Greenhorn Guidance #3

I will not get into the clothing construction description here as there are many variables and it would take me way off track from the beginner's perspective of this Greenhorn Guidance article.   To sum for now, the sewing matching was invented in the late 1840's, so any period dress for us should be handmade.  Handmade clothing is very expensive, and you will probably not find someone willing to stitch you up a shirt completely by hand.  I have been working on one for about a year now, and I'm almost done.  To contrast, a shirt could be stitched in a day or two by someone back then.   Most people I have met in the clothing business are out to clothe you as correctly as possible, but quickly (that's the way most of us want things).  Most of them use a machine for the parts you don't see, and hand stitch the parts of the stitching that are visible.  Others use machines for the whole thing.   Not many apply period buttons unless you pay extra for them.  Few offer hand stitching, and they are usually booked.  I hope to write an article soon about a seamstress out here on the West Coast who offers the whole range of clothing, including any period dress you would like.

Back to the initial question - who am I and what do I wear?  The first question to ask yourself - Am I trying to portray someone who existed, or am I trying to portray someone of a certain time period, but who did not exist as an individual?  Whatever the answer, your time and location will likely indicate what type of rifle and equipage you had, as well as what types of clothing you wore.  If you're lucky enough to choose a person who lived, and there is much written by or about that person, you have half the work done for you.  Take Mark Baker or Mike Branson as examples.  Both are portraying frontier hunters of the mid-18th century.  Neither I believe, have a specific person in mind when they re-enact, but they are themselves as a true period frontier hunter; a synthesized 1750's frontier hunter.  They wear and carry exactly what they would have had they been born in the 18th century.  They learned this by research and reading.  By reading, I mean reading everything you can get your hands on so that you have a basis to judge materials in the future.  If you read enough, you will find that you have the knowledge to judge that Stephen Ambrose's Undaunted Courage, a graphic account of the Lewis and Clark expedition, is a great read and a great place to "do some homework."  You know this because you know that he did his homework for years, including many trips over the Lewis and Clark path, and his work is excellent.  By research, for example, I mean that Mark Baker read, and refers to frequently, the actual receipts of things purchased to outfit trips into the frontier and to forts and outposts that were written in the 18th century.  From this specific evidence, he absolutely knows some of the items carried or important to (and available to) the inhabitant of North America.  This type of research is invaluable, just as would be reading Peter (Paer) Kalm's journal.

Peter Kalm's journal is of his trip through the colonies from 1749 to 1751.  He was sent by the Swedish Academy of Sciences to collect seeds and make certain observations here.  He wrote 13 volumes for the Academy, but he also wrote an extensive journal.  His journal is an amazing view into life during the mid-18th century in the Colonies in North America.  He comments on everything from how the dinner toast was made for him over the fire on an overnight stay at a farmhouse, and what the dinner included - to how the people dressed and lived.  He also lists the many foods available and the habits of both city and country folk, highlighting certain people by providing details on their individual aspects.  His observations on plants and their changes during the seasons are fantastic.  I recommend this book for anyone.

As Jean Baptiste La Jeunesse, a voyageur and member of the Lewis and Clark expedition, I have both general and specific information to build upon my character.  First, I have everything written about voyageurs and the French in North America, but second, I have family history and specific knowledge of an individual who lived and his life.  Add to that all of the information about food, clothing and accoutrements from other research, and you have enough information to really nail down a persona.  Some of the questions you should answer, and many people I know actually write them down for reference, are:

When did I live?  Mid-18th Century - specifically 1760 to 1800.

Where did I live?  In my case, voyageur in Canada early on, moving down to the Illinois country, then out west to the coast.  I was born in Canada and moved down to the Illinois country.

What did I wear?  As voyageur, tuque, linen shirts, sash, linen or leather pants, botes sauvages or moccasins, and a capote are standard.  I also wore Indian clothing having married into the Blackfoot tribe.  These would have been breechcloth, leggings, perhaps a fur cap.  A voyageur marrying into and cohabitating with an Indian tribe would adopt many of the Indian ways of dress.  Blankets and capes were also frequently worn or at least owned for sleeping.

What did I do?  Well, if you can afford it, you can portray the person to the hilt - home life, traveling life, etc.  I can only afford the voyageur's life of ease and travel.  I have gone this route because I have always been a trekker.  I have loved the forest and river all of my life, and actually doing it is what I like most.  I have limited gear and not very many clothes you would categorize as "city" clothes.  I have all the trekking, fishing, and hunting gear I need to get the job done.

What did I own?  Why did I have it?  How did I carry it?  Each time I come home from a trip, I go through my gear and eliminate things I didn't really use and don't think I needed in the first place.  This way, I have refined my kit to only include the necessities.  You will have to determine for yourself what you would have had based upon your persona and what you actually get out and do.

What did I eat?  How did I prepare it?  Eat it?  This takes a little research.  I hope that you read all of the Camp & Trail cooking articles posted at this site.  Other than that, read old cookbooks and everything else you can (especially from On The Trail and Muzzleloader magazines).

What do I want to do today as that persona?  Well, today you can find several other groups of people interested in the same thing you are - 18th century life.  Rendezvous abound, and shooting clubs usually have other members already into black powder.  The next Greenhorn Guidance will have more information on things to do.

To conclude, answer these questions for yourself.  Write them down so that you can narrow your focus and become one whole person rather than a smear of a few.  You will end up spending less money - as I walk down Trader's Row and someone points something out, I think to myself, "Would Jean Baptiste have had that?"  Usually, the answer is "No."  You need very little to have a lot of fun in this sport.