Tags
1763, 18th century clothes, alterations, authenticity, Battle, Clothing, Events, fashion, frock coat, frock coats, menswear, planning, Reenacting, style
The American School, by Matthew Pratt, 1765. MMA 97.29.3
Mr S. has a green linen suit in the making; that is, he has breeches which mostly fit, and a frock coat in need of serious alteration. Since I will need to alter this coat eventually (that is, take it apart, re-cut and re-assemble it) I have started looking for images of green suits.
Portrait of a Boy, probably of the Crossfield family. William Williams, 1770-75, MMA 65.34
The green linen the suit was made from is no longer available, so there will be no matching waistcoat. If I can get the thing tweaked to an approximation of ca. 1763, we should be set for the August event (if that happens) and for Battle Road next year, though I know he might want wool. The taunts of “bet you wish you had the rest of that coat” from this year linger in my mind, at least.
The jacket is, admittedly, too short. I begin to wonder if I need to cut it down even more, like a workman’s short coat; the Massachusetts line “Bounty Coats” are cut shorter, and similar to a coat at the Connecticut Historical Society (1981.110.0, search by number here, the links are not stable).
Mr S last June, in the unfinished 36-hour-frock coat
The problem with that plan, at least for 1763, is that the cuffs are clearly larger and coats longer, in 1763, than they are in 1775, at least for gentleman. I realize that this means I am better off starting over completely for the 1763 coat from a muslin up (which against all instinct and principles, I did not do for the 36-hour-frock coat). So I’m waffling here, as Mr S doesn’t always want to portray the day laborer/tenant farmer, but would like some pretensions to artisan and property owner. That means more fabric, and that means starting over completely is in order–breeches, waistcoat, frock coat and all. But wait, there’s more!
The events in the queue before the August 10th event for 1763 include Monmouth on June 15-16 (for which overalls and hunting frock are in production), Washington’s Arrival in Cambridge on July 14, which requires militia clothing, and Old Sturbridge Village the first weekend in August, for which a regimental coat is requested. Somewhere along the line, I’d like to make myself something…but it looks more and more like a summer of menswear. Perhaps cutting down that green coat and altering the breeches for July 14 is the most sensible plan…though where that will leave 1763, or the regimental coat, I do not know.
Kitty Calash 
Can you turn that too-short coat into a 1760’s waistcoat, or even a sleeved waistcoat, and get him a coordinating green wool for a proper coat? This way, you’d still have two of his three pieces matching, he’d get a proper wool frock coat, and you wouldn’t have to make another pair of breeches just yet.
What a good idea, thank you! The sleeves are off the coat right now, so I think waistcoat is a fine answer to that problem. The red wool remnant is too scant for early, and I expect he’d object to looking like a traffic signal or a map of the T with those blue stockings, green breeches and a red coat. Wool it is, and if I switch from 1790 to 1763/65/70, I even have some in hand.
Found this image on the NYPL site – Felix Darley engraving re the Stamp Act (so may not be early enough) but I didn’t think the coats looked very much longer than yours!)
http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm?trg=1&strucID=701203&imageID=808415&total=23&num=0&word=1760%20men&s=1¬word=&d=&c=&f=&k=1&lWord=&lField=&sScope=&sLevel=&sLabel=&sort=&imgs=20&pos=4&e=w
Best of luck!
NN
As I read the title of this post, all I could think of was one of Mary Todd’s early letters to Mercy Levering where she refers to seeing “Mr. Lincoln” at a gathering in his “Lincoln Greens.” I like Sharon’s suggestion of the waistcoat a lot! I’m eager to see the fruits of your mountain of sewing projects. Very inspiring. I’ve yet to produce a fully functional male garment.
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