills of a sailor that operates a ship of war. Many pirates were former naval or merchant seamen. Natural materials at the time were linen, fustian, wool, silk, and hemp. Hand stitched seams. Leather items were made with vegetable tanned leather.'''

In 1628 the British Admiralty made sailor's clothing, called "slops," available to press-ganged men. They consisted of a suit of canvas with doublet and breeches, Monmouth caps, cotton waistcoats and drawers, stockings, linen shirts and shoes. The Pursers stood to make a profit from the sales from the slop chest, but since clothing is a necessity, it seemed unfair to allow each ship's purser to name his own price. Thus, by 1663 the Admiralty began to issue specifications for the types of clothing (slops) and set fixed prices. (Admiralty Slops Contract or ASC). It was also stated that they had to be sold before the mainmast, once a week, and in the captain's presence. So, while the Royal Navy (RN) did not have or issue an “official” uniform until at least the mid 18th Century, they did issue a contract for, and made certain types of sailors clothes available to, sailors on their ships and in the major coastal towns where England’s sailors were. Though these slops were not a uniform because there was no "order" for the sailors to wear them, G.E. Manwaring does say that;

"Nevertheless, as these were the only clothes permitted to be sold on board ship, and the men were allowed to purchase them on a long credit, it is safe to assume that the supply was eagerly taken up”. One of the most important facts overlooked time and again when examining the common members of a crew is that seamen of the period did not consider themselves "Navy" seamen, or "Merchant" seaman, they were just "seamen". One year they might be in the RN. The next year they'd be on a trading voyage to the East Indies. That might have been followed with a six months tour on a Newcastle collier, and then maybe a quick jaunt on a privateer, as the fancy and opportunity took them. So even if many hadn't come directly from an RN ship there's every probability that they had RN slops in their chest from earlier voyages.

In 1706, a new contract was issued by the Admiralty for the kinds of clothing that would be acceptable as slops; and they were pretty specific. The contracting system was not all that different from what we have today; that is, the government published what it wanted, and various firms bid on the contract. The winning company had to have slop clothing available at set prices to RN ships. The government even provided "sealed patterns" or samples of each garment that was available in various English ports (even in Lisbon). Sea captains needing to outfit a crew could compare the quality of the local slop supply with these samples. Each contract ran for a limited number of years and then a new contract was issued and opened to bidding.

From 1706 to 1748, each new contract specified pretty much the same set of clothing, with some minor variations, and also specified the price of each article.

The 1706 Contract:





 * Shrunck Grey Kersey Jackett, lined with Red Cotton, with fifteen Brass Buttons, and two Pockets of Linnen, the Button Holes stitched with Gold Colour Thread, at Ten Shillings and Sixpence each.
 * Kersey is a very coarse cheap wool. "Shrunck" appears to mean water-resistant, possibly fulled or felted. "Cotton" probably refers to a type of napped wool.


 * Waist Coat of Welsh Red plain unlined, with eighteen Brass Buttons, the holes stiched with Gold Coloured Thread at Five Shillings and Sixpence each.
 * Welsh red refers to a type of wool flannel; cotton flannel does not appear until the end of the 19th Century.


 * Striped Ticken Waist Coats of proper lengths, to be one Yard in length at least, with Eighteen Black Buttons, the Holes Stitched with Black Thread lined with White linen and two White Linnen Pockets, at the Rate of Seven Shillings each.
 * Ticken/Ticking a strong material of linen, basket woven, and usually in stripes.


 * Red Kersey Breeches lined with Linnen, with three Leather Pockets, and thirteen white Tinn Buttons, the Button Holes stitched with white Thread, at the Rate of Five Shillings and Sixpence each.
 * Kersey is a very coarse cheap wool.


 * Striped Shagg Breeches lin'd with Linnen, with three Leather Pockets, and fourteen white Tinn Buttons, the Button Holes stiched with white Thread, at the Rate of Tenn Shillings and Sixpence each.
 * Shagg also called Duffel - a coarse woolen fabric with a thick tufted nap.


 * Striped Ticken Breeches of proper lengthes, lined with white linen, and two linen Pockets, with Sixteen Black Buttons, the Button Holes stiched with Black Thread, at the rate of five Shillings each.
 * Ticken/Ticking A strong material of linen, basket woven, and usually in stripes.


 * Shirts of blew and white chequered Linnen, at the Rate of three Shillings and Threepence each.
 * Chequered or Checked linen of the time seems to be more of a windowpane style an not as much checked like an Italian table cloth.


 * Drawers of blew and white chequered Linnen, at the Rate of Two Shillings and Threepence each.
 * Leather Capps faced with Red Cotton, and lined with Black Linnen, at the Rate of One Shilling and twopence each.
 * Not sure what exactly these caps are. Cocked hat and Monmouth Caps are worn during this time, but don't appear in any era ASC lists.


 * Small Leather Capps stich’d with white Thread, at the Rate of Eightpence each.


 * Grey Woollen Stockings at the Rate of One Shilling and Ninepence per Pair.


 * Grey Woollen Gloves or Mittens at the Rate of Sixpence per pair. 


 * Double Sold Shoes, round Toes, at the Rate of Four Shillings per pair. 
 * Interesting that the "fashion" of the period calls for Squared toe shoes, but the ASC calls for round.


 * Brass Buckles with Iron Tongues at the Rate of Three Pence per pair.
 * These slops lists continued in much the same vein with minor variations until 1748. Since there was no order compelling Royal Navy sailors to buy slops, this could not be considered a uniform, but it amounted to such since these were the clothes most commonly available to them. According to G.E. Manwaring, this is the costume that British seamen were most often pictured wearing in period prints and paintings. Grey jackets, red breeches or trousers, striped waistcoats and blue and white checkered shirts was the de facto uniform for this era.

Sailor Hats


The point about caps is interesting. British seamen were not issued hats until relatively late. They were known for their thrummed and Monmouth caps in the 16th through 18th centuries. For some reason, knit caps disappear from the slops list for several decades. Despite this we know through other sources that knit hats and cocked hats were worn during this period, they just do not appear on the slop contracts during the 1690-1720 period.

It is not until the list of 1730 that you find the leather caps replaced with "Caps, woolen milled" and "Caps, yarn”. The "Caps, Woolen, milled yarn" is repeated in 1739, when for the first time "Hats" (with no other description) is added. G.E. Manwaring believed that trousers were exclusive to British sailors in this era. He cites a English report from the Pacific in which some Spanish seamen recognized them as British because they were wearing trousers. There were various types of hats available for the early 18th century. From the tricorn ( also found written "tricorn" or "tricorne" or called "three cornered hat") to a knit hats, it all depended upon your personal preferences. There was a lot of variety among individuals during the late 17th Century and early 18th centuries, but there was a common theme regarding clothing that was based on the particular ideas of fashion during that particular date.

Tricorne
The early tricorns (up to about 1700 or so) seem to be "bigger" than the ones from about 1710 on. By "bigger" meant the width of the brim is wider. Later ones seem to have a thinner distance between the crown and the edge of the hat which gives it a "smaller" appearance.

The picture dated 1710 shows a cockade. The cockades were used to show alliance to political parties or movements, or for military use. The 1710 picture above does come from a picture of a solider loading/firing a musket. Cockades in wide use, comes later in the 18th century. The period hats were made on a round hat mould.



Other Hats
The Cocked Hat was not the only hat worn by seamen. They were knitted hats, as well as a leather cap referred to in the Admiralty Contracts. The "main" knit styles are Thrum, Monmouth, and Peter the Great.

 File:GW105H105.jpg|Thrum‎ File:Hat5.jpg|Monmouth File:GW116H116.jpg|Peter the Great 

Shoes
17th-18th Century Shoe This shoe was recovered from the pirate ship Whydah that wreck off of Massachusetts in 1717. Other shoes available to us are those from the wreck of the "Elizabeth and Mary" from 1690, and those shoes recovered from the "Belle" that wrecked around 1686.

Some notes on the shoe. The Achilles' heel is the butt stitching. For some reason, shoes of this period are butt stitched. If you look at the heel area of the shoe above, you will see that the pieces of leather are not overlapped and sewn, but they meet end to end, or "butt up" to each other, and a are stitched together.

This technique it what separates "the men from the boys" so to speak, because this type of stitching must be done by hand. The latch for late 17th and Early 18th Century shoes are very small. Shoe buckles circa 1660 could be a small as 3/8th of an inch wide (where the latch goes through). By 1720 the latch could be as wide as 1". The latch on the Whydah shoe is 2 cm tapering to 1 cm. (so 4/5ths inches to 2/5th inch). Besides the latch size, the tongue on the shoes is pretty high, as well as the heels. Most information on 1690-1720 shoes say that square toes were in fashion. That being said, the Admiralty Contracts (guidance for the Royal Navy slop purchases) specifies double soled, round toed shoes.

Shoe from the "Elizabeth and Mary." Again, it’s constructed similarly, but this one has a squared toe and has the additional piece in front. These shoes are held together with ties instead of buckles. The recovered shoes from the "Belle" indicate both round and square toes, brown and black, and both tied and buckled shoes.

Notice the side pieces. The styling is different than on later shoes. Later shoes seem to have a "stepped" shape, while these early shoes show more of an "angle" on one side and a "curve" on the other. The picture shoes the angled side in the exploded view piece. The below shoe is a reproduction of a later shoe, superimposed with pink and yellow marks detailing the styling on early shoes. The yellow line is the side piece that shoes the "curved" style. This piece should be butt stitched instead of machine stitched. You can see the "stepped" styling of the later shoe where the machine stitch marks are.

This shoe really captures the spirit of the ASC shoe. This should give you a pretty good idea of the pattern or style of late 17th and early 18th century shoes.

The "Style of the day"


The historical evidence, text, art, and the archeological record for the Golden Age (1690-1725), all show sailors to be wearing the style shoe of the day. The few sources that suggest a type of boot used during the Golden Age are a watercolor from a series painted from a French hydrographer named Duplessis during a late 17th early, 18th century circumnavigation. DuPlessis claimed in his journal; "My drawings of their bodies and clothes are true to life." It was painted on the Island of Tierra Del Fuego. The French were sailing in the Pacific with a Captain Jacques Gouin de Beauchesne in the year 1700. The painting shows some Frenchmen at a "swimming hole" watching native girls skinny dipping. The interesting thing about the painting (besides the women) is the fact that the Frenchmen are wearing some sort of tall boots along with a hooded coat, like a capote.

There is another painting from the same journal that shows two men in a native camp (this time, on the west coast of South America) also wearing tall boots, carrying the long firelocks and without the overcoats as in the previous picture. There is also a smaller painting from the same journal shows two seamen sea-lion hunting with pikes at the Straights of Magellan... but wearing shoes.

It is important to remember that this was an exploration expedition, and their true part in it is unknown. They could be soldiers or hunters that would have been employed to augment the crew for the purpose of both providing meat and defense. (Clothing and equipment of a sailor of the ships of the King)

The attached print of the clothing and accessories worn and used by Spanish sailors comes from a series of sepia pencil and wash illustrations of regulation Spanish naval and marine uniforms, equipment, armaments, and accessories in the collection of the MarquIs de Victoria, who compiled an album of illustrations and documents related to Spain's naval forces between 1717 and 1756.

The album reposes in the archives of Spain's Naval Museum and, since its discovery about fifteen years ago, has been intensely utilized by students, scholars, living history interpreters and illustrators as an invaluable primary source of evidence and information about Spain's naval material culture in the first half of the 18th century.

This particular series of drawings was executed ca. 1725. We can divide shoes into two basic groups. Gentlemen's shoes and common man's shoes. Gentlemen's shoes tend to have a squared toe, tall stacked or timbered heel, large tongue, and dainty buckles. It was fashionable for the upper classes to paint the tongues and heels red, but this can be done by anyone post 1710 as the fashion had trickled down to the working classes by this time.

A sailor would probably have a shoe that was from, or similar to an Admiralty Contract shoe. The items from the ASC were fairly inexpensive, and available on long credit, so the working class sailor would probably have availed himself of the opportunity. Characteristics of these shoes are round (ASC) or squared toe, stacked leather heel, large tongue, and small latch and buckle (between 1/2" for 1670s, to 1" for 1720).

These shoes would be butt stitched (a construction method) together and made from vegetable tanned leather. Gentlemen's Shoes 1680-1700.

Buckles


Buckles start to come onto the scene around 1660, at least for the fashionable classes, and are almost ubiquitous by the 1720s. It is important to note that earlier buccaneer period shoes will have smaller buckles. Latch sizes (the part of the shoe leather that feeds through the buckle) on period footwear can be as narrow as a half inch. While latch sizes did increase to become very wide by the end of the 18th century, they were still only 1" wide at the most by 1720. Because of the small size of buckle, they are commonly confused with (or misidentified) as "knee buckles". In general, shoe buckles have a "curved" profile where knee buckles tend to be flat. Later knee buckles have double and triple-spiked tongues. Also, the knee-buckles spindle generally spans the length of the buckle frame rather than the width (it crosses at the widest part). Below are some common shoe buckles.

Stud Chape - 1660-1720
The stud chape is one of the most frequently found of the early methods of buckle attachment. A slit was cut in the latch and the stud was pushed through to secure the buckle, and the other latch was then thread through the buckle and pierced by the chape's tongue. Stud chapes are usually made of a copper-alloy with a single spiked tongue.



Anchor Chape
This type of buckle is attached to the shoe latch, but instead of a stud, the chapes, has an anchor shape that is inserted. This type of buckle was used for shoe up until the 1720s and declines in use so that by the middle of the 18th century, they are no longer used for that purpose. Anchor chaped knee buckles can be found throughout the 18th Century however, they usually have a two or three spiked tongue.

Loop Chape With Single Spike
By the 1690's, the loop chape begins to be seen and will slowly replace both the stud and anchor types. Pre 1720 loop chape buckles for shoes have only one spike on the tongue and loop. Those buckles with forked tongues and multiple spikes are fond on later (post 1720) shoe and knee buckles.



Coats (Justaucorps)
When most people think of a "Coat", the vision that they conjure up in their minds is really what is known as a "Justaucorps". This coat would be collarless and fairly long as well (to just below the knee). The sleeves of the coat seem to go to about mid forearm (or at least, not to the wrist) and the cuffs are wide and turned back to almost the elbow, although a "mariner's cuff" would not be uncommon. Buttons go from the throat all the way down the body however the buttonholes can be "fake" on the bottom 1/4 -1/3 of the coat. Also, both sides of the tails in the back have fake button holes down them. The pockets are functional and seem to be set low on the coat. The pocket flaps, however, are not functional in the sense that they are never button closed, though they have fake button holes. As with the waistcoats, common fabrics for a sailor's coat would be wool, linen, or fustian. For gentleman, brocade silks; fine linen, high quality wools etc.

The early justaucorps is a fairly straight forward garment; coloarless, long to the knee or more with minimal skirts at the side, low slung pockets, and lots of buttons. By the end of the GAoP, it becomes the fashionable item of choice with full skirts and form fitting curves. In Marcellus Laroon's The Cryes of the City of London drawne after the life, originally published in 1687, we already see the justaucorps being worn by the lower classes of English society, though lacking the fancy materials and trimmings of the upper classes of the time.

Waistcoat


Waistcoats of this period are quite long, almost as long as the coat (the Admiralty Slop Contract calls for waistcoats at least 1 yard long). Waistcoats can be sleeved or un-sleeved. Common fabrics for the sailor could be wool, linen, or fustian. Recommended for sailors would either be red wool or striped linen ticking. For gentleman, brocade silks; fine linen, high quality wools, etc. Often, the finest materials would be used for the front panels with the rear panels and sleeves being made from lesser quality materials as these would not show.

The Sailors Short Jacket
The long waistcoats and Justaucorps were impractical for the working seamen. The outer garment most frequently seen in period pictures is a sort of short jacket. From the pictorial evidence, there seems to have been several different styles, some longer, some shorter, some with pockets, and some without. They probably are a descendant of the 17th Centuries' doublet. These Short Jackets are all sleeved, and have vertical button closures at the wrist.



The sailor’s short jacket is seen in just about all original artwork of sailors. There are a few variants, and it is a type of "common man's" clothing of the 17th and 18th Century. The basic garment was a working class coat, but it has its ancestry in the doublet and the waistcoat.

The historical record (period wills and probate sales pertaining to seamen) show that sailors had several sets of clothes... but that these are normally the same types of clothes, just varying in quality and possibly materials. So instead of a sailor having a short jacket for sea duty and a Justaucorps for going ashore, what we see is that a sailor would have had a short jacket to work in, and a nicer short jacket for going ashore. It seems that sailors were partial to sailor clothing whether they were on shore or on land.

Credits
A lot of pictures displayed in this article and parts of the content are taken from the webpage http://www.gentlemenoffortune.com/. A most recommendable webpage with further information about Sailors, Pirates and Ships of the "Golden Age of Piracy", also displayed in our "Recommended Reading-Index"