As far as I know, that’s not an internet meme yet, but it might as well be. It’s meme in my head, and that’s what counts.
While I should be thinking about the probability of Spencer-wearing in 1800 Rhode Island, I got distracted during a hunt for head wraps and found this lovely little water color.
Boy in a Beaver Hat. Watercolor by Anna Maria von Phul, 1818. MHS 1957.158.27
How lovely is that coat? The Young Mr already has a semblance of that hat and trouser (admittedly too short) so the coat and a matelasse waistcoat would be just the ticket to recreate this image. He’ll bring his own sulky look to the party.
I’m trying to figure out what the coat would be made of, and what I’m willing to pay for a coat that will be grown out of rapidly. In the meantime, though, what a lovely image.
Back to coat dreams…and plots.
Kitty Calash 
It’s fantastic! Gorgeous colorations! Could you make it of a cotton drill? Or cotton and wool blend? And as a mom of a string bean who is now a size 13 shoe (can’t imagine re enactment wear for THAT!) how about this practical suggestion — why not make the jacket a size or size and a half too big? Make it look like a big brother hand me down that he can grow into?
Last photo I saw of your young Mr. his pants needed an
introduction to his shoes.
What a marvelous discovery! And it’s in my own backyard, so to speak. Mid-weight wool? Looks single-breasted and short–no tails. And is that a very wide cuff I spy? Lots of extra fabric in the sleeves could help alleviate the growth issue a bit. Would you draft your own, or use a commercial repro pattern for a short jacket?
Draft my own, like a maniac. It is a deep cuff, and check the buttons at the trouser cuff. The coat is very much a roundabout of the period. The kid needs extra in the chest and sleeve, but what an image! If not now, soon.
That is such an evocative image! It captures the eternal verities of being 14/15, awkward, shy and slightly sullen. The rendering of the textiles is equally evocative, it says “Nankeen trousers” to me. It also says “Denim jacket” just as clearly, in the way the light plays on the shoulders and arms. Can you document a denim, or at least a blue cotton twill, sufficiently to allow you to use common blue-denim fabric? it would be both durable and inexpensive. A great talking-point too.
I can document blue denim-like material to 1818ish (waist seam on the coat) in RI. Perry’s 1812 coat is indigo linen plainweave. This reminded me a lot of the kid– and I have loved Anna Maria Von Phul’s watercolors for a long time, so would be really neat to make this on a number of levels. Stash hunting time…
I love that you can see the seat fullness of the trousers, too. The buttons at the trouser hems are, indeed, wonderful. And I would note in your defense, Kitty, that this young man’s trousers do not meet the tops of his shoes–nor did the trousers of many, if not most, males of this period. Is the kiddo wearing some sort of mule footwear? And I may be wrong about single-breasted, after all–looks like there may be buttons on both sides of the jacket.
Downside to all of this? The Little Peacock (who cares not a whit what he wears to school every day) saw the picture and wants the hat.
The Young Mr has been challenging trouser length for a while…! I’ll have to look again at the front, as I have vacillated on the singled-or-double breasted question myself. Do like the lapels quite a bit, though.
And funny about the Little Peacock– the Young Mr is the same way! Everyday clothes are not interesting to him, but historic clothes? Those he cares about. Do you need a hatmaker? I know one; he’s made all of Mr S and the Young Mr’s cocked and tall hats, and does make fur hats, too. DM at kittycalash (at) gmail (dot) com if you want his contact info.