Oooh, I really enjoy this sort of thing - looking at the technical side of something that looks like costume to us now, but had many functions to perform at the time. I'm a big fan of Patrick O'Brian's books set during the Napoleonic wars (the ones that were made into the film Master and Commander, except the books are much better) and they're heavily based on historical sources, including letters and diaries written by men in the British Navy at the time, and so I've kind of heard a lot about these pieces of uniform without seeing them very often. Like I know it was traditional that the officers had to get into full uniform for the daily inspection, in the early afternoon, and that meant those heavy wool waistcoats and jackets, even if they were becalmed in the tropics and it was 40 degrees C... Even if they were roasting, it was considered not fair to the men if the officers didn't keep up their side of the bargain on discipline.
Also I'd love to be able to wear something like this now and then, but there's not really the call in day-to-day life :D
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2024-03-03 04:35 am (UTC)Also I'd love to be able to wear something like this now and then, but there's not really the call in day-to-day life :D