It's true what they say about putting things out into the Universe. Below, as you will read, I wrote that I had had to make do with two reproduction vests for my Regency and Civil War men, Mr. Darcy and Ashley Wilkes, respectively, as I had not yet found original vests/waistcoats from that period for the collection.
That was yesterday.
Today, I found--wait for it--both. A stunning figured velvet Regency vest/waistcoat with a shawl collar (not the stand up kind, but I'll survive) AND an equally beautiful embroidered Civil War 1860-1865 vest/waistcoat!!! And both were, well, not cheap, but quite reasonable.
So...I'll relegate the repros to the small rack of 'garb' that our historical interpreters may borrow, if they choose, while giving tours and staffing events.
Awesome!
Hello all
I figured that title would get your attention, ha ha.
I was, literally, dressing Mr. Darcy yesterday. But let me explain.
At The Oldest House, as you probably know if you read this blog regularly, we have a Period Clothing Exhibit. It began at Christmas, 2013, and has continued with changing clothes and exhibits to suit the seasons.
I am fortunate enough to curate the Exhibit, and I acquire most of the clothing we display; the House itself owns a few pieces that were given to us in decades past. I began what is now a full fledged and if I do say so myself quite impressive Exhibit by adding a few vintage and antique pieces I had to round out the original display of these few pieces. At that time, there were about six items, and they hung on a large folding screen.
Anyway...each year I change the clothing for the Spring-Summer opening hours, and then again for the Christmas Tea in December. I'm assisted in this endeavor by another insane...erm...I mean creative person on the Oldest House team, Nancy! She's helped me undress, re-dress and position mannequins and forms, and is a whiz at making all those pesky little buttons and hooks close.
So, as it's January, it is once again time to start working on the new exhibit for this Spring-Summer. Nancy, alas for me, is somewhere warm, so I will be tackling at least the major outlines of this year's display on my own. When Nancy's back, in April, she will help me put the finishing touches on, and suggest a bunch of great ideas I haven't thought of!
Some of the items in this year's Exhibit have been on display before. Some are new: when I see something wonderful at an auction or online, if the price is right, it's very hard to resist. Our collection is so good by now, though, that I can skip stuff if it isn't right, if it's exorbitant, or if we already have something similar.
I have been able to concentrate this year a little more on the details, since I've acquired most of the big pieces: some period correct jewelry and accessories, for example, fans and shoes and brooches.
One thing that's been a challenge to source has been antique men's clothes. I have been very fortunate to have recently found some dandy items, however, and am pleased to say that each period in the Exhibit now has a male mannequin dressed in the correct clothing for that time. Almost every single piece is antique and authentic; I have had to resort to reproductions for a couple of items, but my plan is to replace these with authentic pieces as I find them.
And this brings me to Mr. Darcy. Yesterday I was working on the 'Revolutionary War-Regency Era' clothing, which this year will be at the top of the stairs as you come to the third floor of the House. (I'm changing where the various eras are now, too, and moving furniture accordingly, which involves rather a lot of removal and re-hanging, and re-placing.) I have an authentic 1820 man's coat, as well as an authentic Regency man's linen shirt. They're both hand sewn, and absolutely breathtaking. I was very, very lucky to find them, and to find them at reasonable prices! However, the sizes are a bit off: when you find gorgeous antique clothing you don't quibble about size too much, or at least, I never do. It's not as though someone has to actually wear it: it's going on a form, or a mannequin.
Anyway, I also have an authentic pair of men's Regency knee breeches, aka 'knickers,' and a period correct reproduction high collared waistcoat. I have not yet found a Regency neck-cloth, the frothy decorative bit that was the precursor to modern ties. But I did manage to secure a length of early 19th century material that works as a neck-cloth, though I'd like to acquire a longer, fancier one.
At any rate, all of these items make up my 'Mr. Darcy.' I even have a Regency era top hat for him!
Yesterday afternoon, one of my tasks was to assemble this ensemble (say that three times fast!). This particular mannequin is actually a hanging form; it is backless, which makes adjusting for varying sizes quite a bit easier. So I began with the shirt, which went on easily. I buttoned it up and then brought the knee breeches up to fit over the form's hips and tie at the waist, over the shirt.
It sounds easy, doesn't it? Well, consider the fact that this particular shirt, while beautiful, is a large size, probably a 40 regular. And, as all shirts from that era and earlier had, this shirt has extremely long 'tails.' At least to our modern eyes they are extremely long: they reach below mid-thigh. I doubt if any man had an issue with the bottom of his shirt coming out of the waist of his trousers or breeches back then! So I had to hold the knee breeches up with one hand, while shimmying my hand down the legs of the breeches to pull the shirt tails down and smooth them. Regency knee breeches or knickers were very form fitting. Even though my form doesn't have anything below the upper thigh, I wanted the breeches to look right.
After some fiddling and pulling and yes, giggling, those two pieces looked the way I wanted them to. Then I slipped on the reproduction waistcoat, what in the U.S. is called a 'vest.' It, too, was large, but the adjuster in the back took care of that. Then I fastened the neck cloth around the form's neck and tied it in two sort of decorative knots. I had hoped to have something that I could tie and which would hang prettily down the front of the shirt, but the pieces of material I have are too short for this. However, it looked good.
I turned the high collar up on the vest, and stepped back: quite attractive looking! (Even without a head or arms and legs!)
Next came the jacket. It's a good thing they made things strong and sturdy back in 1820 because this was a pip to fit. Once again, these jackets, like the knee breeches, were intended to be form fitting. But the tailor of this particular one used a series of small darts all over the jacket so that the thing fits--literally--like a glove. All well and good, but the jacket is a medium. And, well, the shirt and waistcoat, and the mannequin itself, are not. (The mannequin is a 38 I believe, but being backless, can accommodate smaller sizes).
All the while I was working on the form, of course, it was dangling in front of me from the ceiling hook and chain. Since I only have two hands and could not hold it steady while I dressed it, the thing kept swiveling around as I tried to work on it, and the chain kept clanking against it, so much so that I felt like the form was talking to me, rebuking me for the rather personal manner in which I was touching it. Him. Whatever.
A judicious tugging here and there, and an almost wedging motion that just sort of came to me (maybe I was a costumier in a former life?) to get the shoulders to seat properly brought the jacket more or less where it should be. It will button, but I have left it open, at least for now, so people can see the pretty vest underneath.
I've learned in my research that, largely because men's clothing was somewhat predictable at this time, and didn't change much with the years, men used to express their personalities with their waistcoats. This was true in Colonial, Revolutionary and Regency times.
Who knew?
But that explains the elaborate, often heavily ornate waistcoats that men wore, even for every day. It also explains why they are generally priced accordingly: sky high! But I can understand that if your coat choices were black, dark brown, grey and navy, and your knee breeches could be cream, beige, ecru, pale grey, off white...you get the picture...(sure, some men wore darker breeches, but the usual was a light shade), you sought to express your personal taste, and perhaps even your likes, dislikes, hobbies and political affiliations through your waistcoat's material.
My Mr. Darcy's waistcoat is a yummy chocolate brown with a little diamond jacquard pattern.
By the mid 1800's and the American Civil War, men were beginning to be livelier dressers, sometimes a development to regret. Although most men probably did all right, the trend in the mid 1800's was to wear trousers and jacket of two different colors: the 'matchy-matchy' concept of the suit was still in the future. So men would wear sometimes blue with brown. Or beige with black. Or green with navy. And their vests could be a totally different color, too: red, for example. Or yellow! Or a vibrant print! Although the shirts usually stayed white/ivory and the 'stock' or neck cloth stayed white/ivory or black, a man could, and often did, wear three different colors: far different and more ebullient plumage than the Regency man.
When you visit the House this open season (end of May through September) you will notice this development as you greet 'Mr. Darcy' on the upstairs landing, and then move through the Exhibit into the Civil War Era room. Here we have a male form I laughingly call 'Ashley' after Mr. Wilkes of Gone with the Wind fame. He is clad in authentic robin's egg blue trousers, an authentic cream shirt, a reproduction gold waist coat, and an authentic deep brown velvet jacket. The look is tied together by an authentic blue cravat I was fortunate enough to find: the blue doesn't quite match that of the trousers, but it's close enough.
Ashley is standing next to a plaid wedding dress from 1853, which is owned by the House and was given to us decades ago by the Swackhammer family of the area. The dress has blue, black and gold as its color scheme and 'Scarlett' coordinates beautifully with Ashley!
Mr. Darcy also has a partner: Elizabeth Bennett is next to him on the upstairs landing, wearing a long sleeved muslin gown from 1828, a double ruffled cap from that same period, and a silk shawl from that same time period.
This is the first time we have been able to have couples as a display element, and I'm quite happy about it. Because the High Victorian room is extremely small I won't have room to utilize a male mannequin there. However, fashions for the men were--you guessed it!--pretty boring during this era as well as during the Edwardian era that immediately followed, and pretty much the same. In the Edwardian Era room, I will have my Edwardian man, complete with authentic coat, shirt, and cravat. And I've just snagged some stunning Edwardian dresses. So I'm thinking...Lord and Lady Grantham? Perhaps.
You'll just have to come to The Oldest House during this open season, and find out!
