by Ian Mortimer
When it comes to colour, you need to remember that your visual palette has been conditioned by the invention of aniline dyes in the nineteenth century. In Restoration Britain, only natural dyes are available, and they are not all equally affordable. If you look at the folk travelling the highways, the colours of their clothes will be red, blue, black, white (in the form of natural linen) and a whole range of shades of brown and russet. The traditional sources for these are madder root (red), woad (blue), oak galls (black), walnut (brown), weld (yellow) and orchil lichens (violet). People don’t often wear green, even though it can be made by dyeing a garment with weld and overdyeing with woad. Other dyes found naturally in Europe, such as the crushed kermes insect (scarlet) and secretions of the murex sea-snail (imperial purple), are very expensive and scarce. Brazilwood (red) and indigo (blue) have been imported for centuries from Asia but they too have traditionally been expensive and are rarely used. Change has been in the air for a number of years, though, as the opening up of the world’s trade routes is bringing new dyes to Britain. Fustic (yellow), logwood (grey-purple) and cochineal (red) are being imported from South America. Lac (red) and cutch (yellow), as well as increasing amounts of indigo, are arriving from India. At home, the production of copperas – iron sulphate, a black dye – expands in southern England.2 Alum and other metal-based mordants necessary to fix these dyes are also more easily available. A dyer’s workshop in Lincoln in 1664 contains large amounts of woad, fustic, brazilwood, logwood, madder, orchil, indigo, copperas and alum.3 In short, although the colours will appear relatively unexciting to your jaded modern eye, seventeenth-century clothing is becoming more colourful, especially among the profligate courtiers.
Men’s Clothing
UNDERWEAR
The closest garment to a man’s heart – physically, if not metaphorically – is his shirt. Invariably this is made of 3 ells of undyed linen. Holland and cambric are the best quality, although the much coarser lockram, Osenbridge and even linsey-woolsey might be employed for a worker’s garment. The full shirt consists of long sleeves and a trunk that reaches down below the buttocks, without buttons or opening at the front, but with open seams between the front and back of the garment, which sometimes ascend as high as the waist. The sleeves of gentlemen’s shirts are gathered at the wrist with ribbons; expensive examples may be cut more voluminously in the sleeve, with pleats and tucks at the shoulder and wrist. An even more expensive version might have a panel of finely sewn picots at the neckline and patterns embroidered in the linen.4 Push the boat out further and you might have a very fine shirt embroidered with silk and bordered with lace. Obviously these refinements will cost you. Three ells of fine holland at 6s per ell is going to be 18s, just for the material. After you have added in the cost of making it, and embellishing it with pleats and picots, you can expect to pay 20–30s. Lace trimmings can increase that significantly – by several pounds. Note also that, although some holland costs as little as 3s an ell, the very finest holland can cost 12s or more. And that won’t include a collar: ‘bands’ to go around the neck are separate. In summer you might choose to wear a shorter half-shirt of linen. Half-shirts are also useful in cold weather as they are worn as a second shirt. Given how cold it is throughout this period, you may well decide to wear the half-shirt as an undergarment beneath your main shirt as a matter of course.5
The point above, about the cost of linen, applies equally to other undergarments. A linen nightshirt may well reach down below the knee, and thus costs a small packet if made in cambric or fine holland. Note that you should have a nightcap to match your nightshirt. Gentlemen in mourning should wear black nightclothes and black nightcaps – an extra expense that you could probably do without at a time of loss. As for a man’s drawers, these tend to be of plain cut, especially if they are of the short variety, fastened with a ribbon at the front. Expect to pay 2s 6d for an ordinary pair, or 1s 6d for second-hand.6 There is a longer sort for use in winter, with loops or stirrups beneath the foot to keep them from riding up your leg. On a very hot summer’s day you probably will want short holland drawers cut at an angle, with a wide gusset, to permit maximum air circulation. Pepys once recalls lounging around in his ‘cool holland drawers’ until 5 p.m.
OUTER CLOTHES
The year 1668 marks a watershed in the design of men’s suits. Before then, the style might be loosely described as ‘doublet and skirts’. Some come with proper skirts, some with skirt-like trousers called ‘petticoat breeches’, and others covered all over with ribbons and tassels so that you can’t tell whether it is a skirt, breeches or what. Most have a jacket-like doublet of wool or fustian (heavy cotton cloth), which is worn unbuttoned at the waist, showing off the shirt beneath. To the modern eye, all of these look more like female dress than male, and the most excessive specimens look like a cascading waterfall of tasselled cloth. They are also likely to make you the object of ridicule: some petticoat breeches are so wide about the knee – more than a yard in circumference – that you can easily put both legs through one hole and not notice, and thus go about all day with a loose trouser leg, to the great amusement of all those you meet.
This style of ‘doublet and skirts’ starts to come under threat in about 1664. The waistcoat or vest is the key. Previously this was an undergarment worn by men and women for warmth; now it acquires a new prominence as a comfortable collarless, short-sleeved men’s item, fitted to the waist, with a skirt reaching down to the knee. Over this is worn a tunic or surcoat, shorter than the waistcoat by six inches, and worn unbuttoned and loose, to show off the waistcoat beneath.7 Finally in 1668 the suit acquires the full long coat and knee-length waistcoat that will remain standard for the next hundred years or more. On Sunday, 17 May of that year Pepys proudly struts off to church in his ‘new stuff-suit, with a shoulder-belt, according to the new fashion’. The shoulder belt is like a wide sash on which a gentleman wears his sword, so Pepys looks very swish. Over the rest of the period, the coat and waistcoat see various refinements. The coat sometimes acquires pockets low down at the front, or has its cuffs turned back to an ostentatiously large degree; the waistcoat might be given a belt or buttonholes all the way down. But whatever form it takes, you will recognise this ensemble.
Take, for example, the suit worn by James, duke of York, when he is married for the second time, in 1673. This comes in three parts: coat, waistcoat and breeches. All three are made of a grey wool broadcloth, heavily embroidered with floral patterns of gilt-silver and silver threads. The long coat reaches down to the thigh; it has buttons all the way down, but is worn open. Two horizontal pockets are low down at the front, one on either side, fastened shut by buttons to stop them sagging open. At the back you can see the wide pleats that enable the skirts of the coat to fan out. The lining is an orange-red ribbed silk. The loose breeches are fastened just below the knee. The coat sleeves are three-quarter-length and folded back in large cuffs known as ‘hounds-ears’, as they look like the floppy ears of hunting dogs. The matching waistcoat has long fitted sleeves over the shirt, which protrude beyond the hounds-ear cuffs, buttoned around the wrist.8
Suits tailored later in the century hardly vary from this design. Some gentlemen’s coats have lapels; some have vertical pockets and full-length sleeves; some have embroidered cuffs; some have their cuffs trimmed with fur; and some have side-pleats and a single vent at the back – but overall the long coat and waistcoat with breeches are the norm from 1680. And the breeches are ‘closed’ – that is, fastened below the knee, and not left open as they are in the days of petticoat breeches in the 1660s. Often they are made of black velvet and fastened with ribbons. After 1680 they tend to be less flouncy and cut closer to the leg. By 1700 braces or ‘gallowses’ have been invented to hold them up, but these remain rare. Most breeches are supported by being hooked to the doublet (in the earlier days), tied with a cord, or cut tight enough to the hip that they need no other support.
Neckwear also undergoes something of a revolution in this period. To
begin with, in the 1660s, the falling band is the thing: a piece of fine cloth suspended from a high neckband that goes all the way around the neck and is sometimes left open at the front and sometimes tied with band-strings. From about 1665 the man of style starts to wear a cravat instead: a scarf of fine linen or muslin that is tied at the front and covers the throat. The most ostentatious cravats are trimmed with lace and hang down over the whole chest. At the end of the century, this develops into the steinkirk: a very long cravat that is tied by being twisted into a loose rope and tucked into the waistcoat, or pinned to one side of the coat with a brooch. Matching the lace of the cravat are the ruffles tied around the wrists: linen, muslin or lace flounces that demonstrate the high status of the wearer. All these garments are pricey: a fine muslin cravat suitable for an earl will cost in the region of 7s, and a pair of muslin cuffs to match, 2s 2d. Lace can cost much more. James II pays £36 10s for a cravat of Venetian lace to wear at his coronation.9
And then we come to the stockings. Gentlemen, you will get used to wearing them, I assure you. If you have previously made forays into medieval and Elizabethan times, you will find Restoration stockings no humiliation at all; you are not expected to reveal your thigh, let alone your buttocks, as was the case in previous ages. You don’t even have to reveal your knees, after the demise of petticoat breeches in the 1660s. What will be on show is your bestockinged lower leg. The garments themselves may be made of knitted silk – the most attractive and most fashionable material – but these are expensive. Pepys pays 15s for a pair of silk stockings in 1663.10 Alternatives include woollens such as kersey, worsted, jersey and serge, and various forms of linen. An ordinary pair of woollen stockings will set you back 1s 2d.11 For the socks, which are worn outside the stockings, linen is the usual material. These too can be costly, even though they are hardly seen. The earl of Bedford pays 1s 3d for each pair of socks made for him in 1689 – the equivalent of a day’s wages for many working men. Note that if you visit in the 1660s, when petticoat breeches are in vogue, you may find yourself wearing ‘canons’ or ‘port canons’. These are little skirts that go around the knee, decorating each stocking, often made to match the skirts of the suits and petticoat breeches. They are frivolous and highly impractical, so you won’t be sad to see them fall out of fashion in 1668.
Foolish though port canons and petticoat breeches might appear to you and me – and, indeed, to many people at the time – they will not actually cause you physical pain. The same cannot be said for the shoes and boots. In September 1662, Pepys buys a new pair of jack boots of hard leather and, putting them on two weeks later when he sets out for Cambridge, gets as far as Ware before he is in such agony that he has to buy an old pair of shoes for 4s from the landlord of his inn in order to be able to continue on his way. And the offending items weren’t cheap; in fact, they cost him £1 10s – more than three weeks’ wages for many ordinary tradesmen, and considerably more than the 9s that a run-of-the-mill pair would have cost.12 Gradually hard jack boots are reserved for military pursuits and riding. From the mid-1670s a lighter version is introduced: this is made of soft leather and is buttoned, laced or buckled up the side of the calf, thereby allowing a closer, more comfortable fit. All these boots are made of black leather, as are almost all men’s shoes (although for ‘dress’ wear, men might still have red heels and soles).13 Buckles are introduced around 1660; at first these are small and oval, but after 1680 they are large and square. Shoe tongues grow in length, rising up in front of the ankle for several inches after 1680, and after 1690 they are turned down or allowed to flop over the buckle to reveal the red lining of the shoe.14
Given the cold, you will undoubtedly want to have an overcoat for outdoors. The term used in the 1660s is ‘cassock’, which at this time is a long, loose coat buttoned down the front, with a turned-down collar, which normally hangs down to the thighs. After about 1670 the word is used exclusively for ecclesiastical garments. The alternative to the cassock is a cloak, which is worn over both shoulders as protection against the weather. After 1670 these also fall from favour and are only used for riding. From that year the fashionable item of outer dress is the Brandenburg (named after the Prussian state). This is a large, long woollen overcoat reaching down as far as the calf. Alternatively, you could wear a ‘jump’, which is a loose short coat with long sleeves and buttons down the front.
In this period a hat is a necessity. The upturned-flowerpot hats of the 1650s, which are also known as ‘sugar-loaf hats’, with their high flat crowns and wide flat brims, do last into the 1660s but they are quite impractical, blowing off in the slightest gust of wind. Their replacements, made from velvet stiffened with buckram, felt and beaver, have a much lower crown but retain the broad brim; they are best worn cocked at an angle, to appear as rakish as possible. Pepys notes seeing ‘a brisk young fellow with his hat cocked like a fool behind, as the present fashion among the blades is’, in June 1667.15 Feathers of course abound in a gentleman’s hat – frequently several plumes will be worn at once. As the 1690s draw near, the felt hat starts to take on a three-cornered shape, with its edges turned up, foreshadowing the tricorn hat of the eighteenth century. If you see this as your style, remember that the point of the hat – not the flat side – goes in front.
The clothes of Montague Drake, Esq., 169816
Woollen wearing clothes, viz: seven suits, two odd waistcoats, a scarlet cloak, ten pairs of stockings, a muff and a hat £18
Four pairs of boots, being two pairs of jack boots and two pairs of lammer boots; one pair of splatterlashes [leggings to wear when riding], nine pairs of nearsides [?] and a parcel of old ones £3
Wearing linen: thirty-four holland shirts, eleven coarser holland shirts; two large trimming cloths of holland £20 10s
Nine periwigs, four quilted night caps, two waistcoats of dimity [stout cotton, woven with raised stripes], two flannel ones, four pairs of thread stockings, six pairs of cotton ones, three lace cravats, three large muslin neck cloths, nine pair of lace sleeves, four handkerchiefs, four turnover neck cloths, seventeen long muslin neck cloths £10
Nine pairs of stockings and ten pairs of gloves; a shoeing iron, a knife and a small hammer; a small pair of gold scales; a small parcel of seven books £1 12s
Six swords, a pair of files and a belt £4
HAIR
The vast majority of gentlemen do not wear any facial hair. There is an important exception in Charles II, who sports a small moustache from the time of his return as king until the late 1670s. This is not a fashion you should feel obliged to follow; his brother, James, for example, never wears one. Nor do most courtiers. Pepys has a moustache until January 1664, when he dispenses with it for good. Most gentlemen by this time shave at home: the expectation is that men will be properly clean-shaven, and that means eradicating any stubble every other day. You might attend a barber’s shop to have your beard trimmed, if you are having your hair cut at the same time. Alternatively, if you can afford the extra cost, you may prefer to have your barber come to you. Pepys has a barber shave him at his house on Sundays prior to going to church. Otherwise, he uses a pumice stone to shave himself until January 1664. After that he takes up using a razor (of the ‘cut-throat’ variety).17
When Charles II returns to England in 1660 his hair is his own. Although the French started wearing perruques or wigs as fashion accessories way back in the 1630s when Louis XIII went bald, the English have yet to do so. In fact it is not until 1663, when Charles himself starts going grey, that he and his brother adopt the practice of wearing a ‘peruke’ or ‘periwig’ – or ‘wig’ as it is called from the 1670s. Almost overnight, the fashion switches from long, luscious, natural locks to artificial hairpieces. Predictably, Samuel Pepys wants one. In October 1663 he visits a couple of periwig shops, although he is almost put off by the sight of a greasy old-woman’s hair on sale in one of them. He orders two wigs: one costing £3, made of someone else’s hair, and another worth £2 but actually costing 21s 6d, as it will be ma
de of his own hair.18 It is true that there are practical arguments in favour of cutting off all your hair and making a wig out of the results: a wig is much easier to clean, and thus you’ll find it simpler to rid yourself of nits. But on the whole it seems slightly ludicrous, especially when the fashion for wigs inclines men to wear larger and larger perukes, more lavishly perfumed and powdered than before. Maintaining a couple of wigs can cost up to 20s per year.19 Moreover, as Pepys’s perruquier says, the wig will only last him two years, yet in that time he will regularly have to have his hair cut short. Thus the man of fashion ends up paying twice for his hair: once to the barber and once more to the perruquier. And Pepys’s wigs are at the cheap end of the spectrum. The earl of Bedford’s four new wigs in 1672 cost £20, £18, £10 and £6; normally he spends £14 or £15 a year on new wigs and wig maintenance – and that does not include having his hair cut so that they fit.20
ACCESSORIES
The well-dressed gentleman knows that presenting himself well is not just about wearing the right clothes but also about having all the right accessories. In the Restoration period these might include anything from a muff to an umbrella. A muff, you ask? Surprisingly, yes: in the 1680s and 1690s it becomes fashionable for gentlemen to carry a muff, normally made of fur, satin or velvet, suspended from a ribbon attached to the waistband. Scarves, combs, snuff-boxes and handkerchiefs are also frequently carried about town. Another new fashion is for gentlemen to carry silver-headed polished Japanese canes. These are very elegant and you may well choose to sport one instead of a sword. Men of wealth continue to wear a sword at their side throughout the period but increasingly it is for show.