Naval Knickers. Again. Properly this time...

Jan 23, 2011 01:27

I am slightly disappointed that none of you quite approved of Admiral James Saumarez line of swanky ethical knickers. Not practical for wearing under white breeches you sniffed.

As lemurling pointed out:

They certainly didn't wear a black pair of undies. They'd have shown through the first time a big wave came over the bow!

So what did they wear? Never let it be said that I would pass up the opportunity for some serious naval history research* so off I went to find out what the officers of His Majesty's Royal Navy really wore under those lovely white breeches.


I have two books on naval uniform, Amy Miller's Dressed to Kill and John Fabb and Jack Cassin-Scott's Uniforms of Trafalgar. Unfortunately neither make any mention of underclothes of any kind which could lead one to the conclusion that underwear was unknown to the Royal Navy. I wonder what the naval equivalent of going commando is?! However I also recently picked up a copy of C. Willett and Phillis Cunnington's The History of Underclothes which is an absolute goldmine of information.


Through much of the 17th and 18th century men's underclothes took the form of drawers or detachable linings. These were normally short and tied at knee and waist with a drawstring or ribbon. Drawers and linings where commonly made of washable fabrics such as linen and flannel but wool and even "China" or silk were also used. In his diary entry for 18th October 1660, Samuel Pepys records ordering "a pair of black baize linings to be made me for my breeches." Baize being a worsted woollen cloth. Scratchy! If Benjamin Franklin is anything to go by, it was perfactly acceptable for a gentleman to lounge around his own house in his underwear. In his autobiography he related the following:

"during a hot Sunday in June 1750 I sat in my chamber with no other clothes on than a shirt and a pair of linen drawers."

As breeches became shorter and tighter in the mid to late 18th century so did the drawers. In 1779 Jeremy Bentham complained of the discomfort of walking "in a pair of breeches woefully tight". And in Dressed to Kill Miller relates the tale of Sir Thomas Byam Martin, who as a midshipman in the 1780s "...was rigged out as a man, and so squeezed into tight dress as to leave no chance of growing...” Being sent aloft predictably resulted in “...rents in the lower garment (that) admitted more of the sharp north-west wind than was agreeable.”

Towards the end of the 18th century and into the beginning of 19th century longer drawers sometimes with stockinette feet were also worn, as trousers became fashionable. By this period cotton fabrics such as calico were also becoming more common. Another significant change towards the end of the 18th century was the resurgence of the notion of cleanliness. For gentlemen to be thought as such George "Beau" Brummel dictated "no perfumes, but very fine linen, plenty of it and country washing". As a result of this new fashion, spending on underwear increased significantly for those that could afford it.


Of course this is not to say that drawers and linings were ubiquitous. Whether they were worn or not likely depended on personal means and preference. If drawers were not worn long shirt tails fulfilled a similar function and Dressed to Kill includes a lovely example of a long cotton linen shirt dating to 1807.

So what of the navy boys? The inestimable esteven, to whom I am indebted, has helpfully provided canon evidence that Jack Aubrey did not wear drawers, much to Killick's annoyance, while Stephen Maturin would have worn drawers had his not been nicked by the French. The rotten buggers.

From Post Captain:

Turning, he saw Stephen watching him from the companion hatchway. 'Good morning, good morning!' he cried, smiling with great affection. 'Here's our old friend the Bellone just to leeward.'
'Ay. So Pullings tell me. Do you mean to fight with her?'
'I mean to sink, take, burn or destroy her,' said Jack, a smile flashing across his face.
'I dare say you do. Please to remember the watch they took from me. A Breguet repeater, number 365, with a centre seconds hand. And three pairs of drawers, I should know them anywhere. I must go below.'

From Thirteen-Gun Salute:

Leaning over the rail he called out to the pilot, who was clawing up into the wind, 'All's well', and ran below, where a furious Killick was waiting with a towel, a dry shirt and trousers. 'And these here woollen drawers, sir,' he said. 'You done it again - you are always a-doing of it - but this time you will catch your death, without you put on these woollen drawers. Who ever heard of dipping his bare arse off of the Eddystone? It is worse than the North Pole: far worse.'

I'm only half way through Forester's Hornblower series but so far I have found no evidence of underwear. However in Lieutenant Hornblower Forester treats us to this lovely description of Mr Bush:

He threw off his outer clothes, and standing in his shirt he cast a final look round his cabin before putting out the light. Shoes and trousers were on the sea-chest ready to be put on at a moment's notice in the event of an emergency.

The reference to "outer clothes" suggests that Mr Bush is still modestly attired in undergarments of some sort. Or it would do if Mr Forester didn't go on to describe Mr Bush...

...lying on his back with his arms and legs spread wide so as to allow the sweat every chance to evaporate...

Ahem.

So there you have it. Our lovely lieutenants either worn knee length drawers or linings beneath their breeches or they simply wrapped their shirt tails round their assets. Now as for how to extract said lovely lieutenants from their undergarments, well, I'll leave that to your imagination...

PS I am firmly convinced that Archie wore silk or nothing ;)

References

Fabb, J. and Cassin-scott, J., (1977), Uniforms of Trafalgar, Batsford, London.

Forester, C. S., (1959), Lieutenant Hornblower, Pan.

Miller, A., (2007), Dressed to Kill: British Naval Uniform, Masculinity and Contemporary Fashions 1748 - 1857, National Maritime Museum.

O'Brian, P., (1972), Post Captain, Harper Collins.

O'Brian, P., (1989), The Thirteen Gun Salute, Harper Collins.

Pepys, S., The Diary of Samuel Pepys: Thursday 18 October 1660, http://www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1660/10/18/

Willett, C. and Cunnington< P. (1951), The History of Underclothes, Michael Joseph, London.

I also came across this extremely informative LJ comment by syntinen_laulu which I can highly recommend if you're interested in the appropriate terms used for describing undergarments of various sorts in the 18th century.

* Aye, right!

naval, uniforms, books, naval knickers, history, nonsense

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