Working on the ship in bare feet and saving the shoes for going ashore actually makes a lot of practical sense. As a kid on a farm, any job that involved mud was done barefoot. Feet are easy to wash off, and shoes are expensive.
Not to mention that bare feet are often far grippier and able to sense slippage the moment it starts (essential on a constantly moving and often wet surface, let alone climbing around in and walking out on the rigging). And really, after you've been barefoot for even a month (or less) of hard foot labor in sun- and saltwater- soaked conditions, your soles (and likely the rest of your skin) essentially become self-healing, weatherproof leather on their own.
Farms are notably lacking in two things that ordinary sailors spent all their time treading on: wooden decks and hempen rope shrouds you need to climb. Both are really harsh on feet and can tear them up.
Constantly having your feet torn to shreds, in contaminated salt water. And no access to vaccines and antibiotics. No one is going to waste fresh water onboard, especially for things like washing feet. In soap.
As pirates are a particularly favorite topic of mine, I have to share some anecdotes I’ve come across over the years: Sewing was still a big part of being in the US Navy as of the Vietnam War. My uncle was a navy sailor and was the only sibling of 4 who knew how to sew. By his time it was mostly taught so they could repair their uniforms while at sea. The importance of hats for pirates can be seen in what is called “The Notorious Hat Raid.” Benjamin Hornigold’s crew attacked and boarded a merchant ship near Honduras in 1717. To the merchants relief, Hornigold told them they were only after hats. His crew had gotten drunk the night before and decided to throw their hats overboard for a laugh, as you do. The pirates took the merchants’ hats and left without harming anyone. (Whether or not this is real, I’m not sure as I don’t remember which books I read this in!) Some pirates were very into fashion! Calico Jack (Captain Jack Rackham) got his name due to his preference for flamboyant, colorful clothing made from expensive Indian dyes. He also had, imho, the most iconic Jolly Roger, with a skull and cross swords. He wasn’t a very successful pirate and is probably remembered mainly due to having both Anne Bonny and Mary Read as part of his crew. Oh, and he was at least partially the inspiration for Captain Jack Sparrow! If anyone needs evidence as to why tricornio hats and bucket boots were a bad choice for sailors, look no further than the issues encountered while filming the Pirates of the Caribbean movies! Jack’s hat flew off into the sea from the wind so many times that the costumers decided to make it out of rubber instead of leather so it would float and be retrieved. The boots the characters wore on scenes where they walked in the surf would become so full of water that the actors couldn’t keep them on when they stepped. Eventually it was decided to drill holes in the bottoms so they would drain while they walked. Sorry for the lengthy post, I’m just really passionate about pirates! 🏴☠️ Drink up me hearties, yo ho!
@@reneedailey1696 The boot story was in the special features of Dead Man’s Chest (I think), but I can’t remember for sure where I saw/heard the hat one.
@@expatpiskie There were plenty who did both as circumstances allowed, too. :) "Huh. Not much in the way of ships with a lot of wealth around here. Ooo, but these folks are willing to pay good money to get stuff they'd otherwise not be able to have...."
To additions to the benefits of wool: 1. Wool spun "in the grease" (aka without the natural lanolin washed out of it) is basically naturally waterproof, and you can re-infuse it with lanolin as needed as the stuff gets washed out by constant exposure to water and the occasional laundering. Most OG fisherman's sweaters and the like were spun and knit this way, and are basically the equivalent of a highly water resistant puffy coat in terms of protection and warmth. And materials for blankets, cloaks, overcoats and the like would be woven this way, as well. 2. Wool is naturally fireproof - it smolders, but does not burn under most normal conditions (especially when wet or damp, which it would be most of the time). Which is an attribute that would be extremely useful when living and working 24/7 on what was essentially an overcrowded, constantly moving tenement/workshop constructed of tar- and pitch-soaked wood, jute, and linen, on and within which fire was the chief (if not only) means of heating, cooking, lighting, and (in many cases) fighting. And of course, smoking cigars, pipes, and cigarettes. So yeah, walking around in what was essentially almost-waterproof, insulating fireman's garb was not only necessary for worker comfort, it was a key for not dying any number of horrific deaths that lurked in the potentiality of literally every daily action you performed.
Kersey wasn't likely to be spun in the grease, although it was probably oiled with lanolin to make slops. Granted, wool is highly insulative even when soaking wet. Kersey was made from lower grade and large gauge yarn woven into an unbalanced (double warp, single weft) fabric. The outer face in 2/2 twill and inner face in 3/1. Napping and shearing the 3/1 face of the fabric produced a smooth surface for the inside on garments. For other uses the smooth side could be the outer face of the fabric. Apart from linsy-woolsy, kersey is my favourite historic fabric.
The knitted sweater also seems practical I imagine if you are to climb and reach to work with sails, fishing nets and stuff. Like not restricting your movement.
@@jirup I'm just guessing, but maybe, even if the wool was washed, in older times without modern chemicals and equipment for the process maybe there would be some oiliness left in the wool? Just speculating...
Physician and garment-maker here: there's a weirdly large amount of overlap between sewing skin and sewing fabrics. Surgeon's knots are a great way to manage thread tails in places like darts. Also, I strongly recommend horizontal mattress stitches for repair of dog plushies.
Former Surg Tech and maker here-tying sutures with a needle driver and forceps is the same principle and technique used for “flipping the knot” in shuttle tatting. It blew my instructor’s mind how fast and neatly I could tie sutures.
I took my dog’s spay sutures out myself rather than drive an hour to the vet; no big deal, of course. But on our next trip to the vet, I told him “nice mattress sutures, by the way. You sew really well!” He was flattered that I noticed and mentioned it.
I know next to nothing about historically accurate clothing BUT all the costumes in Black Sails have me trying to figure out how to dress like a fictionalised pirate from my existing wardrobe.
Another aspect I appreciate about dressing Blackbeard's crew in more modern leather garb is that it enforces how ahead of Stede's crew they are in skill, to the point where Ed considers piracy as something trivial and easy. I also really admire how it builds into Ed's arc, where he feels alienated from the "modern" (1717) upper-class culture that Stede represents (to the point where Ed is shown in modern t-shirts multiple times). He's so "ahead of his time" that he has become trapped within a mythologized version of himself, and he's completely separated from the rest of society outside of piracy for it. Spoilers, but: .... .... .... .... .... It's definitely not a coincidence either that, during much of the last two episodes, he spends a lot of time wearing the same (more historically-accurate) clothing as Stede, and that's when he becomes more upfront with his feelings (and he is subsequently hurt for it, resulting in him retreating back into leather as he isolates himself again, basically giving up his personhood to become the monster that Blackbeard myths describe him as).
A lot of the most classic pirate stuff makes at least some real sense. An eye patch actually might have come into our associations not so much because of damaged eyes (although sure--that could happen easily when using weapons and living poor) but because such a patch could be a tool for seeing more quickly below deck if you were running back and forth rapidly fighting and plundering. Eyes take time to adjust to lower light below deck, but switch an eye patch from one eye to another running below deck and the eye you're using to see is already acclimatized to dark--a handy trick. Bandanas strike me as popular for the million reasons all laborers and outdoorspeople carry them, but also for further shading and protecting seldom-washed hair.
@Christopher Johnson I'm fairly okay here in Toronto (Canada) with the virus. Vaccination is pretty good here, but I feel like choices to open up or not are often more politically than medically guided, so even when I can enjoy fewer COVID restrictions, I never feel things are as safe as they should be. I'm just always more uneasy than I ever was before. Happiness, prosperity and love to you too,in any case. What's your engineering work like in New York? I'm hoping to be painting murals with a community centre groups here soon and some of the local theatres are opening, for now.
Regarding eye patches, sometime look up one of those documentary shows about what a cannon ball does to the wooden hull of a sailing ship. A lot of sailors on the gun deck. lost more than an eye that way.
We tend to be gender biased with what is thought of as "women's work". My grandparents were all born in the late 1800s. My GRANDFATHER taught me how to knit when I was about 9 or 10 years old. We tend to forget that at that time in history, late 1800s and early 1900s there weren't department stores to purchase garments. People needed stockings or socks. When a boy lived at home, most likely his mother or sisters would knit them. But if he left home and wasn't married, he would have to either pay a woman to knit them or learn to knit himself. Grandpa knew how to knit as it was a necessity for him in his youth. He probably knew how to do basic sewing also.
My grandpas brothers both learned to knit when they were small, because they were sick for a long time with pneumonia. Sick in bed? Make them useful hours! He never learned, he said, because he never really got sick. I mean imagine keeping two kids in bed busy with no tv, not more than 2 or 3 books in the house, no money, but plenty of socks needing knitting! Grandpas born in 1909, was the youngest
I have a costume for a gentleman in the trade of "mercantile logistics and redistribution". It is fanciful in depiction in many respects but is built on the basic loose trousers and shirt. Our Halloweens can be hot/warm/cold. I chose this costume for its ability to layer to match conditions. It was wonderful to see where I accidentally got things sort of historically right. Thanks for presenting this bit of fashion history.
Loose fitting clothing is easier to climb in, particularly the legs of the breeches and the arms of shirts, waistcoats and jackets. Sailors spend a good deal of time up in the rigging furling and unfurling sails. I was told by a person who was in the US Navy during WWII that the reason for the bell bottom trousers in the sailor's uniform is so that if they went overboard, they could get out of them quickly, as the wool trousers would become waterlogged and drag them under, so breeches you can get out of easily for that reason. The uniform trousers also had a fall front -- zippers rust.
I'm trying to remember where it was, but I vividly remember references to sailing ships having their decks 'sanded' regularly and often. I believe it was to make the surface have a slight grip and remove splinters since much of the crew was running about barefoot. Ah, found it. On good old wikipedia look up Holystone.
There are some contemporary sources mentioning golden age pirates wearing stolen fashionable clothing also on sea. For example, there's one report that I unfortunately don't remember that well where a passenger of a robbed ship told that the pirates came to the ship on a long boat with two a bit weirdly-dressed noblemen at the lead who first offered to buy luxuries that were being transported on the ship before revealing themselves as pirates in the end. During that time pirate crews were different from ordinary merchant crews in two important ways. First, the pirate crews were usually much larger. A ship that would normally run with a 20 man crew could well have 100 pirates on board. This meant that each individual pirate had to do much less physical work than a normal sailor and they had much more free time. This meant that it was not as important to wear practical clothing as it was for normal sailors. The second difference is that the pirate identity of the time stressed freedom. Pirates were the free men, common sailors were the slaves. There was an explicit rejection of the standards of the general society. Instead of accepting the hierarchy where their betters told them what to do, golden age pirates were fiercely democratic. Part of this rejection was wearing clothes that were not appropriate for common sailors. For most pirates, stolen clothing gave them the first opportunity to dress fashionably in their lives so it is probable that quite a few of them took the opportunity. Of course, a single captured ship will not provide enough fine clothes for a whole pirate crew to wear, and probably 10 captures will not be enough for that. At least among some crews the captured clothes were distributed among the members who went over board to the capture. For example, Bartholomew Roberts had in his crew articles a paragraph that stated that all men who went on board the prize would get a new set of clothes.
This was so interesting! I had no idea there was so little primary source material. I loved realising on rewatch that Blackbeard wears fall-front leather trousers. That was such a fun detail to notice 😅
I can totally sympathize with a love for patterns because they look tidy for longer and a love for knitted caps because they are great in general. The decorated one from the Carlton looks also very cute and has just become a new knitting-aspiration.
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It's possible that the stick was to keep certain animals at bay, like rats and stray dogs. I know in many places in the colonies (not just in the Caribbean) wild cats, hungry dogs, and rats were a huge problem and people would go out for a stroll with a stick to fend themselves from the animals.
That's a good idea! I was just thinking that sailors on shore leave would have money and not much local knowledge, making them obvious targets for thieves. Also, it would be quite useful for stability until it feels like the solid ground has stopped moving after a while on board ship. Maybe it's a mixture of all of these reasons, plus some we'd never even think of that would be completely obvious to contemporary people.
Delightful! It was great to learn what historians think real pirates wore. You’re absolutely right about the historical Easter eggs…there are some fabulous references!! Historically accurate to the time period or not, the show is fantastic, as are your videos.
apparently hemp linnen was the most usall fabric for sails in the uk at this time. also waxing/oiling fabric was verry common, vegtable oils mixed or not with beeswax, barber jackets still use this as tar was hard to use as it needed to be hot to use
A delightful clothing romp. Towards the end as you were discussing the practicality of certain items of clothes, I could hear Cary Elway's voice rattling on about black being very practical, masks being comfortable, and how it was the costume that made the pirate. (which was very spot on from what you were saying.) Looking forward to the next episode.
I love your presentation and objective view. As a Navy Parachute Rigger our ancient beginnings were as Sail Makers and we learned how to sew in all aspects. We has something called a "Sail Makers" palm. It was a leather plam no finger tips and a wax pad in the center. we even had what was called "Sail" needles. Appreciate your view and aspects. Thanks Nicole!!!!
If I'm not mistaken, officers in some countries are still expected to buy some of the more formal uniform items from private tailors at their own expense.
Even the US Navy does uniform stipends and requires the enlisted to purchase their own uniform pieces. It's basically "here's your pay and we expect you to use about this much of it to buy the stuff we require you to have"
In 1988, I paid for my “dress blues”, the more formal army uniform. They cost about the same as my wedding dress. I sold them to another lieutenant when I left active duty.
@@NicoleRudolph And $Diety help you if you're of an odd size they don't have in the base stores. (Source: my brother wears size 16/17 shoes & had to special-order his Navy dress shoes because they didn't carry anything larger than a 15. He could squeeze into those for the working shoes (& could sometimes find shoes in "regular" stores that looked the part & fit a wee bit better), but dress shoes are a whole 'nother critter. At one point, the only place he could find that had the right type of shoe in his size was a place that specialized in clown shoes.)
Considering the prices I saw while buying replacement boots/shirts/etc for my ex, the US may as well be charging soldiers private tailor rates.... Boots especially. Yikes. So much pain caused when my ex developed a bad habit of getting things in such a shit shape I couldn't clean or repair it. 🙃
If I remember correctly the ensemble cast had a fair amount of input in creating their character's looks too, I think Samba Schutte (who plays Roach) talks about it in an interview where he's talking about choosing Roach's tattoos!
Through an interest in my family history, a theatrical background, and my love of Muppets I came across your videos. Partly as a way of investigating the possibility of historical reenacting. This one in particular crosses the history of my family at some interesting points which I will reveal below. I have a large maritime and Royal Navy history. Your focus on sailors in general provided some good material to consider for accurate representations. Thank you for that! First, at 14:25 in your video you show a scrap of sail from the HMS Terror on the Franklin Expedition. The First mate of the HMS Terror was Frederick John Hornby. Through King Edward III he was my 14th cousin 10x removed. There is the possibility of a connection in the 5th cousin range through the naval family of Byng. Parks Canada is continuing the archaeological work on the wreck site and we await new discoveries from the wreck. The scrap of sail was a nice surprise in your video, thank you for sharing. Second, I am presently tracing a family connection to the pirate Henry Mainwaring 1587-1653. For a pirate to appear in a Royal Navy family line, this one will be interesting to explore. Third, my 3rd great uncle William Dawson had a career in the Royal Navy that is documented in family papers to cover entry as a Midshipman to his career as Post Captain. Along the way he served on board The Amiable and the Babet under Jemmet Mainwaring. William contracted scurvy and was sent home to recover. Shortly afterward his ship and crew was lost in a storm at sea in 1801. At 9:56 in your video you posted a list of clothes needed for sailors. The Royal Armouries posted a video of the Life and Career of William Dawson based on family letters which include a handwritten shopping list from 3 July 1795 when his father took him shopping for the clothing he would need when he boarded the Malabar. You can see this video in the link below. You can see the list at the 20:27 mark of the Royal Armouries video. Royal Armouries UA-cam Channel Winter lecture - The life and career of Captain William Dawson RN ua-cam.com/video/vME74DMGB3A/v-deo.html
Would you consider reviewing the costumes of the TV series "The Black Sails"? AFAIK, there isn't any made of it. The series take place in the early 18th century in the West Indies and depicts a wide variety of sailors and pirates.
I just recently found "our flag means death" and am enjoying it immensely. this video makes me enjoy it more, thank you! I did notice the tailors palm, and thought "omg, they included that!" so I get what you're saying about the little accuracies they have included, it stands out when you know anything at all about historical dress and work. can't wait to see the video about the waistcoat, it's gorgeous, especially with that shirt! Well done!
hurrah!! more pirate content please 🥺 (that's the emoji that comes up for "begging," lol) I'd love to hear....basically anything you possibly could have to say about this show :) true story here, i think of you fondly during the fancy ship party in ep 5 - who else can I trust on these choppy digital waters to give it to me straight about how the purple silk velvety-looking suit blackbird was wearing would have *actually* been produced before the invention of aniline dyes. I think we're fairly post-sumptuary laws in 1717, but I can't quite figure out how decadent that suit really is. it feels like a such a delightful and fascinating bit of characterization, too.
For cloth material, there was probably also a lot of hemp! I did a school project years ago in college about hemp as a cloth material for clothing, and learned about the vast history of hemp being used as a cloth material through the ages. I think hemp would probably be a re-occurring material because it was very similar to linen, stronger than cotton, and great for different kinds of weather due to it's strong fibers, water absorbance yet quick to dry, making it both great for winters as summers on sea. To add cloth made of hemp is anti-bacterial, so it prevents clothing for getting weird smells. I can think that it was more for on ships than off ships, but I think it would make great sense that a lot of clothes on the ship would be made of (at least partly) hemp. It was also heavily used in sails and ropes, most sails were made of hemp back then. Hemp only started being used less, I think around the start of the 20th century, due to it being replaced by other materials. There is actually a lot of practical knowledge lost about hemp as it was used, it was often combined with another material like cotton or wool or linen, each given it a different feeling and effect, and quality to the clothes (through maybe there is more knowledge back about it know, back when I did the project it was super hard to find anything about the practical part of hemp cloth making, which was what I actually wanted to know).
One of my ancestors John Gaddis II was an actual Caribbean privateer 🏴☠️and was killed by Black beard himself- well he tried to kill him first so there’s that.
Man, for every video I wish you would write a whole book on the topic you're covering 😂 It's all SO INTERESTING and delightful and I really really appreciate the level of depth and good research involved. It sucks that so many "history" books are written with hasty crap "research" and are often just surface level--I'd love to read a whole 500 page volume on these topics if they were written like these videos are presented. Very cool!
I love this video! It's really well thought out and researched and I appreciate all the work put into it. You touched upon this in your essay? video? but if you wouldn't mind my adding my two cents or perhaps repeating the comments of others (as I have not read all 200+ comments) I'd be grateful. Some time ago, I ran across commentary by an expert in costumes and clothing from the period of Pirates of the Caribbean (the first movie). The essayist was a bit put out that in a big budget film, that they couldn't do a least a little research and not mix the clothes from different eras into a blender. Now don't get me wrong, it takes almost as much effort to get it wrong as to get it right, so there isn't as much of an excuse to not pay some attention to what you are doing, especially now adays when the research is not only done but often readily available with a few minutes or hours of internet time. But I don't think even people as knowledgeable as yourself often bring out the fact that as recently as the 1970s, everyone reused everything. Not just the poor, but all the way to the rich (when I would comment on why a rich person didn't just throw X away, I'd be told, how do you think they got to be rich? It wasn't by wasting money!). Case in point, my mother was born 1920 in Quebec Province, Canada. She lived in a very rural area and lived through the Great Depression. The family was never dirt poor, but they never considered themselves much more than working class, and certainly not well-off for many a decade. So all the habits that she saw and obtained growing up stayed with her. How she treated clothing was one. When I was 5, I had a favorite knee length dress, long sleeved and no waist, just poofy. When I completely out grew it, and there were no other children that she knew who could use it, she decided to solve an issue she was having...I wasn't a sloppy girl, but I never could seem to not drip, drop, dribble or spill food or especially sauces on myself, even with a paper napkin under my chin. And ketchup and soy sauce stain. So she cut out the sleeves of my old cotton dress made the neck hole bigger, and until I was in my teens, that was my bib/napkin/coverall at the kitchen table. Saved Mommy from tearing her hair out pretreating and scrubbing my clothes and saved the clothes (once something was stained, it had to be turned into something else, because you couldn't wear it or give it away, it was stained!) Another time, I had outgrown a very light cotton jacket, and she had an old worn out dress. So those two pieces of clothing became the slipcovers/new upholstery for two chairs (one oversized, the other my wooden pottie chair, so no one would know it was a pottie chair). Other mothers and women in the community would regularly get together to exchange clothes, mostly hand me downs for the kids, but their own clothes would get swapped around too (this doesn't fit me any more, but I think you'll look great, don't you have that wedding to go to in the fall?). There wasn't a single textile that wasn't either passed on or refurbished. My mother didn't quilt, but she made rag rugs, and when she didn't have rags, she'd use the bread bags that Wonder or SaraLee bread came/comes in. Then there was Mommy's old fur coats, a beautiful shearling (?) coat and a seal coat. They had been in storage for decades with my grandmother (since Mommy thought it wasn't cold enough for them in NJ back then and later she died) and Grandmama thought I was old enough for a good warm coat. So she had an expert furrier come in and refurbish and retailor the coat to fit me and to eighty-six the bell sleaves of the 30s/40s to something a bit more updated for the 80s. (Oh and I still have that coat). But what's my point? Textiles didn't last, not only because they would turn to dust over the centuries, but because they would become something else long before they could disintegrate, something you might not even recognize as a set of breaches or a night shirt. Everything was reused or recycled until there was absolutely nothing left. So when someone looks at not just poor people, but all people wearing clothes that were out of fashion, it's more true to life than an expert might credit (which doesn't make the observation any less valid, the showrunners and execs might not care less about an 18th century bodice in a 16th century costume epic, or figure that one of the March girls of the pre-Civil War era wearing Uggs as, hey that looks olde timey). A cabin boy might have a coat that his grandfather wore. A pirate might steal a chest of 'good' clothes that had been preserved for decades and would have the 'wrong' style, but if you still cut a dashing figure in port in a 1680 sleeve? Who cares?? And if some busybodies do, well, the cutlass can do the talking. That's why I think that if something is older than the period, then you are still good for verisimilitude, but not if you time travel along...but Blackbeard (or Black Adder, or Shakespeare or the Doctor) can do whatever the hell they like. Thanks for letting me rant.
Didn't mention braids in this. In one fiction book I read (Treasure island?) our young hero tars the bottom of his braid to make his hair stick together and get it out of his face. The local Target didn't supply scrunchies back then
That’s something I also remember from reading Treasure Island as a kid. I think, but may be wrong, that braiding your hair and then tarring the braid to keep it in one place and so on was a thing for certain fishermen and sailors in my native Sweden, as well. Probably pirates too, Sweden didn’t have a lot of pirates per se but we did have a lot of privateers, so that’s pretty much the same thing.
My personal headcanon is that Black Pete said that because HE doesn't know how to sew. I think it's similar to men in the modern day demanding woman doing housework, like cooking and cleaning, despite not knowing how to do it themselves. I think his casual sexism stems from hinted fact that he himself doesn't have a lot of personal skills (The Line:"There's a lot you don't know about me! Actually, that's kind of it" comes to mind) so he kinda sees work he is unable to do as beneath him or he straight up lies about himself to make him seem better. Without giving any big spoilers for any of commenters who haven't watched the show, it's nice how he develops throughout the series, showing more of his interest in other things
Wool is not heat stroke on a bolt. "Tropical wools" are a thing, thin and unfulled. We live in the tropics, not semi-tropics. I made three long sleeved shirts for my husband, the bank vp. One was matte silk, one was cotton, and one from tropical wool. The last was always the most comfortable on a muggy summer day. It breathes, it absorbs and distributes sweat for evaporation, you don't chill walking into a\c. So you don't have to do contortions about how chilly it would get to believe that they wore wool.
Nicole: "And... salt water does a number on leather." Me: *immediately thinks of of OFMD Blackbeard, the Heavy Metal Goth Sea Biker™* Thanks for bringing that up later on - I wouldn't expect any less from this channel! Ngl though, I do very much adore the rampant anachronism of that show, and how it's casually mixed in with the historically correct aspects. From a show perspective, it is such delightful fun.
The stick was a standard gentleman's accessory. And it's a big stick. So if you're on a budget, with a few coins but low social status, dressing up for a night on the town, and not the best part of town, and maybe an unfamiliar town... it seems like an obvious choice for lots of reasons.
As a woman with long hair who lives on a sailboat in hot climates I can 100% throw practically behind the bandanna to keep hair slightly less chaotic in wind and not burn your scalp when it’s too windy to keep a hat on (once the wind gets over 20 knots even a modern well fitting hat with a strap under the chin will not stay on and instead end up choking you while flapping about on your back). I can also attest that barefoot is the best grip/safest to not slip when you go forward in big seas or say beating into the wind, I only wear shoes when my feet are cold (doesn’t happen much where we are in the tropics) and I only have one pair of sailing boots that I trust their grip (Dubarrys are the best).
Ive been looking for videos of pirate clothing explained a few years back, and honestly non of them compared to how good and informative this video was. Thank you!!!
So glad you did an outfit reveal at the end, I started drawing it halfway through since I loved it so much (obviously I couldn’t see it all and I didn’t realise it was a two-piece outfit so I drew it as a dress) but love it! And the video! And you!
Amazing video, Nicole's knowledge on the subject is eerily vast and you can tell she is having so much fun talking about it. Love it. Towards the end there's a question if pirates knew how to sew, I think that is a definite yes as sail maintenance required it. (Sails could be damaged by environmental factors, gunfire, improper handling... But without sails one would risk getting the whole ship and crew stuck, so it was imperative to be able to patch them on sea)
Having worn a “tricorne” cocked hat in heavy rain trying to catch a recalcitrant pony, they actually work *extremely* well in rain, but yeah, the second a wind comes up that puppy is goooooone.
Having worn a tricorne in very windy weather, I have to disagree on that point. It is the one hat that didn't budge in the wind (compared to my newsboy caps, baseball caps and akubra)
Petticoat breeches are just as twirly as skirts/petticoats! I know someone who has some 1670s style petticoat breeches and wears them at a historic site
I love this! I grew up on a narrowboat so the idea of sailors with bare feet has always seemed comical to me. You wouldn't even go barefoot on a houseboat 😂 nobody wants duck poop through their toes let me tell you!
I do have to say however that the most common type of cloth used by sailors would have been hemp. Sails and rope were made hemp and hemp canvas, and I believe that hemp would also have been common to the poor as well since it grows like a weed and is fibrous like linen. It would be extremely interesting to hear about the use of hemp as a textile.
Thank you for your thorough review of the functionality of pirate clothing! Much appreciated in my thinking on how to wear more protective clothing on the regular. Linen and leather shall be added!
Blackbeard intentionally portrayed himself as batshit crazy. Edward Keats was one of the very few literate pirates that we have records of literally saying that he made his image to be as scary as possible. A rumor I heard since I live in a port city and spent quite a bit of time down by the docks when I can particularly Pre Plague.... was that the same seawater they would give up to wash the deck they would use the same buckets to bring up additional seawater and at least rinse out their clothes and dry them on the rails. Officers were generally have their buckets of water drawn first and a trusted crewman would be sent to wash them. Once the officers clothes were clean then the crew was free to spend the next few hours calling up water to rinse out their own clothes. According to the story anyway there is a funny reaction that happens between the linen and seawater which makes the cloth more protective and more similar to canvas. Particularly for high wearing areas like between the legs and under the armpits getting permission to use a bit of the damaged sail to mend your clothing was a huge perk and a sign of the officers favoritism. These stories come down from an oyster fisherman family who began in Georgia as Sailors of the British Navy. He was overly proud of the fact that four of the five brothers of his family at the time Join the Revolution. And two of them who survived eventually took up fishing and their descendants are the ones who made it to Texas. The story seems plausible enough from where I sit, having done more than my share of hours on that oyster trawler in the Summers when I first moved to town. As far as I know I am still the only woman he has ever allowed to work his ship... The whole Barefoot thing seems extremely plausible to me. Having worked on large wooden decked Lake boats for most of my Summers growing up, Barefoot is just how you get s*** done. Considering these guys would go months or even years without getting paid and even when they did they weren't going to risk their nice new shoes trying to do work on the ship, that is just stupid. I think a good run of experimental archaeology will prove out the fact that these buckled shoes no matter how much more flexible shoes were back then... are just not proper work attire for climbing rigging. it's not going to benefit you. I could believe that officers on a ship-of-the-line might keep their shoes on most days more as a status symbol of the fact that they aren't going up and down the rigging and doing most of the manual labor. The six especially for common Sailors make perfect f****** since we're going ashore it's a weapon that is not a void and therefore will not get them in Social trouble for violating sumptuary laws but they still have something other than their fists to have a bar fight with. A pirate in Port would have done something similar simply to blend in with the regular Sailors and not draw attention to themselves. Though having a pistol or extra knife hidden under their clothing would be quite likely. You also have to remember that literally everyone of every class carried around and eating knife with them at all times.
One thing I remember is that a bit before the “age of pirates”, in the 1600’s, English sailors in the nutmeg trade wore special uniforms without any form of pockets, since if a sailor filled his pockets with nutmeg and brought it back home to sell, he’d have enough to live a long and quite comfortable life, perhaps not upper class standards but definitely middle class at the very least. Much better than the extreme toil and dangers of life as a sailor, so of course the owners of the spice trade companies didn’t want their workers pinching the merchandise!
I love how the iconic pirate costume is basically the Victorian media producers (stage, books etc) doing what the modern film industry does with period dramas now: get modern clothes which represent the role they want to portray then add a bunch of interesting looking ye olde clothes so the audience know it's set in the past. Then add in the pirates themselves going "yep, that's right, that's totally what we look like so watch out for people who dress like that. Only that. Everyone else is kosher," and the truth is well and truly obscured.
Wonderful video and super helpful! I enjoy the occasional outing to the Ren fair, and pirates seems to be the theme for my group this year. That being said I like to add my touch of realism when I can. This was wonderful for that! Thanks!
The response to the revised images of Mary Reede and Anne Boney, my thoughts exactly. That artist's instructions seemed to be "They were mythologized for passing as men, so...yeah, breasts out. Yeah, all the way out." And we thought Billy Blanks was the first to wear tank tops that didn't quite cover his nipples.
It was also part of their legend that they'd bare their breast to a fallen enemy before dealing the death blow, to add the extra humiliation of being killed in battle by a woman. The tits out may be referencing that - either way I doubt Anne or Mary would have bothered with any dramatic reveals, since that kind of faffing gets you stabbed.
Now I need a movie full of pirates in slops and knitted caps. I hate when people say we cant present, or at least try, historical looks in media, its all so fascinating.
Hi, Just in case nobody has commented on this i just want to point out that pirates still exist today and they are nothing to aspire to. The pirates that operate in the waters of Guatemala (basically in the passage between Mexico and Panama) prey mostly on private sailing boats. They come out in traditional fishing boats and try to rob the families on these boats blind. There are stories of people being killed, but I haven't done research to verify this. They take everything from essential navigational equipments and money, to the food bunkered for months for the crew and even drinking water. For reference see SV Delos on UA-cam and their passage through theses waters. There were also a pirate problem in the waters outside Somalia for some time, (I don't know the current situation) and they even boarded merchant vessels, and people were killed, there. It was so bad that there was a concerted effort to curtail this by the rest of the world and for some time there were an inter national guard of naval ships (including ships from the US and my country) patrolling the waters. I haven't researched if the problem is still there, though. I'm sure that the historical pirates killed people and were taking anything that wasn't bolted down, and if it was bolted down they would take those too, but that happened in history so it doesn't feel so bad nowadays. With that said, let's go back to the more polished pirate tales of fantasy and history. Yours, Ann
I was literally just about to comment about how much i love that shirt when you said how much you loved it at the end of the video. Such a cute outfit! 🤩
You earn a like just for showing an illustration of Captain Avery (or Every - depending on who you ask), an ancestor of mine. But I really love how deeply you dig into the history. So fascinating. Your channel is truly a joy to watch!
Sailmaking is super different! My husbands hand sewing experience is related to sailing. When he patches his clothing be does it like he is patching a sail and its super "over built".
It's really fascinating to see what sailors in the past wore, and thinking about how it informs the clothing I wear sailing today. The knit hat has never gone out of style and I still use them when sailing today.
You're so engaging I find myself nodding along as if you're in the room with me. When you were talking about tarring the clothes for hard weather I caught myself nodding
Pirates were often just mercenaries in the service of a particular crown, and were thus authorized by that crown to wreak havoc on the crown's enemies. From my reading, they seemed to be narcissistic adventurers, who were both thrill seekers and often sadistic. Some of them were especially brutal. Once they began their lifestyle of attack and plunder, they found it hard to give up that lifestyle and would continue whether they had the support of a crown or not. This is what fostered the Caribbean group. They would start out in the service of England, or France, or Spain, or Italy, etc., attacking and plundering whichever one of those other country's ships they found, but it seems many of them just became freelancers. This sort of thing happened after the U.S. Civil War too, when Confederate bandit groups just continued doing what they had been doing during the war, even after the war ended. They became the famous outlaws and bandits of the west. As for what the pirates wore, they wore whatever they found on the ships they captured. If there were any fancy clothing from aristocrats, or officers coats, uniforms and shoes (sometimes cavalry which were the tall boots), the pirates would wear them when they put in to shore. The pirate captain would of course get the choicest items, but everyone got a share of the treasure. This is probably where you get the image of the pirate wearing a French or Spanish officer's coat, an officer's tricorn hat, and cavalry boots with the tops turned down. Being narcissists, they would dress to impress while on shore. It was also a way of showing off how successful they were at capturing ships, by the finery they were wearing. Nobody wanted to look like they were poor and unsuccessful. I doubt they wore that kind of clothing at sea, although perhaps the captain might be dressed up if they were attacking a ship, if for no other reason than to show off. I'm guessing the popular image of how they dressed, was due to them wearing captured military clothing, especially officer's clothing, and that image being recounted by survivors of pirate attacks. It's strange how violent, thieving lawlessness became romanticized like it was, but that seems to be popular even today.
I have a leather tricorn hat I made for one of my steampunk outfits. Can confirm they're incredibly impractical- it weighs a tonne, it's really really hot, and the points bonk on things a lot. I can cope with wearing it for a few hours at an event but I wouldn't want to actually/do/ anything wearing it.
@@nancyreid8729 Hard agree, but I'm a leatherworker, not a milliner and 'proper' tricorns are expensive. My sister has one she made out of EVA foam, which is very light but even worse for heat management.
I love your videos, I’ve been watching them for years (and your friends that you feature in) but only recently have I realised as I see you sitting and working, I know why you know so much about the past. You’re a vampire! A perfect example of such. A fabulous, possibly vegetarian, vampire.❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🥰
It’s interesting that Hannah Snell was mentioned. I am very interested in 18th Century women who chose to live as men, and I’m currently working on developing an accurate persona of Deborah Samson to portray in my talks on women veterans. As a retired military officer (and unapologetic feminist), it’s very important to me to capture not only the uniform, but also the many sociopolitical reasons women chose to do this and to take those risks in both the military and the civilian world.
Thank you so much for these two videos. Firts because they are amazing. But also because you gave me an excellent reason to watch this serie again with a new eye.
Makes me think of a folk song called "Ruben Ranzo" about a "bond street tailor" who "shipped onboard a whaler". Really fun song that exists in many different languages
I'm in the UK too- There are friends who can help you out with files of it, if you ask around. Reddit especially has Google drives with it on, it might take a few tries to find one still accessible. But OH MAN it is WORTH IT. I've watched it three times already and I'm struggling to hold off on a fourth, and fifth.
Clothing stores in the Royal Navy are still called slops. An afternoons leave from duty is called a make and mend as that was its original intended purpose.
i HAVE to discredit your points of negative on tricorn hats. in my experience of wearing them in everything from storms to heatwaves, they have been FANTASTIC. the gutter system is actually better, its basically the same as a dicorn hat in that sense protecting against the sun? it really depends on how small or how tightly fitted the actual shape is to the head, but i specifically got a big one and i didnt even get a whiff of a tan on my face during a massive heatwave - and there's some evidence of people loosening the ties and letting one side down to act as a sun hat! or to keep rain off the face. this would even develop into the LITERAL INVENTION OF THE BASEBALL CAP that was SUPER common among sailors, as many would get hats, remove all other material except for the folded down brim, and wear it everywhere. though they can be bulky, so are many, many hats worn at this time, its not much different to many other hats worn at the time that have any sort of larger brim, except they faired better against wind due to the shape
Working on the ship in bare feet and saving the shoes for going ashore actually makes a lot of practical sense. As a kid on a farm, any job that involved mud was done barefoot. Feet are easy to wash off, and shoes are expensive.
Not to mention that bare feet are often far grippier and able to sense slippage the moment it starts (essential on a constantly moving and often wet surface, let alone climbing around in and walking out on the rigging). And really, after you've been barefoot for even a month (or less) of hard foot labor in sun- and saltwater- soaked conditions, your soles (and likely the rest of your skin) essentially become self-healing, weatherproof leather on their own.
But at the same time, those decks could have potentially gotten really hot in direct sunlight, making it painful to tread them barefoot
Splinters.
Farms are notably lacking in two things that ordinary sailors spent all their time treading on: wooden decks and hempen rope shrouds you need to climb. Both are really harsh on feet and can tear them up.
Constantly having your feet torn to shreds, in contaminated salt water. And no access to vaccines and antibiotics. No one is going to waste fresh water onboard, especially for things like washing feet. In soap.
As pirates are a particularly favorite topic of mine, I have to share some anecdotes I’ve come across over the years:
Sewing was still a big part of being in the US Navy as of the Vietnam War. My uncle was a navy sailor and was the only sibling of 4 who knew how to sew. By his time it was mostly taught so they could repair their uniforms while at sea.
The importance of hats for pirates can be seen in what is called “The Notorious Hat Raid.” Benjamin Hornigold’s crew attacked and boarded a merchant ship near Honduras in 1717. To the merchants relief, Hornigold told them they were only after hats. His crew had gotten drunk the night before and decided to throw their hats overboard for a laugh, as you do. The pirates took the merchants’ hats and left without harming anyone. (Whether or not this is real, I’m not sure as I don’t remember which books I read this in!)
Some pirates were very into fashion! Calico Jack (Captain Jack Rackham) got his name due to his preference for flamboyant, colorful clothing made from expensive Indian dyes. He also had, imho, the most iconic Jolly Roger, with a skull and cross swords. He wasn’t a very successful pirate and is probably remembered mainly due to having both Anne Bonny and Mary Read as part of his crew. Oh, and he was at least partially the inspiration for Captain Jack Sparrow!
If anyone needs evidence as to why tricornio hats and bucket boots were a bad choice for sailors, look no further than the issues encountered while filming the Pirates of the Caribbean movies! Jack’s hat flew off into the sea from the wind so many times that the costumers decided to make it out of rubber instead of leather so it would float and be retrieved. The boots the characters wore on scenes where they walked in the surf would become so full of water that the actors couldn’t keep them on when they stepped. Eventually it was decided to drill holes in the bottoms so they would drain while they walked.
Sorry for the lengthy post, I’m just really passionate about pirates! 🏴☠️ Drink up me hearties, yo ho!
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Ooooooh, I never knew all this! Was there a making-of feature I missed??
@@reneedailey1696 The boot story was in the special features of Dead Man’s Chest (I think), but I can’t remember for sure where I saw/heard the hat one.
@@CassiBlack OK thanks!!
It's been forever since I watched the extras for POTC, you've just convinced me to do just that!
"Pirates are just privateers without permission slips" is SO accurate and SO hilarious. A wonderful deep dive, so to speak.
My family tree includes several Cornish privateers. When privateering ended they turned to smuggling rather than piracy.
@@expatpiskie There were plenty who did both as circumstances allowed, too. :) "Huh. Not much in the way of ships with a lot of wealth around here. Ooo, but these folks are willing to pay good money to get stuff they'd otherwise not be able to have...."
"you have a license for that"
@@seastorm1979 yeah
Right here
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Yes that was brilliant!😅
What I got from this is that Pirates were so successful at selling their own personas that we know very little about them without it. Iconic
To additions to the benefits of wool:
1. Wool spun "in the grease" (aka without the natural lanolin washed out of it) is basically naturally waterproof, and you can re-infuse it with lanolin as needed as the stuff gets washed out by constant exposure to water and the occasional laundering. Most OG fisherman's sweaters and the like were spun and knit this way, and are basically the equivalent of a highly water resistant puffy coat in terms of protection and warmth. And materials for blankets, cloaks, overcoats and the like would be woven this way, as well.
2. Wool is naturally fireproof - it smolders, but does not burn under most normal conditions (especially when wet or damp, which it would be most of the time). Which is an attribute that would be extremely useful when living and working 24/7 on what was essentially an overcrowded, constantly moving tenement/workshop constructed of tar- and pitch-soaked wood, jute, and linen, on and within which fire was the chief (if not only) means of heating, cooking, lighting, and (in many cases) fighting. And of course, smoking cigars, pipes, and cigarettes.
So yeah, walking around in what was essentially almost-waterproof, insulating fireman's garb was not only necessary for worker comfort, it was a key for not dying any number of horrific deaths that lurked in the potentiality of literally every daily action you performed.
Kersey wasn't likely to be spun in the grease, although it was probably oiled with lanolin to make slops. Granted, wool is highly insulative even when soaking wet. Kersey was made from lower grade and large gauge yarn woven into an unbalanced (double warp, single weft) fabric. The outer face in 2/2 twill and inner face in 3/1. Napping and shearing the 3/1 face of the fabric produced a smooth surface for the inside on garments. For other uses the smooth side could be the outer face of the fabric. Apart from linsy-woolsy, kersey is my favourite historic fabric.
The knitted sweater also seems practical I imagine if you are to climb and reach to work with sails, fishing nets and stuff. Like not restricting your movement.
@@jirup I'm just guessing, but maybe, even if the wool was washed, in older times without modern chemicals and equipment for the process maybe there would be some oiliness left in the wool? Just speculating...
Physician and garment-maker here: there's a weirdly large amount of overlap between sewing skin and sewing fabrics. Surgeon's knots are a great way to manage thread tails in places like darts. Also, I strongly recommend horizontal mattress stitches for repair of dog plushies.
Former Surg Tech and maker here-tying sutures with a needle driver and forceps is the same principle and technique used for “flipping the knot” in shuttle tatting. It blew my instructor’s mind how fast and neatly I could tie sutures.
I took my dog’s spay sutures out myself rather than drive an hour to the vet; no big deal, of course. But on our next trip to the vet, I told him “nice mattress sutures, by the way. You sew really well!” He was flattered that I noticed and mentioned it.
I LOVE wearing tricorn hats, but my GOD they are one of the most impractical hats ever designed that had widespread use.
Do you want a hat that is jaunty but serves none of the purposes of a hat? Well have I got something for you!
@@NicoleRudolph 🤣 I think the mortarboard🎓 could give the tricorn a run for its money, tho.
@@NicoleRudolph perhaps a history of the Tricorn hat is in order ?
@@NicoleRudolph they do look fantastic... but yeah, hot in the summer, cold in the winter, and they are absolutely rain gutters...
@@sonipitts What is a mortarboard but a quadcorn squished flat? :P
The lack of acknowledgement of the dog wearing a wig at 2:50 XD
OMG!
His name is apparently Trump and I'm glad you spotted my favorite easter egg of the whole video! 😂
Definitely a PUG. That is what the early pugs looked like !
Thanks for pointing that Easter Egg out. Worth scrolling back for !
I know next to nothing about historically accurate clothing BUT all the costumes in Black Sails have me trying to figure out how to dress like a fictionalised pirate from my existing wardrobe.
Black Sails is so good
Another aspect I appreciate about dressing Blackbeard's crew in more modern leather garb is that it enforces how ahead of Stede's crew they are in skill, to the point where Ed considers piracy as something trivial and easy. I also really admire how it builds into Ed's arc, where he feels alienated from the "modern" (1717) upper-class culture that Stede represents (to the point where Ed is shown in modern t-shirts multiple times). He's so "ahead of his time" that he has become trapped within a mythologized version of himself, and he's completely separated from the rest of society outside of piracy for it.
Spoilers, but:
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It's definitely not a coincidence either that, during much of the last two episodes, he spends a lot of time wearing the same (more historically-accurate) clothing as Stede, and that's when he becomes more upfront with his feelings (and he is subsequently hurt for it, resulting in him retreating back into leather as he isolates himself again, basically giving up his personhood to become the monster that Blackbeard myths describe him as).
However, Blackbeard was also upperclass, most likely from a Jamaican plantation family. Had a large library on board, this is also why they got on.
A lot of the most classic pirate stuff makes at least some real sense. An eye patch actually might have come into our associations not so much because of damaged eyes (although sure--that could happen easily when using weapons and living poor) but because such a patch could be a tool for seeing more quickly below deck if you were running back and forth rapidly fighting and plundering. Eyes take time to adjust to lower light below deck, but switch an eye patch from one eye to another running below deck and the eye you're using to see is already acclimatized to dark--a handy trick. Bandanas strike me as popular for the million reasons all laborers and outdoorspeople carry them, but also for further shading and protecting seldom-washed hair.
@Christopher Johnson I'm fairly okay here in Toronto (Canada) with the virus. Vaccination is pretty good here, but I feel like choices to open up or not are often more politically than medically guided, so even when I can enjoy fewer COVID restrictions, I never feel things are as safe as they should be. I'm just always more uneasy than I ever was before. Happiness, prosperity and love to you too,in any case. What's your engineering work like in New York? I'm hoping to be painting murals with a community centre groups here soon and some of the local theatres are opening, for now.
@Christopher Johnson It's perfect over here. Sun and light wind . I'll be rushing to get the garden in, with the frost over.
Regarding eye patches, sometime look up one of those documentary shows about what a cannon ball does to the wooden hull of a sailing ship. A lot of sailors on the gun deck. lost more than an eye that way.
The eye patch for seeing in the dark is one of the silliest made-up fake 'facts'. Nobody did that.
We tend to be gender biased with what is thought of as "women's work". My grandparents were all born in the late 1800s. My GRANDFATHER taught me how to knit when I was about 9 or 10 years old. We tend to forget that at that time in history, late 1800s and early 1900s there weren't department stores to purchase garments. People needed stockings or socks. When a boy lived at home, most likely his mother or sisters would knit them. But if he left home and wasn't married, he would have to either pay a woman to knit them or learn to knit himself. Grandpa knew how to knit as it was a necessity for him in his youth. He probably knew how to do basic sewing also.
My grandpas brothers both learned to knit when they were small, because they were sick for a long time with pneumonia. Sick in bed? Make them useful hours! He never learned, he said, because he never really got sick. I mean imagine keeping two kids in bed busy with no tv, not more than 2 or 3 books in the house, no money, but plenty of socks needing knitting! Grandpas born in 1909, was the youngest
I have a costume for a gentleman in the trade of "mercantile logistics and redistribution". It is fanciful in depiction in many respects but is built on the basic loose trousers and shirt. Our Halloweens can be hot/warm/cold. I chose this costume for its ability to layer to match conditions. It was wonderful to see where I accidentally got things sort of historically right. Thanks for presenting this bit of fashion history.
Loose fitting clothing is easier to climb in, particularly the legs of the breeches and the arms of shirts, waistcoats and jackets. Sailors spend a good deal of time up in the rigging furling and unfurling sails. I was told by a person who was in the US Navy during WWII that the reason for the bell bottom trousers in the sailor's uniform is so that if they went overboard, they could get out of them quickly, as the wool trousers would become waterlogged and drag them under, so breeches you can get out of easily for that reason. The uniform trousers also had a fall front -- zippers rust.
They didn't have zippers in the 1700s
@@ThisIs-xu1dw I think they meant the WWII uniforms
I never really question how we got the imagery we use for pirates before. I am happy to slide down this extremely interesting rabbit hole.
I'm trying to remember where it was, but I vividly remember references to sailing ships having their decks 'sanded' regularly and often. I believe it was to make the surface have a slight grip and remove splinters since much of the crew was running about barefoot.
Ah, found it. On good old wikipedia look up Holystone.
There are some contemporary sources mentioning golden age pirates wearing stolen fashionable clothing also on sea. For example, there's one report that I unfortunately don't remember that well where a passenger of a robbed ship told that the pirates came to the ship on a long boat with two a bit weirdly-dressed noblemen at the lead who first offered to buy luxuries that were being transported on the ship before revealing themselves as pirates in the end.
During that time pirate crews were different from ordinary merchant crews in two important ways. First, the pirate crews were usually much larger. A ship that would normally run with a 20 man crew could well have 100 pirates on board. This meant that each individual pirate had to do much less physical work than a normal sailor and they had much more free time. This meant that it was not as important to wear practical clothing as it was for normal sailors.
The second difference is that the pirate identity of the time stressed freedom. Pirates were the free men, common sailors were the slaves. There was an explicit rejection of the standards of the general society. Instead of accepting the hierarchy where their betters told them what to do, golden age pirates were fiercely democratic. Part of this rejection was wearing clothes that were not appropriate for common sailors. For most pirates, stolen clothing gave them the first opportunity to dress fashionably in their lives so it is probable that quite a few of them took the opportunity. Of course, a single captured ship will not provide enough fine clothes for a whole pirate crew to wear, and probably 10 captures will not be enough for that. At least among some crews the captured clothes were distributed among the members who went over board to the capture. For example, Bartholomew Roberts had in his crew articles a paragraph that stated that all men who went on board the prize would get a new set of clothes.
This was so interesting! I had no idea there was so little primary source material.
I loved realising on rewatch that Blackbeard wears fall-front leather trousers. That was such a fun detail to notice 😅
I can totally sympathize with a love for patterns because they look tidy for longer and a love for knitted caps because they are great in general. The decorated one from the Carlton looks also very cute and has just become a new knitting-aspiration.
It's possible that the stick was to keep certain animals at bay, like rats and stray dogs. I know in many places in the colonies (not just in the Caribbean) wild cats, hungry dogs, and rats were a huge problem and people would go out for a stroll with a stick to fend themselves from the animals.
That's a good idea! I was just thinking that sailors on shore leave would have money and not much local knowledge, making them obvious targets for thieves.
Also, it would be quite useful for stability until it feels like the solid ground has stopped moving after a while on board ship.
Maybe it's a mixture of all of these reasons, plus some we'd never even think of that would be completely obvious to contemporary people.
Men have carried sticks as a general weapon since prehistory, I didn't think there's any mystery to be solved there
Love these breakdowns of dress with all the context and nuance that comes with it.
Also, outfit is 11/10!
Delightful! It was great to learn what historians think real pirates wore. You’re absolutely right about the historical Easter eggs…there are some fabulous references!! Historically accurate to the time period or not, the show is fantastic, as are your videos.
apparently hemp linnen was the most usall fabric for sails in the uk at this time. also waxing/oiling fabric was verry common, vegtable oils mixed or not with beeswax, barber jackets still use this as tar was hard to use as it needed to be hot to use
A delightful clothing romp. Towards the end as you were discussing the practicality of certain items of clothes, I could hear Cary Elway's voice rattling on about black being very practical, masks being comfortable, and how it was the costume that made the pirate. (which was very spot on from what you were saying.) Looking forward to the next episode.
I love how in depth you go to research something as ‘simple’ and fun as dressing a pirate. Totally here for it!
the expression 'jolly Jack Tar' to refer to a sailor makes so much sense now!
Yes, it's rather like calling farmers John Ploughman. Which I think they also did.
I love your presentation and objective view. As a Navy Parachute Rigger our ancient beginnings were as Sail Makers and we learned how to sew in all aspects. We has something called a "Sail Makers" palm. It was a leather plam no finger tips and a wax pad in the center. we even had what was called "Sail" needles. Appreciate your view and aspects. Thanks Nicole!!!!
If I'm not mistaken, officers in some countries are still expected to buy some of the more formal uniform items from private tailors at their own expense.
Even the US Navy does uniform stipends and requires the enlisted to purchase their own uniform pieces. It's basically "here's your pay and we expect you to use about this much of it to buy the stuff we require you to have"
In 1988, I paid for my “dress blues”, the more formal army uniform. They cost about the same as my wedding dress. I sold them to another lieutenant when I left active duty.
@@NicoleRudolph And $Diety help you if you're of an odd size they don't have in the base stores. (Source: my brother wears size 16/17 shoes & had to special-order his Navy dress shoes because they didn't carry anything larger than a 15. He could squeeze into those for the working shoes (& could sometimes find shoes in "regular" stores that looked the part & fit a wee bit better), but dress shoes are a whole 'nother critter. At one point, the only place he could find that had the right type of shoe in his size was a place that specialized in clown shoes.)
Considering the prices I saw while buying replacement boots/shirts/etc for my ex, the US may as well be charging soldiers private tailor rates.... Boots especially. Yikes. So much pain caused when my ex developed a bad habit of getting things in such a shit shape I couldn't clean or repair it. 🙃
If I remember correctly the ensemble cast had a fair amount of input in creating their character's looks too, I think Samba Schutte (who plays Roach) talks about it in an interview where he's talking about choosing Roach's tattoos!
Through an interest in my family history, a theatrical background, and my love of Muppets I came across your videos. Partly as a way of investigating the possibility of historical reenacting.
This one in particular crosses the history of my family at some interesting points which I will reveal below. I have a large maritime and Royal Navy history. Your focus on sailors in general provided some good material to consider for accurate representations. Thank you for that!
First, at 14:25 in your video you show a scrap of sail from the HMS Terror on the Franklin Expedition. The First mate of the HMS Terror was Frederick John Hornby. Through King Edward III he was my 14th cousin 10x removed. There is the possibility of a connection in the 5th cousin range through the naval family of Byng. Parks Canada is continuing the archaeological work on the wreck site and we await new discoveries from the wreck. The scrap of sail was a nice surprise in your video, thank you for sharing.
Second, I am presently tracing a family connection to the pirate Henry Mainwaring 1587-1653. For a pirate to appear in a Royal Navy family line, this one will be interesting to explore.
Third, my 3rd great uncle William Dawson had a career in the Royal Navy that is documented in family papers to cover entry as a Midshipman to his career as Post Captain. Along the way he served on board The Amiable and the Babet under Jemmet Mainwaring. William contracted scurvy and was sent home to recover. Shortly afterward his ship and crew was lost in a storm at sea in 1801.
At 9:56 in your video you posted a list of clothes needed for sailors. The Royal Armouries posted a video of the Life and Career of William Dawson based on family letters which include a handwritten shopping list from 3 July 1795 when his father took him shopping for the clothing he would need when he boarded the Malabar. You can see this video in the link below. You can see the list at the 20:27 mark of the Royal Armouries video.
Royal Armouries UA-cam Channel
Winter lecture - The life and career of Captain William Dawson RN
ua-cam.com/video/vME74DMGB3A/v-deo.html
Would you consider reviewing the costumes of the TV series "The Black Sails"? AFAIK, there isn't any made of it. The series take place in the early 18th century in the West Indies and depicts a wide variety of sailors and pirates.
I just recently found "our flag means death" and am enjoying it immensely. this video makes me enjoy it more, thank you! I did notice the tailors palm, and thought "omg, they included that!" so I get what you're saying about the little accuracies they have included, it stands out when you know anything at all about historical dress and work. can't wait to see the video about the waistcoat, it's gorgeous, especially with that shirt! Well done!
hurrah!! more pirate content please 🥺 (that's the emoji that comes up for "begging," lol)
I'd love to hear....basically anything you possibly could have to say about this show :)
true story here, i think of you fondly during the fancy ship party in ep 5 - who else can I trust on these choppy digital waters to give it to me straight about how the purple silk velvety-looking suit blackbird was wearing would have *actually* been produced before the invention of aniline dyes. I think we're fairly post-sumptuary laws in 1717, but I can't quite figure out how decadent that suit really is. it feels like a such a delightful and fascinating bit of characterization, too.
For cloth material, there was probably also a lot of hemp!
I did a school project years ago in college about hemp as a cloth material for clothing, and learned about the vast history of hemp being used as a cloth material through the ages. I think hemp would probably be a re-occurring material because it was very similar to linen, stronger than cotton, and great for different kinds of weather due to it's strong fibers, water absorbance yet quick to dry, making it both great for winters as summers on sea. To add cloth made of hemp is anti-bacterial, so it prevents clothing for getting weird smells.
I can think that it was more for on ships than off ships, but I think it would make great sense that a lot of clothes on the ship would be made of (at least partly) hemp.
It was also heavily used in sails and ropes, most sails were made of hemp back then. Hemp only started being used less, I think around the start of the 20th century, due to it being replaced by other materials. There is actually a lot of practical knowledge lost about hemp as it was used, it was often combined with another material like cotton or wool or linen, each given it a different feeling and effect, and quality to the clothes (through maybe there is more knowledge back about it know, back when I did the project it was super hard to find anything about the practical part of hemp cloth making, which was what I actually wanted to know).
One of my ancestors John Gaddis II was an actual Caribbean privateer 🏴☠️and was killed by Black beard himself- well he tried to kill him first so there’s that.
Man, for every video I wish you would write a whole book on the topic you're covering 😂 It's all SO INTERESTING and delightful and I really really appreciate the level of depth and good research involved. It sucks that so many "history" books are written with hasty crap "research" and are often just surface level--I'd love to read a whole 500 page volume on these topics if they were written like these videos are presented. Very cool!
i love that Olu’s beanie is possibly historically accurate.
I love this video! It's really well thought out and researched and I appreciate all the work put into it.
You touched upon this in your essay? video? but if you wouldn't mind my adding my two cents or perhaps repeating the comments of others (as I have not read all 200+ comments) I'd be grateful.
Some time ago, I ran across commentary by an expert in costumes and clothing from the period of Pirates of the Caribbean (the first movie). The essayist was a bit put out that in a big budget film, that they couldn't do a least a little research and not mix the clothes from different eras into a blender.
Now don't get me wrong, it takes almost as much effort to get it wrong as to get it right, so there isn't as much of an excuse to not pay some attention to what you are doing, especially now adays when the research is not only done but often readily available with a few minutes or hours of internet time.
But I don't think even people as knowledgeable as yourself often bring out the fact that as recently as the 1970s, everyone reused everything. Not just the poor, but all the way to the rich (when I would comment on why a rich person didn't just throw X away, I'd be told, how do you think they got to be rich? It wasn't by wasting money!).
Case in point, my mother was born 1920 in Quebec Province, Canada. She lived in a very rural area and lived through the Great Depression. The family was never dirt poor, but they never considered themselves much more than working class, and certainly not well-off for many a decade. So all the habits that she saw and obtained growing up stayed with her.
How she treated clothing was one.
When I was 5, I had a favorite knee length dress, long sleeved and no waist, just poofy. When I completely out grew it, and there were no other children that she knew who could use it, she decided to solve an issue she was having...I wasn't a sloppy girl, but I never could seem to not drip, drop, dribble or spill food or especially sauces on myself, even with a paper napkin under my chin. And ketchup and soy sauce stain. So she cut out the sleeves of my old cotton dress made the neck hole bigger, and until I was in my teens, that was my bib/napkin/coverall at the kitchen table. Saved Mommy from tearing her hair out pretreating and scrubbing my clothes and saved the clothes (once something was stained, it had to be turned into something else, because you couldn't wear it or give it away, it was stained!)
Another time, I had outgrown a very light cotton jacket, and she had an old worn out dress. So those two pieces of clothing became the slipcovers/new upholstery for two chairs (one oversized, the other my wooden pottie chair, so no one would know it was a pottie chair).
Other mothers and women in the community would regularly get together to exchange clothes, mostly hand me downs for the kids, but their own clothes would get swapped around too (this doesn't fit me any more, but I think you'll look great, don't you have that wedding to go to in the fall?).
There wasn't a single textile that wasn't either passed on or refurbished. My mother didn't quilt, but she made rag rugs, and when she didn't have rags, she'd use the bread bags that Wonder or SaraLee bread came/comes in.
Then there was Mommy's old fur coats, a beautiful shearling (?) coat and a seal coat. They had been in storage for decades with my grandmother (since Mommy thought it wasn't cold enough for them in NJ back then and later she died) and Grandmama thought I was old enough for a good warm coat. So she had an expert furrier come in and refurbish and retailor the coat to fit me and to eighty-six the bell sleaves of the 30s/40s to something a bit more updated for the 80s. (Oh and I still have that coat).
But what's my point? Textiles didn't last, not only because they would turn to dust over the centuries, but because they would become something else long before they could disintegrate, something you might not even recognize as a set of breaches or a night shirt. Everything was reused or recycled until there was absolutely nothing left.
So when someone looks at not just poor people, but all people wearing clothes that were out of fashion, it's more true to life than an expert might credit (which doesn't make the observation any less valid, the showrunners and execs might not care less about an 18th century bodice in a 16th century costume epic, or figure that one of the March girls of the pre-Civil War era wearing Uggs as, hey that looks olde timey). A cabin boy might have a coat that his grandfather wore. A pirate might steal a chest of 'good' clothes that had been preserved for decades and would have the 'wrong' style, but if you still cut a dashing figure in port in a 1680 sleeve? Who cares?? And if some busybodies do, well, the cutlass can do the talking.
That's why I think that if something is older than the period, then you are still good for verisimilitude, but not if you time travel along...but Blackbeard (or Black Adder, or Shakespeare or the Doctor) can do whatever the hell they like.
Thanks for letting me rant.
Didn't mention braids in this. In one fiction book I read (Treasure island?) our young hero tars the bottom of his braid to make his hair stick together and get it out of his face.
The local Target didn't supply scrunchies back then
That’s something I also remember from reading Treasure Island as a kid. I think, but may be wrong, that braiding your hair and then tarring the braid to keep it in one place and so on was a thing for certain fishermen and sailors in my native Sweden, as well. Probably pirates too, Sweden didn’t have a lot of pirates per se but we did have a lot of privateers, so that’s pretty much the same thing.
My personal headcanon is that Black Pete said that because HE doesn't know how to sew. I think it's similar to men in the modern day demanding woman doing housework, like cooking and cleaning, despite not knowing how to do it themselves. I think his casual sexism stems from hinted fact that he himself doesn't have a lot of personal skills (The Line:"There's a lot you don't know about me! Actually, that's kind of it" comes to mind) so he kinda sees work he is unable to do as beneath him or he straight up lies about himself to make him seem better. Without giving any big spoilers for any of commenters who haven't watched the show, it's nice how he develops throughout the series, showing more of his interest in other things
Wool is not heat stroke on a bolt. "Tropical wools" are a thing, thin and unfulled. We live in the tropics, not semi-tropics. I made three long sleeved shirts for my husband, the bank vp. One was matte silk, one was cotton, and one from tropical wool. The last was always the most comfortable on a muggy summer day. It breathes, it absorbs and distributes sweat for evaporation, you don't chill walking into a\c. So you don't have to do contortions about how chilly it would get to believe that they wore wool.
Nicole: "And... salt water does a number on leather."
Me: *immediately thinks of of OFMD Blackbeard, the Heavy Metal Goth Sea Biker™*
Thanks for bringing that up later on - I wouldn't expect any less from this channel!
Ngl though, I do very much adore the rampant anachronism of that show, and how it's casually mixed in with the historically correct aspects. From a show perspective, it is such delightful fun.
Love love loved this so much!!! Tbh that one set of extant sailors garments looks so dang comfy. I need a version for lounging!
Yes acknowledgement to the lovely waist coat you made. Also to the dog sitting upright in a chair with a wig and documents at 2:52
The stick was a standard gentleman's accessory. And it's a big stick. So if you're on a budget, with a few coins but low social status, dressing up for a night on the town, and not the best part of town, and maybe an unfamiliar town... it seems like an obvious choice for lots of reasons.
As a woman with long hair who lives on a sailboat in hot climates I can 100% throw practically behind the bandanna to keep hair slightly less chaotic in wind and not burn your scalp when it’s too windy to keep a hat on (once the wind gets over 20 knots even a modern well fitting hat with a strap under the chin will not stay on and instead end up choking you while flapping about on your back). I can also attest that barefoot is the best grip/safest to not slip when you go forward in big seas or say beating into the wind, I only wear shoes when my feet are cold (doesn’t happen much where we are in the tropics) and I only have one pair of sailing boots that I trust their grip (Dubarrys are the best).
Ive been looking for videos of pirate clothing explained a few years back, and honestly non of them compared to how good and informative this video was. Thank you!!!
So glad you did an outfit reveal at the end, I started drawing it halfway through since I loved it so much (obviously I couldn’t see it all and I didn’t realise it was a two-piece outfit so I drew it as a dress) but love it! And the video! And you!
Hell yeah, transport me, Nicole. I love listening to you talk historical clothing.
Amazing video, Nicole's knowledge on the subject is eerily vast and you can tell she is having so much fun talking about it. Love it.
Towards the end there's a question if pirates knew how to sew, I think that is a definite yes as sail maintenance required it. (Sails could be damaged by environmental factors, gunfire, improper handling... But without sails one would risk getting the whole ship and crew stuck, so it was imperative to be able to patch them on sea)
Having worn a “tricorne” cocked hat in heavy rain trying to catch a recalcitrant pony, they actually work *extremely* well in rain, but yeah, the second a wind comes up that puppy is goooooone.
Having worn a tricorne in very windy weather, I have to disagree on that point. It is the one hat that didn't budge in the wind (compared to my newsboy caps, baseball caps and akubra)
Petticoat breeches are just as twirly as skirts/petticoats! I know someone who has some 1670s style petticoat breeches and wears them at a historic site
I love this! I grew up on a narrowboat so the idea of sailors with bare feet has always seemed comical to me. You wouldn't even go barefoot on a houseboat 😂 nobody wants duck poop through their toes let me tell you!
Taika be like “I want to wear my Mad Max cosplay for Blackbeard”
I do have to say however that the most common type of cloth used by sailors would have been hemp. Sails and rope were made hemp and hemp canvas, and I believe that hemp would also have been common to the poor as well since it grows like a weed and is fibrous like linen. It would be extremely interesting to hear about the use of hemp as a textile.
Thank you for your thorough review of the functionality of pirate clothing! Much appreciated in my thinking on how to wear more protective clothing on the regular. Linen and leather shall be added!
Blackbeard intentionally portrayed himself as batshit crazy. Edward Keats was one of the very few literate pirates that we have records of literally saying that he made his image to be as scary as possible.
A rumor I heard since I live in a port city and spent quite a bit of time down by the docks when I can particularly Pre Plague.... was that the same seawater they would give up to wash the deck they would use the same buckets to bring up additional seawater and at least rinse out their clothes and dry them on the rails. Officers were generally have their buckets of water drawn first and a trusted crewman would be sent to wash them. Once the officers clothes were clean then the crew was free to spend the next few hours calling up water to rinse out their own clothes.
According to the story anyway there is a funny reaction that happens between the linen and seawater which makes the cloth more protective and more similar to canvas. Particularly for high wearing areas like between the legs and under the armpits getting permission to use a bit of the damaged sail to mend your clothing was a huge perk and a sign of the officers favoritism. These stories come down from an oyster fisherman family who began in Georgia as Sailors of the British Navy. He was overly proud of the fact that four of the five brothers of his family at the time Join the Revolution. And two of them who survived eventually took up fishing and their descendants are the ones who made it to Texas. The story seems plausible enough from where I sit, having done more than my share of hours on that oyster trawler in the Summers when I first moved to town.
As far as I know I am still the only woman he has ever allowed to work his ship...
The whole Barefoot thing seems extremely plausible to me. Having worked on large wooden decked Lake boats for most of my Summers growing up, Barefoot is just how you get s*** done.
Considering these guys would go months or even years without getting paid and even when they did they weren't going to risk their nice new shoes trying to do work on the ship, that is just stupid. I think a good run of experimental archaeology will prove out the fact that these buckled shoes no matter how much more flexible shoes were back then... are just not proper work attire for climbing rigging. it's not going to benefit you.
I could believe that officers on a ship-of-the-line might keep their shoes on most days more as a status symbol of the fact that they aren't going up and down the rigging and doing most of the manual labor.
The six especially for common Sailors make perfect f****** since we're going ashore it's a weapon that is not a void and therefore will not get them in Social trouble for violating sumptuary laws but they still have something other than their fists to have a bar fight with. A pirate in Port would have done something similar simply to blend in with the regular Sailors and not draw attention to themselves. Though having a pistol or extra knife hidden under their clothing would be quite likely. You also have to remember that literally everyone of every class carried around and eating knife with them at all times.
I was at HMS Dolphin. We had shared Watch Coats. You considered yourself fortunate if you managed to get one with buttons.
One thing I remember is that a bit before the “age of pirates”, in the 1600’s, English sailors in the nutmeg trade wore special uniforms without any form of pockets, since if a sailor filled his pockets with nutmeg and brought it back home to sell, he’d have enough to live a long and quite comfortable life, perhaps not upper class standards but definitely middle class at the very least. Much better than the extreme toil and dangers of life as a sailor, so of course the owners of the spice trade companies didn’t want their workers pinching the merchandise!
I love how the iconic pirate costume is basically the Victorian media producers (stage, books etc) doing what the modern film industry does with period dramas now: get modern clothes which represent the role they want to portray then add a bunch of interesting looking ye olde clothes so the audience know it's set in the past. Then add in the pirates themselves going "yep, that's right, that's totally what we look like so watch out for people who dress like that. Only that. Everyone else is kosher," and the truth is well and truly obscured.
9:24 "it's more like a set of guidelines" 😆
Wonderful video and super helpful! I enjoy the occasional outing to the Ren fair, and pirates seems to be the theme for my group this year. That being said I like to add my touch of realism when I can. This was wonderful for that! Thanks!
Sooooo close to 100k subs. Congratulations Nicole. I’m loving your videos. Even with the parts I’m more familiar with you always make me think.
Your videos are such gems. I've enjoyed everyone I've watched.
2:51 dog in wig in lower right of painting😂
So informative until " Can't forget the stick" I lost it. bout peed in my pants. Keep up the good work.
I love and adore Ed’s mad max ensemble but I did have an AHH wet leather!! Moment when he dove into the water in ep 8(?) 😂
The response to the revised images of Mary Reede and Anne Boney, my thoughts exactly. That artist's instructions seemed to be "They were mythologized for passing as men, so...yeah, breasts out. Yeah, all the way out." And we thought Billy Blanks was the first to wear tank tops that didn't quite cover his nipples.
It was also part of their legend that they'd bare their breast to a fallen enemy before dealing the death blow, to add the extra humiliation of being killed in battle by a woman. The tits out may be referencing that - either way I doubt Anne or Mary would have bothered with any dramatic reveals, since that kind of faffing gets you stabbed.
Now I need a movie full of pirates in slops and knitted caps. I hate when people say we cant present, or at least try, historical looks in media, its all so fascinating.
Hi, Just in case nobody has commented on this i just want to point out that pirates still exist today and they are nothing to aspire to. The pirates that operate in the waters of Guatemala (basically in the passage between Mexico and Panama) prey mostly on private sailing boats. They come out in traditional fishing boats and try to rob the families on these boats blind. There are stories of people being killed, but I haven't done research to verify this. They take everything from essential navigational equipments and money, to the food bunkered for months for the crew and even drinking water. For reference see SV Delos on UA-cam and their passage through theses waters.
There were also a pirate problem in the waters outside Somalia for some time, (I don't know the current situation) and they even boarded merchant vessels, and people were killed, there. It was so bad that there was a concerted effort to curtail this by the rest of the world and for some time there were an inter national guard of naval ships (including ships from the US and my country) patrolling the waters. I haven't researched if the problem is still there, though.
I'm sure that the historical pirates killed people and were taking anything that wasn't bolted down, and if it was bolted down they would take those too, but that happened in history so it doesn't feel so bad nowadays.
With that said, let's go back to the more polished pirate tales of fantasy and history. Yours, Ann
Thank you for showing off your full outfit because it is, indeed, a stunning ensemble. Heart eyes for days.
I was literally just about to comment about how much i love that shirt when you said how much you loved it at the end of the video. Such a cute outfit! 🤩
You earn a like just for showing an illustration of Captain Avery (or Every - depending on who you ask), an ancestor of mine. But I really love how deeply you dig into the history. So fascinating. Your channel is truly a joy to watch!
Sailmaking is super different! My husbands hand sewing experience is related to sailing. When he patches his clothing be does it like he is patching a sail and its super "over built".
Another great video, and enthusiastically showing off the costume at the end was lovely.
That 1833 NYPL illustration looks like a .... landsknecht *puzzled*
It's really fascinating to see what sailors in the past wore, and thinking about how it informs the clothing I wear sailing today. The knit hat has never gone out of style and I still use them when sailing today.
Greatly enjoyed
The puns were on point 😉
Oddly I kept hearing a little VeggieTales voice saying "piratey things" 🙃
You're so engaging I find myself nodding along as if you're in the room with me. When you were talking about tarring the clothes for hard weather I caught myself nodding
A great video on one of my favorite topics. Thanks!
Pirates were often just mercenaries in the service of a particular crown, and were thus authorized by that crown to wreak havoc on the crown's enemies. From my reading, they seemed to be narcissistic adventurers, who were both thrill seekers and often sadistic. Some of them were especially brutal. Once they began their lifestyle of attack and plunder, they found it hard to give up that lifestyle and would continue whether they had the support of a crown or not. This is what fostered the Caribbean group. They would start out in the service of England, or France, or Spain, or Italy, etc., attacking and plundering whichever one of those other country's ships they found, but it seems many of them just became freelancers. This sort of thing happened after the U.S. Civil War too, when Confederate bandit groups just continued doing what they had been doing during the war, even after the war ended. They became the famous outlaws and bandits of the west.
As for what the pirates wore, they wore whatever they found on the ships they captured. If there were any fancy clothing from aristocrats, or officers coats, uniforms and shoes (sometimes cavalry which were the tall boots), the pirates would wear them when they put in to shore. The pirate captain would of course get the choicest items, but everyone got a share of the treasure. This is probably where you get the image of the pirate wearing a French or Spanish officer's coat, an officer's tricorn hat, and cavalry boots with the tops turned down. Being narcissists, they would dress to impress while on shore. It was also a way of showing off how successful they were at capturing ships, by the finery they were wearing. Nobody wanted to look like they were poor and unsuccessful. I doubt they wore that kind of clothing at sea, although perhaps the captain might be dressed up if they were attacking a ship, if for no other reason than to show off.
I'm guessing the popular image of how they dressed, was due to them wearing captured military clothing, especially officer's clothing, and that image being recounted by survivors of pirate attacks. It's strange how violent, thieving lawlessness became romanticized like it was, but that seems to be popular even today.
This is one of my favorite videos that you’ve ever made!
I have a leather tricorn hat I made for one of my steampunk outfits. Can confirm they're incredibly impractical- it weighs a tonne, it's really really hot, and the points bonk on things a lot. I can cope with wearing it for a few hours at an event but I wouldn't want to actually/do/ anything wearing it.
Wool felt is a far lighter weight choice for that style of hat.
@@nancyreid8729 Hard agree, but I'm a leatherworker, not a milliner and 'proper' tricorns are expensive. My sister has one she made out of EVA foam, which is very light but even worse for heat management.
Wonderful research. And that IS a smashing outfit. :D
I love your videos, I’ve been watching them for years (and your friends that you feature in) but only recently have I realised as I see you sitting and working, I know why you know so much about the past. You’re a vampire! A perfect example of such. A fabulous, possibly vegetarian, vampire.❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🥰
Vegetarian Vampire ? Does she suck the blood of carrots 🥕 or tofu 🤔?!
Shhhh.... you're not supposed to reveal the secrets of the immortals.
It’s interesting that Hannah Snell was mentioned. I am very interested in 18th Century women who chose to live as men, and I’m currently working on developing an accurate persona of Deborah Samson to portray in my talks on women veterans. As a retired military officer (and unapologetic feminist), it’s very important to me to capture not only the uniform, but also the many sociopolitical reasons women chose to do this and to take those risks in both the military and the civilian world.
Thank you so much for these two videos. Firts because they are amazing. But also because you gave me an excellent reason to watch this serie again with a new eye.
I’m shocked you’re never mentioned Starz’ Black
Thank you so much for making such a comprehensive, well-reseached video!
Nicole being excited about her outfit is so cute
Pirates of north America would have likely worn hemp as America produced a lot of hemp and it was used for the sails of American ships. :)
I love your outfit! Great job on the coat
Loving your channel as well !
This Flag means Death is fantastic
Thanks for a great video!
Makes me think of a folk song called "Ruben Ranzo" about a "bond street tailor" who "shipped onboard a whaler". Really fun song that exists in many different languages
You're like the historical fashion Bob Ross....so calming.
This is so awesomely thorough. Thank you very much! ❤️
I want to see Our Flag Means Death, but its not out in the UK yet. And your jacket/coat, at the end, is to die for! x
I'm in the UK too- There are friends who can help you out with files of it, if you ask around. Reddit especially has Google drives with it on, it might take a few tries to find one still accessible. But OH MAN it is WORTH IT. I've watched it three times already and I'm struggling to hold off on a fourth, and fifth.
I adore your videos, you're so delightful to listen to. 😊 ☺️ and I learn so much!
Clothing stores in the Royal Navy are still called slops.
An afternoons leave from duty is called a make and mend as that was its original intended purpose.
i HAVE to discredit your points of negative on tricorn hats. in my experience of wearing them in everything from storms to heatwaves, they have been FANTASTIC. the gutter system is actually better, its basically the same as a dicorn hat in that sense
protecting against the sun? it really depends on how small or how tightly fitted the actual shape is to the head, but i specifically got a big one and i didnt even get a whiff of a tan on my face during a massive heatwave - and there's some evidence of people loosening the ties and letting one side down to act as a sun hat! or to keep rain off the face. this would even develop into the LITERAL INVENTION OF THE BASEBALL CAP that was SUPER common among sailors, as many would get hats, remove all other material except for the folded down brim, and wear it everywhere.
though they can be bulky, so are many, many hats worn at this time, its not much different to many other hats worn at the time that have any sort of larger brim, except they faired better against wind due to the shape