Historic Naval Costuming Goodness

I just got back from my yearly haj to the geek Mecca of Dragon*Con. I brought along two of my HNF costumes; my post captain undress uniform and a bosun's outfit. The bosun's costume excited no great interest, but the post captain costume was fairly popular at the Pirate's and Time-traveler's Ball I attended. I ran into one steampunk Napoleonic French soldier (his costume was amazing!) who tried to capture me. Fortunately he was outnumbered significantly.

I also traded costuming notes with a RN post captain of an earlier era (I'd say the era was consistent with the 1748 to 1767 regulations vs my sort of 1795 to 1812 era design). And I ran into a group of Marines too. The jollies were busily branding all of the known pirates. Considering by how much the pirates outnumbered the lobsters, it was an impressive piece of work.

The quality of the pirate costumes varied considerably, but these military costumers did a great job and inspired me. I'm going to try and improve my costumes before next year!

You're making me jealous! But I can't sew and like the svelte physique to carry off the swallowtail coat.

What sources do you use for your naval costuming?

I can't sew very well, but I have friends who are quite good. And I can do simple things. So with a little help I am able to make do.

For the post captain swallowtail coat I started with a costume coat that wasn't too awful. I replaced the terrible epaulettes it came with, replaced the buttons, removed the inaccurate gewgaws, and modified it from close-fronted (with velcro) to open-lapelled.

It's not perfect, but it is recognizable to most people. But this time I left the scraper (worn athwartship) at home. The other time I wore it at Dragon*Con someone thought I was Napoleon. I responded in character in mock ire and the person thought I was "really" angry with her. So at least I wasn't mistaken for Boney this time!

The seaman coat (which you can see in my user photo) was a project from last year that took much longer than I would have liked because I had to rely heavily on assistance from my more skilled friends. This one came from a pattern I found online.

Both of these are a little more costumey than I would prefer, and one day I would like to do them both properly. Of course, that will require time and money even if I can become skilled enough to tackle them on my own.

Costuming also comes with the drawback that I am allergic to wool, so all my costumes must be linen and cotton, which is wonderful for summer, but not so good when it gets chilly. Last year I'd laid out considerable money to buy shirt, breeches, and waistcoat that was suitable, and then I went and got very ill and gained fifty pounds so they don't fit. I can't afford to lay out that kind of money again, but I would like to do some naval reenactments. Are you part of a group?

Am I a part of a reenactment group? Heck no! First off, I don't know of any groups anywhere near my area other than the local Star Wars 501st and the occasional Confederate soldiers types. Secondly, I gather that the hard-core re-enactors tend to be sticklers and my costumes would certainly not make the grade.

As for the fabric, I committed the unpardonable sin of synthetics. Neither the pocket book nor the climate here are compatible with the use of wool.

That is unpardonable. You and your synthetics are going to melt.

Linen, lad. Linen. I used to do medieval reenactments, and take it from me, it makes a difference. Last year with the ship I did up to fourteen hours a day in 100+ heat in linen. I never would have survived in polycotton.

With the modified post captain coat, I had little choice. I was modifying an existing cheap costume. It looks surprisingly good considering.

For the sailor's jacket it was hard to find the right weight and feel to the material. I consulted for a long time with my more expert friends about precisely the right blend of materials to be easy to work with, to be reasonably cool, to have the right look and feel, and to be easy on the pocket book. Jack of all trades, master of none.

That being said, I really want some linen clothing! I almost bought a linen suit when I officiated at my brother's wedding this summer, but decided I could make do with what I had.

On the subject of re-enactment groups, I'm an associate member of HMS, the Historical Maritime Society. Okay, they are Brit. based, but a great bunch of guys, and gals, and the newsletter is worth the subscription alone. Associate membership is just a few pounds a year. Details at:
https://sites.google.com/site/historicalmaritimesociety/

Borrelpeff, HMS does look like a fun crew!

Maturin y Domanova wrote:Borrelpeff, HMS does look like a fun crew!

They certainly know how to enjoy themselves!

Oooh, thanks for the link. Never heard of any Naval reenactment groups, I've really only been aware of the usual English Civil War and Roman army groups.

As an aside, I'm about to start learning to shoot the English Longbow, something which has fascinated me for years.

Paul-B, those are new ones for me. Is there a lot of English Civil War and Roman reenacting? In the American South the juggernaut of reenacting is the American Civil War with Revolutionary War reenacting coming in second (mainly in the North). I knew that there were some Napoleonic groups in Europe but hadn't heard there was much other reenacting.

And good luck with the long bow! I was into archery as a kid, and your comment reminded me that I would love to take it up again at some point.

It's "Paul" btw

There are two main English Civil War re-enactment groups, there's "The Sealed Knot" http://www.thesealedknot.org.uk/ who are a dedicated long-standing group. Very much structured, you can't join them as anything other than a footsoldier and you have to work your way up through the ranks. Not my cup of tea, but I and my band have played for them quite a few times (we play folk/folk-rock music) and they are generally a really great crowd. Then there's the St John Owens' Regiment of Foote", http://www.englishcivilwar.com/About/About_Main.html, and then "The English Civil War Society", http://english-civil-war-society.org.uk/www/cms/ . Both the latter are much smaller than the Sealed Knot, but possibly not as militarily structured.
The Roman re-enactment group is at http://www.romanarmy.net/ , and is quite popular around here. In Europe there's the Leg II AVC, here at http://www.legiiavg.org.uk/ and UK-baesd Comitatus http://www.legiiavg.org.uk/

I have been interested in the English Longbow for more years than I care to remember. What most people don't realise is that, in it's time, the longbow and the strict laws apertaining to it's practice and use in England had a similar impact on European history and wars that the discovery of the Atom bomb had in the fifties... in the right hands, by a trained militia, a skilled bowman could fire off 10 arrows to every one fired from a man using a crossbow, and the longbow's range and impact were devastating.

I have a copy of the definitive work on the subject, Robert Hardy's "Longbow: A Social and Military History", a must-have if it's something you are interested in.

Sorry, about that Paul! I wasn't sure if Paul was your actual name or whether Paul-B was an internet handle.

Thanks for all the info!