kass

Reginald, It would be my pleasure to make you a hand-sewn frock coat. But the price is dependent upon a number of factors and options which are best discussed in private. Drop me an email or a PM and we can discuss things. However, I have a rather strict policy against using fabric that I have not purchased myself. This is to protect you rather than to profit me. I have had situations in the past where a customer has asked me to use his own fabric and it was not the proper fabric for the garment. The result was that the garment did not drape or hang as it should have and we were both disappointed. I assure you that my suppliers provide me with only the best fabrics and I get them at the lowest price possible. I can send you some swatches of the reds we have available if you like. Kass

Mistress McKinney, We will, indeed, be carrying women's headwear, such as fontages/commodes. There is actually an extant example of one in England and I'm going to visit it and study its construction. So that won't be on the website as soon as we launch, but they will be available eventually. In the meantime, we will be carrying other kinds of women's headdresses from all eras. Additionally there will be articles about how to do your hair in a period fashion as well as how to fake it if you have a modern hairstyle.

Does she like pearls, Andrew? I could do her a lovely pearl choker with silk ribbon ties. Or a pair of teardrop pearl earrings...

I could do up something for Mistress March in time for Christmas, Master March. Do you have any thoughts as to what she'd like? Or would you like me to show you some samples? I don't have photos of the jewelry yet, but I will be getting that photographed over the next couple weeks. Watch this space!

Oh, and did I mention lace and jewelry and hats and handkerchiefs... Everything for the best-dressed pirate! :)

Thanks, Cheeky! I'll post here again when we have more pictures an when the website finally gets uploaded.

Now THAT's a picture of a sailor in the GAoP wearing slops! Thank you for posting this, Mike. It certainly adds to the body of knowledge. And when I reprint my Breeches and Slops pattern, I will include this information in the historical notes. Thank you! Of course one picture doesn't make them common or typical. But it is a depiction of what we modernly call "slops" in the years 1680 through 1730 and that's something I did not find in my searches. Thanks again.

Oh yes. I've just been so busy this summer than I kinda had to stop working on some things so I could keep up with orders. There is a GAoP Accessories pattern in the works that will include inderpinnings for men and women. And we will also sell shifts and shirts and other accoutrements on the new website as well.

Oh definitely, Cheeky! We just don't have any pictures of anything but me in my Hunting Outfit yet. And lower class stuff for men and women from the GAoP. And other eras as well such as the early to mid-17th century (Jamestown and English Civil War periods), 16th century and even 15th century. Anything you're interested in, just drop me a line. Boy, I can't wait until we get this new website up and running!

The website isn't up yet, Captain Sterling. But if you're interested in anything you see (or anything else), PM or email me and we can talk about prices, options, and delivery times. We take PayPal, credit cards, personal checks, and money orders.

I think my husband has the Ligonier model. They're Fugawees and they're straight lasted. So I guess they're Ligoniers... He was just saying yesterday how comfortable they are now that they've broken in. Strangely enough, I've often heard people say that their straight lasted shoes, once broken in, are more comfortable than any other shoes they own. He's got EEEE flat feet, so he's a really hard fit.

Hi all, I've been promising you guys a new website with clothing on it for some time. This summer has just been so busy (which is never bad for business!) that I haven't got the new website up yet. But I thought I'd give you all a preview of some of the things that will be available. The early 1700s Frock Coat: The sailor's shirt and Slop Contract Breeches: The Royal Navy Slop Contract Jacket: Details available upon request at historian [at] reconstructinghistory [dot] com

Oh Rabz! Gooooood quote! Kass

Hey Captain Bob, This is actually argued about in the post about GAoP Encampments elsewhere in this section. I direct you to the second page. About halfway down the page, Fairfax discusses how barrels and casks in the period didn't always hold a "barrel" or "cask" measurement-wise. I don't know anything on the subject, but from his post, I'm suspecting that those the static measurements of barrels and casks are more modern (I know hogsheads are period though). It's not enough to say "a barrel is 35.5 gallons" or whatever. It may be that today. But it wasn't necessarily a unit of measurement in the GAoP. And if they're stamping measurements on the tops of casks, that would belie the idea of a cask being a measure at that time. Read the thread. See what you can make of it. It got wordy for me and I had to go look at pretty clothing to recover...

Well, Tatu, I do tend to see things as black and white. My husband is always complaining about this. Me, I think it's part of what makes me a good researcher. You see, research is not about guessing what might have been. That's creative interpretation. Research is about looking at the available evidence and saying, "From this evidence, we can conclude this." It's not about why and it's not about maybe. It's "is" and "is not". Very black and white. Which is precisely why I say, "Wear what you like." I'll probably never meet you and if I do, I'll probably like what you're wearing. But if you want to say that slops date to the years 1680-1725, I cannot tell you there is any evidence that supports that statement. And believe me, if there is a sailing vessel or a slop shop dug up tomorrow that dates to that period and it is full of huge, wide-legged, petticote breeches-type slops, I will be the FIRST person to post that information here at the Pub! Is my research the only research worth merit? Of course not. I encourage you to do research on your own. But I have just spent the last six months trying to find evidence of slops in the GAoP and cannot find anything at all to indicate they were worn then. So I'm gonna tell you what I've found. Kathryn, no one here has posted evidence of slops in the GAoP. The pictures Foxe has posted are all pre-1680 and post-1730. So are all the rest that people have posted. Are the dates on them only visible on my computer? If you want to move on from this, it's simple: stop reading this thread. No harm, no foul. Why are you so drawn to something that obviously annoys you? Relax...

Sorry, Tatu. I just can't "assume" that something existed between 1680 and 1730 when I have no visual or archeological proof. My research methods are more precise than that. 1738 is the first time I start seeing slops. But that's not between 1680 and 1725 -- the Golden Age of Piracy. Shall I say that again? As I said earlier (and I really hate repeating myself...), there are many examples from history when something went out of use for 50 or 100 years and then came back in again. My favourite example is cartridge pleating. It's all the rage in the 16th and 17th centuries. Then almost as soon as the turn of the 18th century (actually, it stopped in the last quarter of the 17thc), it disappears. And you don't see cartridge pleats again until the 19th century. Why? Who knows. We just have enough pictures and extant examples from the 18th century to know it wasn't the method of pleating used. I have no personal agenda with this assertion. I would have as gladly proven the use of wide, baggy slops in the GAoP. But the evidence is not there to support their use. Wear whatever you like. But you'll be ignoring the available information. It's not just pictures, you know. It's slop contract specifications that include measurements. The measurements simply aren't wide enough. Sure the "bell bottoms" of this period could have gone out of style and resurfaced later. In fact, that is EXACTLY what I am trying to get across! They go away in the 1670s and come back in the 1730s. What you have in between is "the 80s". Get it?

Sure, Foxe! I think those are open knee breeches. Could even be as big as what we call "slops". That's what I'm seeing on all those 1660s guys from that source. Of course, they are so sketchy that they could also be tied at the knee and just hugely baggy. But I'll say "slops" for that one. However, as you've just so delightfully affirmed, nothing between the 1670s and 1730s looks like that. Francois, they absolutely were wearing open knee breeches (called "Dutch Slops" in the early 17th century) earlier than the GAoP. The point is that they kinda fall off the face of the earth from 1680 to 1725. And that's the Golden Age of Piracy. Ergo GAoP reenactors should not wear big, baggy, open knee breeches. This isn't as strange occurance as you may think. Oftentimes items of clothing go out of use and then come back later in history. This has nothing to do with fashion. It just happens now and then. The quote you list about slops, Francois, makes it sound like there's a continuous and unbroken timeline from the 14th century and that's just not true. The term "slops" may have been in use from that time, but look at all the wildly different items of clothing to which it referred: cloaks, gowns, jackets, even a type of slipper! To put it in perspective, think of all the different permutations of what could be described today by the word "shirt" or "pants" or "jacket"... If you must wear your slops, go earlier or go later with your date. That's all. No biggie, really...

Sure is, Rue. It just isn't full length:

My research fairy godmother just sent me a stack of articles about 18th century speech (because Captain Sterling and I were talking about it and I got to thinking as I often do...). I just got it all in the mail yesterday and haven't had a chance to read more than the titles. But when I'm done, I'll be happy to report what I've learned!

I have some coins a friend bought from these guys. I'm not a numismatist, but they look good to me. Dead Men Tell No Tales Also, this eBay seller intrigues meeBay seller. I wish Steve Millingham did this period. I offered to send him period originals to copy, but he wasn't interested in going later than ECW.

Why? Doesn't Our Lady of Dousharm have a source?

Rayon doesn't feel like silk, it doesn't wear like silk, and it is a cast-iron bitch to sew. I hate the stuff. Some polyesters more accurately replicate silk than rayons do. That being said, I have used rayon in the past to replicate silk. Get this. I was doing research on Rev War era silk brocades imported from China. They were woven with floral patterns specifically for the Western European market (so they didn't look "Chinoise"). The fabric width was 29" wide and they had three pattern repeats across the width. Earlier that year, I got ten yards of a discontinued silk/rayon brocade (22% silk/78% rayon) on sale. I was going to make a lounging robe for my husband. Just for shits and giggles, I decided to measure the brocade and see how close it came to period silk brocades. Guess what! It was 29" wide with three pattern repeats across the width! And it was imported from China! Needless to say, Bob didn't get his lounging robe... Sneezed all the while I sewed it. But does it look right? You tell me: 100% silk brocade is extremely difficult to find. And when we do find it, it usually has some Asian design or some other pattern that is distinctly not appropriate for the GAoP (or medieval or Rev War, etc.). There are some companies selling repro historical brocades, but they start at $150 a yard. Therefore some companies have made cotton/rayon copies of the historical brocades and they shake out at a much lesser price. They breathe like natural fibres (because they are) and they look like silk to everyone but... well... me. I'm looking into acquiring some right now as a matter of fact. Funny story: at the Pirate Invasion at MD Ren Fest last year, I asked a lady if I could sit down and have a cup of water. She gracious said yes and lent me her own tankard. But then she took my hunting coat between her fingers and said, "Natural fibres would do you a kindness, my dear..." I flipped up the hem of my skirts and showed her where "100% silk" was woven into the selvedge of the fabric. Just because it breathes doesn't mean it's cool. Silk is an insulator. Wool is cooler!

Oh, it's Matt! I forgot it was Matt. That sure sounds like Matt. Next thing you know, he'll be throwing himself at the native's feet!

Oh yeah! It makes sense on the Buccaneers! I just don't know what the hell it's doing on Dampier. Seems out of place... I agree with your assessment that this is a later drawing. But he's still wearing breeches tied at the knee, not "slops" (to beat a dead horse).

Looks more like this to me, John. I can distinctly see ribbons at his knees.