Splendid new clothes; Doublet and Singlet

Performing at Aston Hall;
the sleeves are too short! 

I've recently decided to expand my wardrobe of 17th Century garments which will give me a little more flexibility in how I dress - and mean that I can keep warmer (or cooler) as the weather dictates. Whilst I've had a nice linen doublet for a while it is, unfortunately a little short in the arm (and features an ink stain on the rear, which is fine as I like clothing to be a little worn in!) and is the same design as many others in my regiment (Sir William Pennyman's Regiment of Foote, the senior regiment of the King's Army of the English Civil War Society) wear so I thought replacing it with one that fits well would be good.

Visiting a couple of re-enactment faires last year I browsed wares and stalls but settled on Peggy's Necessities for a number of reasons, not least of which was that time was pressing on!

Stuart soldier, note coat worn
open over linen doublet

The doublet is a slightly different design to my older one (having small wings) and is made of a rougher linen with a different style of pewter buttons - which will help to give me a slightly (but not very) different look to others of the regiment, especially important when I'm portraying a civilian (usually the steward, or other senior servant, of the house) when there are soldiers visiting.

When portraying a soldier the addition of a doublet means that I can leave my soldier's coat undone - oddly this means that wearing an extra layer will make me cooler in warm weather. Showing bare shirt to the world is rather rude, and would be beneath the dignity of a soldier (or rather, of their officer) - it is very similar to someone choosing to go bare-chested in the sun today!

I also rather like the look of the doublet with the coat worn open over it.

Singlet worn over doublet;
both made by Peggy's Necessities

The singlet is a marvellous burgundy wool (lined with linen) and looks very fine indeed! The singlet is very similar to a modern body warmer and thus gives me a number of options - I can wear it over the doublet, which will be very useful when it's a little cold inside, and leave it like that or (as I intend to trial on Sunday) wear it over the doublet and then under the soldiers coat.

My hope is that the additional layer over my body will look good but also keep me nicely warm as the King's Army parades through Whitehall (see a splendid account, including some wonderful photographs, from the 2012 parade on the London Historians Blog!). Previous years have been rather mild but this year we've been beset with snow and whilst the weather appears to be getting milder it's still close to freezing so won't be very warm at all!

Compare the colours; natural linen, burgundy wool and
pale blue (lined with dark green) wool of the regiment

Now one thing I did try to do is to make sure the colours I've selected complimented each other - I largely think I've succeeded too! The rich burgundy suggests a more expensive wool than the rest of my soldier's clothing (the dye isn't cheap, but isn't particularly expensive - brown, grey, dark/drab blue or green would have been the cheapest and bright red, black or purple the most expensive) but it's not beyond the means of a common man and is just right for a servant in a well to do house. Also I like the burgundy - it's a lovely colour!

Hopefully this means I'll look splendid (and warm!) when outfitted as a soldier of King Charles, and be a perfectly respectable servant at other times too!