Circa 1805 Royal Marine Officers Coat, part 1.
So, I have my first "volunteer" for the wedding party, my Captain of the Marine detachment.
As any good project begins, it starts with a ton of research. Fortunately, I have had the good fortune to call some of the finest military historians my friends, where I was introduced to The Thin Red Line by B.K. Fosten and Osprey's Nelson's Navy by Philip Haythornthwaite.
From Thin red line, there is the following plate:
In the Center is a Marine Field Officer, most likely a Major, wearing White Trousers and Hessian Boots.
In the lower right hand side is a detail picture of a subaltern coat (only one epaulette), the tails and turnback, as well as the cuffs.
With these wonderful illustrations as my guiding light, I set about the process of finding an appropriate pattern to use as a launching off point. It came down between two patterns. Reconstructing History's Regency Era Frock Coat, and Period Impressions 1812 Officers Coatee. In the end, since the Full Dress Marine Coat is to have the lapels buttons back and close with hook and eyes in the front, I went with Period Impressions pattern (Sorry Kass. I'll use your pattern for all the civilians that will be present!) Here it is.
As you can see, the pattern was pretty darn close. All I would need to do is alter the shape of the lapel, and make sure the button loops are placed in pairs instead of evenly spaced.
As any good project begins, it starts with a ton of research. Fortunately, I have had the good fortune to call some of the finest military historians my friends, where I was introduced to The Thin Red Line by B.K. Fosten and Osprey's Nelson's Navy by Philip Haythornthwaite.
From Thin red line, there is the following plate:
In the Center is a Marine Field Officer, most likely a Major, wearing White Trousers and Hessian Boots.
In the lower right hand side is a detail picture of a subaltern coat (only one epaulette), the tails and turnback, as well as the cuffs.
With these wonderful illustrations as my guiding light, I set about the process of finding an appropriate pattern to use as a launching off point. It came down between two patterns. Reconstructing History's Regency Era Frock Coat, and Period Impressions 1812 Officers Coatee. In the end, since the Full Dress Marine Coat is to have the lapels buttons back and close with hook and eyes in the front, I went with Period Impressions pattern (Sorry Kass. I'll use your pattern for all the civilians that will be present!) Here it is.
As you can see, the pattern was pretty darn close. All I would need to do is alter the shape of the lapel, and make sure the button loops are placed in pairs instead of evenly spaced.