portobellordac: The next British historical costume is an old personal favourite for more reasons th

portobellordac:The next British historical costume is an old personal favourite for more reasons than one (for starters, it helped me meet and court my wife!). While I’d been fascinated with everything British for a long time, it’s really only after seeing Jack Davenport’s portrayal of the dashing and tragically honourable Commodore James Norrington in Pirates of the Caribbean that I fell in love with the blue and white Royal Navy uniform.For many, many years the British Royal Navy actually did not have any uniforms at all! Most officers, being gentlemen, wore whatever clothes befitted their rank and station while the sailors wore practical sailor clothes that did not distinguish rank or trade. While this worked for a while, the professionalization of the military and the technological advances of the 18th century gradually and inevitably made the Royal Navy adapt uniforms.  in 1740, on the eve of one of the many wars between Britain and France (and inevitably, her ally Spain) during the 18th century, a remarkable young commodore led a fleet of ships from the British isles across the Atlantic and the Pacific in a daring raid on the wealth of the Spanish Empire. Commodore George Anson commanded six medium and small warships and two supply ships plus more than a thousand men with orders to attack the port of Callao in South America and, if possible the capital port city of Lima in Peru. If opportunity presented itself, the squadron was then to ambush the legendary ‘Manila Galleon’ which carried the wealth of China and the Far East to Acapulco, Mexico and eventually back to Spain. In reality, the expedition was a hellish, excruciating voyage which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of sailors to scurvy, shipwreck and a small portion to battle wounds with the successful capture of the Manila Galleon Covandonga, as well as the loss of all but one ship - the flagship HMS Centurion, under Anson himself. In terms of human life, the expedition was a disaster but in terms of national pride, personal advancement and to some degree, the ‘greater good’ it was a resounding success. This was because the rapidly promoted Anson became First Lord of the Admiralty and initiated sweeping reforms, many of which were based on the terrible experiences of his voyage around the world. One major reform was the implementation of naval uniforms.Thus, by the Seven Years War (in North America known as the French and Indian War), Royal Navy uniforms had become generally established. The standard colours of blue and white were chosen with greater and more intricate quantities of gold braid indicating higher ranks. There were, generally, two kinds of dress - court dress, which was heavily brocaded, expensive and worn only (as implied) at court or when meeting naval high command or the Sovereign ashore; and service dress, which was more simplified and practical yet decorative enough to distinguish officer ranks. This elegant uniform formed the basis for Jack Davenport’s ‘Commodore Norrington’ outfit in Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. The British uniforms in that movie were, while somewhat stylized, relatively period accurate. Incidentally, there was no actual RANK of ‘Commodore’ until the 20th century. A ‘commodore’ was the designation for any captain who commanded more than one ship in a squadron (usually based on seniority of promotion). Thus one could technically be a lowly lieutenant but at the same time a commodore of a squadron of small ships - and at the same time, the ‘captain’ of your own vessel. Thus ‘Commodore’ was more an appointment or position rather than an actual rank. For historical purposes, Norrington would likely have been a senior captain who was promoted (as at the start of the movie) to the rank of Admiral. He certainly is wearing the uniform of one.The actual uniform consisted of a tricorne hat with gold trim and a black cockade (the ribbon or cloth secured by a button and gold brocade loop). This cockade was very important as it was one of the national distinguishing marks - the British (under the Hanoverian Guelph dynasty) wore black cockades, the French (under the French Bourbon dynasty) wore white cockades and the Spanish (under the formerly French Spanish-Italian Bourbon dynasty) wore red cockades. It’s hard to imagine now but wearing the wrong color ribbon in your hat could get you into serious trouble! The upper garment consisted of a waistcoat (pronounced ‘weskit’) and a frock coat with a silk cloth cravatte (the forerunner of the modern tie) at the neck. The naval frock coat had large ‘bucket cuffs’ which could (in theory) be pulled back up the arm to allow greater freedom of movement (indeed there was a time when it was considered stylish to make the sleeves and cuffs too short so they went only as far as the elbow with voluminous shirt sleeves showing through from beneath). Later, the so-called ‘Mariner’s Cuff’ was adapted - these were somewhat similar to modern cuffs, having a long sleeve that would button down and hold the split sides of the cuffs together. This was more practical as the cuff could be unbuttoned and folded back. As times and clothing styles changed, the elegant but heavy and unwieldy coats and bucket cuffs of the 18th century gave way to the smarter-looking turned back coats and mariner’s cuffs of the 19th century and Napoleonic era. The broad lapels were cut down into ever smaller and more fashionable vee-triangles and the coat skirts got even shorter till they became the formal coat that we know - and wear - today.To complete this Animal Crossing costume you will need the following:White WigWhite Stockings Black Pumps (yes, at that time men wore heels!) Alternately, one can style one’s hair at Shampoodle enough to get them to do one’s hair up like a white powdered wig and wear the ‘pirate hat’. However, I’m not at all happy with the skull and crossbones design on the hat (why they didn’t make a ‘George Washington’ style tricorne is beyond me!) so I personally prefer the White Wig. -- source link

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