Pirate Clothing
Thanks to the visual media of film and television,
and to the paintings of artist such as Howard Pyle and N.C. Wyeth we have a
pretty good idea of what pirates might have looked like. In some respects this
stereotypical image is probably correct, but in others it must be examined more
closely.
The above painting by N.C. Wyeth is pretty typical
of our common view of pirate dress. The tricorn hat, long coat, knee breeches,
buckled shoes or bucket topped boots are all items we associate to a greater or
lesser extent with pirates. The stills from Treasure Island (1950) and Pirates
of the Caribbean (2003) show how this is still the image we associate with
pirates.
This stereotypical image is probably a good representation
of a typical pirate captain. A look at some early pictures of pirate captains
makes it clear where the artists and film-makers took their inspiration from.
In this picture of Rackham we can see many
similarities to the Wyeth painting - tricorn hat, long civilian style coat,
knee breeches, buckled shoes. Other early pictures of pirate captains show
similar dress, and the rare descriptions of pirate clothing often bear out the
pictures. A contemporary described Roberts as "dressed in a rich crimson
damask waistcoat and breeches, a red feather in his hat, a gold chain round his
neck, with a diamond cross hanging to it".
Roberts was perhaps better dressed than even the
captains of most pirate crews, but it is illustrative of the way that pirates
tended to conform more or less to the current vogues in dress.
There is little evidence of the clothing of common
mariners in pirate crews, but what there is tends to show that they dressed
similarly to other seamen of the period. Pirates, after all, were only sailors.
Hats: when at sea most pirates probably wore small knitted caps
or similar headdress. Thrumm caps, furry hats popular with English sailors for
400 years are also mentioned in acocunts of pirates. The tricorns so beloved of
movie costume departments were almost certainly worn, but their practicality at
sea must be questioned. An engraving of Woodes Rogers' men at Guayacil shows
small tricorn hats. Simple brimmed hats were also probably popular. Although
they were not as fashionable as tricorns they did a good job of keeping the
rain and sun off, so provided it wasn't too windy they would be much more
practical for a working seaman. Engravings of Anne Bonny and Mary Read show
such hats.
Perhaps the simplest of pirate head wear, also much
loved by movie wardrobes, was the kerchief tied around the head. That pirates
wore such headgear is borne out by the testimony of Dorothy Thomas at the trial
of Bonny and Read: "[they] wore Mens Jackets, and long Trouzers, and
Handkerchiefs tied about their Heads."
Jackets: If large tricorn hats were impractical for common sailors
then long coats with big cuffs must have been more so. The coat favoured by the
mariners of the early 18th century was shorter and straighter cut - the
"fearnought" or "bum-freezer" of later years. The same
engraving of Rogers men at Guayacil includes excellent views of both the front
and back of these short seamen's coats.
Trousers:
Some men undoubtedly wore knee breeches at sea, but the early 18th century saw
the emergence of a new kind of garment - the trousers. Sailors were among the
earliest wearers of trousers, and the guayacil engraving shows clearly that
they were adopted early on. During the Golden Age of piracy trousers were
generally loose cut reaching from just above the ankle to about half way up the
calf. Shorter open breeches called slops were still very popular, as were
voluminous "petticoat" breeches, which were ideal for boat work when
a sailor might have to stand in the surf. When knee breeches were worn they
were often covered with an apron, as shown in this frontispiece to
"England's Safety: Or, a Bridle to the French King" 1693.
Footwear: Some pirate captains might
well have worn large bucket topped boots, but they would have been very
impractical aboard ship, and very few period pictures show them. The majority
of pirates would have either gone barefoot when at sea, to give better grip on
the deck and in the rigging, or would have worn simple shoes. Shoes of the
early 18th century were simple, made entirely of leather and were
"straight" ie., they did not have left and right shoes, both were the
same. Buckles were fashionable but laces would have been more practical at sea,
so there was probably a mixture of both. All of the illustrations above show
simple shoes.
Scarves and Sashes: Neck-cloths tied up tight to the neck, called stocks, were
fashionable and are pictured in several illustrations. Looser neck cloths,
kerchiefs, also seem to have been popular amongst seamen and cn be found in a
number of period pictures.
Bright coloured sashes either tied round the waist
or over the shoulder do not seem to have been at all common. They were
originally worn by military officers, but were very impractical at sea. I've
yet to find a single illustration of a pirate wearing a big sash.
Probably the best general depictions of the
everyday clothing of pirates of the Golden Age are these engravings of Bonny
and Read.
