The effect of the Revolution and Napoleon of fashion

It is important for me to realise how much influence that military tailoring had on everyday fashion espeically during the napoleonic wars.The effects of the French Revolution were disastrous on France as a whole, as well as on the linen and textile trade. The country lacked leadership and was badly managed during the period of the Directory 1795 to 1799. Very few foreign countries supported the revolutionary regime and therefore the export trade almost disappeared. The linen and textile mills of Brittany and Languedoc stopped operating, and no lace was made in Valenciennes. Business in some towns was so bad that many of the tradesmen no longer found it worth while to open their shops.
When Napoleon Bonaparte was made Emperor in 1804, one of his first tasks was to restore the economy. France depended a good deal on rebuilding its textile industry, being a fashion conscious country. Spinning and weaving were still done by hand, whereas in England has the invention of the sewing machine. Napoleon banned the import of english textiles, and had eventually revived many factories as well as the lace industry of Valenciennes.


On formal occasions, generals, marshals and politicians were obliged to appear in white satin breeches and brightly coloured silk coats heavy with embroidery. During the day much more practical clothing was the norm. This can easily be relatable to the ways of Military uniform traditions from the napoleonic era. The elaborate styles of the uniforms were very influential on fashion. Breeches were still worn particularly with formal dress, however, pantaloons were now introduced. When worn with boots these could easily be mistaken for breeches,  as they were just as close fitting. They reached half way down the calf, rather than just below the knee. They were fastened with three plain buttons. The tight style of the pantaloons was made from knitted wool fabric. Early in the nineteenth Century the style became slightly looser and ankle length. these pantaloons were cut from kerseymere, a fine cloth, woven with diagonal ribbing that allowed ease.

The longer pantaloons were known as 'trowsers' often has straps under the feet. Another type of fabric that is mentioned is nankeen, a heavy Indian cotton cloth used for summer trowsers. Leather boots were the usualy wear for outdoors.


Boots were very fashionable in the first part of the century and were often named after famous people such as Wellington and Napoleon. These were of a military style made of black calfskin to knew height with a slightly lower back to allow the knee to bend. Spurs were worn by men of fashion on all occasions, even when not riding. Riding boots known as 'military long boots' were quite high at the front, but low at the back. Top boots were slightly lower ending below the knees and had, as their name implies, turned down tops, often in a lighter colour. Loops on each side facilitated pulling on the boots which could be held up by 'boot garters' attached to the back of the boot and fastened above the knees. these boots were usually worn with breeches and had low square heels and rounded toes.

Hessians, named after to boots of the soldiers of Hesse in Germany and still popular from the previous century were short riding boots, close fitting to just below the knees with the fronts slightly peaked and often decorated with a tassel. the toes where slightly squared.

Buskins or Hussar boots were similar, only shorter and did not have tassels at the points.they were also worn with pantaloons as were the Hessians.

I decided to do a little bit of research in to the fabric Kerseymere, and I came across this definition from the book "The Dictionary of Fashion History" by Valerie Cumming.

Kerseymere

Period: 18th and 19th centuries.

"A fine wollen cloth of a peculiar texture, one third of the warp always being above and two thirds below each shoot of the weft" was a 19th Century description. However, it's nature in the 18th century is uncertain. It seems to have introduced as a rival to the patented Cassimir, and was possibly very similar. Whether it was made of Spanish or English wool is also uncertain, but after 1820 the Saxony merino wool was replacing the Spanish and at the same time the names 'Kerseymere' and 'Cassimir' were being used interchangeably in fashion journals.

Nankeen 

Nankeen is a loomed fabric that is still produced by hand in some parts of China, nankeen has been around for a long time and has an illustrious history when it comes to making clothing for a number of occasions. It is named after Naking, the area within China known as Silk Road for its many fine fabrics. The demand for nankeen has not been effected a great deal with the invention of newer synthetic fibres, since nankeen can be easily produced at a very inexpensive rate using those contemporary methods. The advantages of nankeen is that it is an all cotton fabric, which makes it attractive to people who are not able to wear synthetic fibres, or who prefer to go with natural fibres only.

Historical Fabric

Historical Fabric

Today I have come across a website that has given me a very interesting insight into fabric used for military uniforms during the 18^th Century.

http://www.najecki.com/repro/Wool.html

The website doesn’t only sell this historic fabric, but actually goes in to detail about the specific fabrics used for the coats, linings, and facings of various 18^th Century Military Regiments.

Their main source of historical accuracy and fabric comes from Kochan & Phillips Historical Textiles which is a company that’s founders have been doing primary source research on the cloth being produced and used for military and naval dress of the 18th and 19th century for a number of years. Their aim was to try and reproduce the quality woollen cloth that was equal in weave, milling, finish and hand to the original cloth samples and clothing artefacts that they had examined in numerous museums, archives, and private collections.

“After many years of research on the cloth being produced and used for the 18th century military, James Kochan and Sean Phillips are having custom woven in England broadcloths and kerseys unlike any other cloth commercially available today.

This cloth is woven using the instructions laid out in a notebook of a weaver who supplied the British Army in 1812 and made cloth to meet their specifications. This weaver's notebook specified every detail of manufacture, from the type of sheep used to create the yarn, to the weight and width of the raw cloth, to the fulling and napping procedures.

To achieve authentic colours, spectral colour analysis was used to create dyes to match the colours of original cloth swatches in museums, archives, and on original uniforms. The result is cloth that has the same appearance, weave, milling, finish and hard hand to cloth made in the late 18th century and that will wear and drape much better than any other cloth available today.

If you are making a military uniform or civilian clothing and want the most authentic cloth available, this is the cloth to use.”

The fabric sold from this company has been authentically made in the same fashion as it would have been in the 18th century, which makes it a very good source for future reference.

Kochan & Phillips Historical Textiles: www.historicaltextiles.com

Broadcloth

Broadcloth was the staple product of the British woollen textile industry from at least the 16th century until the middle of the 19th century.

Its solid construction and weatherproof finish made it ideal for making the coats of men of all stations. It was produced in many different grades suited to the pocket of the purchaser but this is the quality with which the British Government chose to clothe its soldiers.

The quality of the cloth was decided on the wool from which it was made. Each fleece was sorted by hand into anything up to 12 different 'sorts' of wool, each capable of being spun into a different thickness of yarn. These were carefully matched to the required quality of cloth which in turn decided the finished weight and the quality of dyeing and finishing which it warranted.

...

Broadcloth was produced in various grades ranging from common to superfine. The grade is dependent upon the quality of wool used, the number of threads per inch, and the weight per square yard. Common broadcloth is the heaviest and made from the coarsest wool yarns, and have the fewest warp and weft per inch.

Common Broadcloths are plain weave:

approx 15-17 oz per square yard, .07" thick, and approximately 54" wide.

Common Broadcloth was primarily used to make uniform coats, civilian coats, and smallclothes which makes it completely authentic.

Kersey

Kersey was a type of cloth widely produced in England from at least the 17th Century, initially in East Anglia around the village of Kersey in Suffolk. By the 18th Century the largest production was in West Yorkshire, particularly in the Keighley area.

Generally, Kersey was a relatively cheap made in imitation of the more expensive Broadcloth. The use of a twill weave enabled the finishers to raise a nap on the cloth more easily than Broadcloth, although the cloth had less substance and the finish was consequently slightly less hard wearing.

The properties of Kersey made it popular for coats and cloaks for the lower orders. Frequently used during the Civil War as a cloth for soldiers' coals and breeches, by the latter half of the 18th Century these items were made from Broadcloth. However, Double-Milled Kersey was used for sailors' jackets by the Admiralty and for Army greatcoats, Cavalry cloaks (in red or blue for heavy and light) and fatigue jackets (in natural or buff for buff faced Regiments).

Bay

Bay is a loose, plain-weave cloth with a worsted warp and woollen weft frequently used for lining British and Continental soldier’s coats from the 17th to the 19th C. It was originally produced in Essex around Colchester and Bocking but later in other areas including Yorkshire. The practice of describing cloth quantities as a number of discreet ‘pieces’ (the length convenient for the weaver to make in one go, typically 30 yards) lead to the use of the plural ‘Bays’, subsequently corrupted into ‘Bayes’ and then ‘Baize’ to mean a specific type of cloth. The modern Baize is an entirely different material however, much more heavily milled and used for billiard table covering.

Prior to the 1768 Warrant British Infantry coats were lined throughout the body and tails in Bay of the facing colour, changing in 1768 to the use of white or, in the case of Buff faced Regiments, Buff Bay. In the British Army it was replaced by Serge for linings first in the Foot Guards, then in the Line Infantry in 1796. The Royal Marines continued to use it for coat linings into the 19th C.

Cassimere

Cassimere (sometimes also called Kerseymere in the 18th Century) is a lightweight woollen twill fabric which was widely produced in the West Country during the latter part of the 18th Century. The twill weave gives the fabric a slight spring which makes it ideal for making breeches and pantaloons. Its relatively light weight, when compared with broadcloth, also made it popular for waistcoats and lining coat tails.

In common with other types of cloth from this period Cassimere was produced in different weights and qualities. A number of different sources have been consulted in order to gather sufficient information to allow this fabric to be reproduced. It is intended to produce a superfine quality as it was frequently used for Officer's waistcoats, breeches, turnbacks, lining coat tails and sometimes collar linings. It was also apparently used for lining Heavy Cavalry Officer’s coats.

Cassimere was most commonly produced in white or buff for military dress breeches and mixture greys and blues for pantaloons. For civilian wear various drab shades were popular for day-wear, buff and white and black for formal dress.

 Serge

Like Bay, Serge is a cloth with a worsted warp and woollen weft, although in this case twill woven. The twill helps to maintain the stability whilst retaining enough flexibility to be used as a lining material.



serge lining

It was used to line British Army coats and Greatcoats, Cavalry Cloaks and Hussar and Light Dragoon Trooper’s Pelisses. In the infantry it was generally used white or Buff for Buff faced Regiments. For Light Dragoon jackets and Pelisses it appears to have been used the same colour as the facings.

Shalloon or Ratinett

shalloon lining

 Shalloon (sometimes also called Ratinett) is a fine, smooth, twill woven worsted fabric frequently used for lining the coats of Officers and Gentlemen. In effect it is a finer quality of serge. In order to provide a smooth surface which is more comfortable and makes the donning of the coat easier the surface is often given a glazed finish. It is frequently mentioned in contemporary tailor's notes and bills.

Usually white, it was however also produced in contrasting colours to suit the application in hand, for instance scarlet for dark blue cloaks and Hussar pelisses, buff for buff faced uniforms, bottle green for Rifle dolman linings etc.

Superfine Broadcloth

 Superfine is a term which can be applied to any cloth type in order to describe its quality; in historical documents however, it is frequently used without reference to any particular type of cloth. When this is the case the cloth in question is invariably Superfine Broadcloth.

The woollen cloths often sold today as Superfines are normally Superfine Doeskins. Doeskin is a completely different type of cloth, twill woven, lightly milled and incapable of holding a cut edge. It is not as stout as Superfine Broadcloth and has insufficient body for historical tailoring projects.

In common with all Broadcloths, Superfines are stout, heavily milled, plain weave woollens with a carefully raised and cropped nap and capable of holding a cut edge. Superfines were made from the best quality Spanish wool, spun much finer than common broads and more carefully finished, as befitted their better quality.

The technical details for recreating this cloth are taken from the same apprentice book as the Army Broadcloth. It has been compared with details from other weavers' notes from the West Country, the area which was the pre-eminent producer of Superfine Broadcloths up until the last quarter of the 18th Century, when the quality of West Yorkshire goods improved sufficiently to challenge their market.

Because the quality of wool, finesse of spinning and quality of finish was so much more expensive Superfines were dyed using the most expensive dyes available. Again original dye receipts have been recreated and used as the basis for the colours which will be available. Custom colours can be dyed subject to a minimum order of 5 m.

Superfine Broadcloth was used for Officer's and Gentlemen's coats, sometimes for waistcoats and an alternative to Kerseymere and sometimes for breeches, especially in the first three quarters of the 18th C.

 

Linen Holland

Holland is a fine, smooth, plain weave linen fabric given a smooth glazed finish by the application of pressure in the manufacturing process.  Used where a smooth, thin lining is required it is found in contemporary garments in the following applications:

·        Breeches waistband linings

·        Coat sleeve linings

·        Waistcoat linings and backs

·        Hat and shako linings

·        Pocketing.

Usually natural, it is sometimes dyed black and occasionally bleached white for specific applications

There are so many interesting photos of old cloth/fabric records and books from the 18th Century which I can only guess is where they found all this amazing information about fabric of the time:


Merchant's patterns showing different coloured Milled Bays





Examples of Superfine Broadcloth colours c1760

 Another useful bit of information that I have found from this site is this fabric chart for Regemental coats. This gives me an insight in to the fabric used for various british regiments, and in particular the British Marines.

 

A Guide to Regimental Coat Cloth 1775-1783
	Coat	Facing	Lining
British Reg't of Foot - Private or Corporal	Madder Red Broadcloth	Broadcloth - color per Royal Warrant (color varies by regiment)	White Bay, unless a Buff faced regiment
British Reg't of Foot - Serjeant	Mock Scarlet Broadcloth	Broadcloth - color per Royal Warrant (color varies by regiment)	White Serge, unless a Buff faced regiment
British Reg't of Foot - Officer	Scarlet Superfine Broadcloth	Superfine Broadcloth - color per Royal Warrant (color varies by regiment)	White Shalloon, unless a Buff faced regiment
British Reg't of Foot - Drums	Broadcloth of regimental facing color	Madder Red or Mock Scarlet Broadcloth for facings and smallclothes for red, buff, and white faced regiments.	Madder Red or Mock Scarlet Serge for those with red smallclothes, otherwise white serge except for Buff faced regiments.
British Light Dragoons (16th & 17th)	Mock Scarlet Broadcloth	16th - Royal Blue Broadcloth 17th - White Broadcloth	16th - Royal Blue Serge 17th - White Serge
Royal Artillery	Royal Blue Broadcloth	Mock Scarlet Broadcloth	Mock Scarlet Serge
Guard Reg'ts (1st, Coldstream, Scots)	Madder Red Broadcloth	Royal Blue Broadcloth	White Serge
British Marines	Madder Red Broadcloth	White Broadcloth	White Bay
Continental Army
Contract and French made coats for Soldiers	Broadcloth - color varies by regiment	Broadcloth - color varies by regiment	Serge - color varies by regiment
Prior to Seven Years War and up to 1768 Warrant
British Reg't of Foot - Private or Corporal	Madder Red Broadcloth coats and waistcoats. Madder Red Kersey breeches. Bay lining that matched the facing color. Undress jackets and frocks (new issued, not altered old clothing) of Madder Red Kersey.

The materials used for the British Marine jackets of the 18th century would have been Madder Red Broadcloth for the coat, White Broacloth for the facing and White Bay for the lining.

Regimental Coat yardage requirements
Size	Coat Body	Lining of Body and Skirt	Facing Cloth (cuff, lapel, and cape)	Sleeve Lining
38	2 yards	1 yard	1/3 yard	1 yard
40	2 1/4	1 1/8	1/3	1
42	2 1/2	1 1/4	1/3	1
44	2 3/4	1 3/8	1/3	1
46	3	1 1/2	1/3	1 1/8
48	3 1/4	1 3/4	1/3	1 1/4
50	3 1/2	2	1/3	1 3/8
52	3 1/2	2 1/4	1/3	1 1/2
Presumptions: Coat body cloth yardage is for body, sleeves, and mid thigh length skirts. Bay, Serge, or Shalloon is used for body lining and skirts. Facing cloth used for the cuffs, lapels and cape (i.e. collar). Linen is used to line the sleeves and pockets. The above chart courtesy of Henry Cooke, 18th C. tailor.

This chart may be useful for me down the line if I chose to cost an officers coat.



History of the Epaulette

Epaulettes bear some resemblance to the shoulder pteruges of ancient Roman military costumes. Epaulette comes from “epaule” an old French word for shoulder.

 

However, their direct origin lies in the bunches of ribbons worn on the shoulders of military coats at the end of the 17th century, which were partially decorative and partially intended to prevent shoulder belts from slipping. These ribbons were tied into a knot, which left the fringed end free. This established the basic design of the epaulette as it evolved through the 18th and 19th centuries. Another story has them beginning as pieces of armor to protect the shoulders.

From the 18th century on, epaulettes were used in the French and other armies to indicate rank. The rank of an officer could be determined by whether an epaulette was worn on the left shoulder, the right shoulder or on both. Later a "counter-epaulette" (with no fringe) was worn on the opposite shoulder of those who wore only a single epaulette. Epaulettes were also expensive being made of silver or gold for officers, sometimes solid metal, and other times plated. They were made out of cloth of various colors or cheaper metal for the enlisted men of various arms. By the early eighteenth century, epaulettes became the distinguishing feature of an officer, leading to officers of military units without epaulettes to petition their government for the right to wear epaulettes, to ensure that they would be recognized as officers. Certain cavalry specialties wore flexible metal epaulettes referred to as shoulder scales, rarely worn on the field. In Europe, some light infantry wore cloth counter-epaulettes. Flying artillery wore "wings", similar to an epaulette but with only a bit of fringe on the outside, which matched the shoulder seam. Heavy artillery wore small balls representing ammunition on their shoulders.

Army general wore epaulettes until early in the Twentieth Century. Navy officers also started wearing epaulettes during the Revolutionary War and did not give them up for their full dress uniforms until just before World War II. Marine officers wore epaulettes on their special full dress uniforms until 1922.

The embroidered rank insignia usually appeared on the epaulette strap or near the "crescent," the rounded portion over the end of the shoulder. For some ranks, such as Major or Second Lieutenant, the size of these were the epaulette or the size of the fringes were the main clues of rank since those officers did not wear insignia.

Along with being expensive, epaulettes made pretty good targets so the Army switched to a five-sided flap of cloth called a shoulder strap in 1831 for other than dress uniforms. It is sewn into the shoulder seam and the end buttoned like an epaulette.

 The Navy had been using straps since 1830. The officers wore the straps across their shoulders at the sleeve seams of their coats. Usually the straps had raised edges of embroidered gold or silver with the rank insignia embroidered between the edges. Navy officers wore shoulder straps until 1899 when they changed to their current shoulder marks. Army and Marine officers wore the straps until the first few years of this century when they changed to metal pin-on type insignia. They started wearing the metal insignia just before the end of the Nineteenth Century on their new khaki or olive drab uniforms but also wore the straps on some uniforms. Army officers still wear shoulder straps on their blue uniforms. Many also wear embroidered insignia.

An intermediate form in some services, such as the Russian Army, is the shoulder board, which neither has a fringe nor extends beyond the shoulder seam.

From the shoulder board was developed the shoulder mark, a flat cloth tube that is worn over the shoulder strap and carries embroidered or pinned-on rank insignia. The advantages of this are the ability to easily change the insignia as occasions warrant.

Navy officers started wearing stripes of gold lace on their sleeve cuffs in 1852 but in different patterns than today. Captains, for instance, had just three stripes. I will tell when each rank got its current number of stripes when I discuss that rank. The use of metal pin-on rank insignia by Navy officers started in 1941 when they wore the insignia on the collars of their khaki shirts.

Quite an interesting fact:

'Monkey handles' was a common 19th Century slang term for epaulettes that developed in British colonies of the African sub continent. British officers would often take baby monkeys as pets and the monkeys would commonly seize the epaulettes as a means of hanging on to their owner. This behaviour mimicked their holding onto parents in the wild.

Lanyards

Did you ever wonder where lanyards came from, and why? The French word "lanière" was used to refer to a strap or rope in the late medieval period, and by the 17th century lanyard meant a rope used to fasten things down on a ship. By the Victorian era, lanyards were used to carry a knife, pistol or whistle by soldiers who wore them under their uniforms, over one shoulder rather than around the neck. Ceremonial lanyards were fancy colored braids worn under officers' epaulets (shoulder decorations) in the 19th century - apparently Napoleon really liked them (especially the very fancy kind). These kinds of lanyards are still made for military dress uniforms today.