Less Like Shane, More Like Mr. Darcy
I think very fondly of re-enactors when I am working up a
book. I consider them as open-air historians. What better way is there to get
an idea of how something was accomplished; starting a fire from flint and
steel, to learn the heft and feel of an 1836 Colt Paterson revolver and the
method of loading it with lead ball and black powder, or how a gentleman of the
1830s on the Texas frontier might have combined the height of fashion with
local accessories. Re-enactors do exacting research about every finicky detail,
and the results can be viewed in detail and in three dimensions. Movies and television are a less than
satisfactory substitute. This is because of the dimension thing, and often
because the movie costumer doesn’t take nearly enough care to be faithful to a
specific period. Visualizing the clothing worn on the American frontier may be
an especial challenge, since nearly 70 years’ worth of genre movie westerns
have fixed a certain image in the imagination – that of the cowboy, who was really
only peculiar only to a very limited part and for a relatively short period of
time.
Thinking ‘old west’ and most readers and movie goers have
the image of form and fashion set in the last quarter of the 19th century,
never realizing sartorially speaking, it wasn’t all John Wayne and Shane. Quite
often, it was rather more like Mr. Darcy. No cowboy hats or boots, no jeans,
nothing like what people are used to think of as "western" dress,
which reflects a much later, post-Civil War and industrial era. A movie
costumer could fit out a movie set on the early 19th century frontier with
costumes taken from a Jane Austen or Charles Dickens movie, and it would be
perfectly authentic … but with certain allowances given. Far west outposts like
Texas were not entirely cut off from communication and fashion - from Europe or
anywhere else - but local influences, economic necessity and custom did add
certain rustic touches.
The Anglo-American gentlemen of early Texas and the far west wore the same fashionable tail-coats, neck-cloth, starched shirt-collar and tall top-hats or billed caps as anywhere else in America, Britain and Europe. They indulged in the same ornate waistcoats with the obligatory watch, watch-chain and fob, depending on taste or income. Sometimes they varied the wardrobe with wide straw planter’s hats, or a sash of vividly colored silk around the waist – but that was a very male bit of a splash and most often worn for best. It was also common for work and every-day to assume a hunting coat made of heavy canvas or buckskin, trimmed with fringe. This was a loose-fitting, A-line and wrap-around garment, often secured with a belt or sash at the waist. Such every-day wear was often accessorized with a huge hunting knife, boots and fancy spurs with Mexican-influenced jingle-bobs on them. (Yes, their spurs did go jingle-jangle.) The taste for large hunting knives was also a frontier influence – especially the Kentucky or Bowie knife, which could be almost as large as a small sword. Routinely carrying a single pistol or a pair of them on a belt holster was something which came at a later date, with the invention and widespread popularity of a practical repeating pistol, rather than a single-shot weapon.
The Anglo-American gentlemen of early Texas and the far west wore the same fashionable tail-coats, neck-cloth, starched shirt-collar and tall top-hats or billed caps as anywhere else in America, Britain and Europe. They indulged in the same ornate waistcoats with the obligatory watch, watch-chain and fob, depending on taste or income. Sometimes they varied the wardrobe with wide straw planter’s hats, or a sash of vividly colored silk around the waist – but that was a very male bit of a splash and most often worn for best. It was also common for work and every-day to assume a hunting coat made of heavy canvas or buckskin, trimmed with fringe. This was a loose-fitting, A-line and wrap-around garment, often secured with a belt or sash at the waist. Such every-day wear was often accessorized with a huge hunting knife, boots and fancy spurs with Mexican-influenced jingle-bobs on them. (Yes, their spurs did go jingle-jangle.) The taste for large hunting knives was also a frontier influence – especially the Kentucky or Bowie knife, which could be almost as large as a small sword. Routinely carrying a single pistol or a pair of them on a belt holster was something which came at a later date, with the invention and widespread popularity of a practical repeating pistol, rather than a single-shot weapon.
Sometimes a gentleman preferred shoes, or brogans, rather
than boots, worn with leather leggings – and when shoes were unavailable or an
existing pair gone beyond repair, then Indian-style moccasins or buckskin
leather served as footwear. There were a small minority of gentlemen – usually
fur-trappers and others who spent much of their lives beyond the farthest
frontier – who did go all the way toward wearing Indian-style buckskin shirts
and leggings, for comfort and utility. But in the main and with the exceptions
noted, the gentlemen of the frontier dressed very much in the same style as
their contemporaries elsewhere.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Celia Hayes lives in San Antonio, Texas, and is the author
of six novels set on the American frontier: To Truckee’s Trail – an account of
the first wagon train to cross the Sierra Nevada, the Adelsverein Trilogy –
which tells the story of the German settlements in the Texas Hill Country, and Daughter
of Texas, and Deep in the Heart, a two-part account of a woman’s life during
the years of the Republic of Texas. Visit Celia at www.celiahayes.com
1 comment:
Re: ADELSVEREIN... I'm no fan of novels or creative-history. But, Celia Hayes' book is so thoroughly and historically correct that who cares the names and circumstances have been jerrymandered around. What a brilliant and inspired writer. None like her!
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