Mariners' Clothing
This page is meant as a resource for anyone portraying sailors in the early-mid 17th century. Broadly speaking, pirates appear to have dressed about the same as anyone else at sea, and most vessels they'd be raiding would have their crews attired similarly. What follows are merely suggestions based on evidence. When possible, try to hand-finish your garments but this is not required.
The primary types of fabric used in the period were wool, linen/hemp, silk, blends of the aforementioned, and leather. Generally, linen and hemp were more common than cotton (and will keep you much cooler), linen or hemp used for outerwear was probably almost always undyed, and most fabrics (like wool and silk) were probably solid colors and without patterns or designs woven in. Images of Portuguese sailors in Japan, one scrap of wool found on the wreck of the Mary Rose (1545), and extant Basque whaler's clothes at Red Bay in Newfoundland do have some stripes and checks, but these appear to be in the minority and it is a safer bet to aim for plain materials.
The primary types of fabric used in the period were wool, linen/hemp, silk, blends of the aforementioned, and leather. Generally, linen and hemp were more common than cotton (and will keep you much cooler), linen or hemp used for outerwear was probably almost always undyed, and most fabrics (like wool and silk) were probably solid colors and without patterns or designs woven in. Images of Portuguese sailors in Japan, one scrap of wool found on the wreck of the Mary Rose (1545), and extant Basque whaler's clothes at Red Bay in Newfoundland do have some stripes and checks, but these appear to be in the minority and it is a safer bet to aim for plain materials.
Minimum Recommended Clothing
- Shirt
- Knit or Sewn Fabric Stockings
- Shoes
- Breeches
- Doublet or cassock or coat
- Knit cap or hat
SHIRTS:
Preferred: White or off-white linen fastened with single pairs of matching ties through eyelets or matching thread or cloth buttons or hooks & eyes. Plain band or foldover collars.
Good: White or off-white linen or cotton fastened with single pairs of matching ties or hooks & eyes or matching thread/cloth buttons. Plain band, foldover, or small ruffled collar.
Discouraged: Colored or patterned fabric, yokes, lace-up fronts, ruffles, metal/wood/bone/horn/pearl/shell buttons.
BREECHES:
Preferred: Wool in plausible colors or undyed linen/hemp/canvas, reaching up to your natural waist, fastened with thread, cloth, or reproduction cast metal buttons and with large hooks or eyelets in the waist for attaching to a doublet. Pockets sewn into the sides.
Good: Wool or linen/hemp/cotton/canvas reaching to the natural waist with thread, cloth, or metal buttons.
Discouraged: Elastic, codpieces, fall-front flies (18th century), wide knee-length slops, lace-up gussets at the back for adjusting fit, wood/bone/horn/pearl/shell buttons.
STOCKINGS:
Preferred: Hand-knit fine wool or silk or sewn wool fabric, either with seam up the back in appropriate colors.
Good: Cotton or wool.
Discouraged: Stripes or patterns, tube socks, tights.
SHOES:
***Evidence suggests that most sailors wore shoes on deck and preferred it, so if possible shoes are recommended for accuracy and your safety. One journal entry from 1661, for example says..
"...at night when we went to take our rest...many times when it blew hard were not sure to lie one hour...often (we) were called up before we had slept half an hour and forced to go up into the maintop or foretop to take in our topsails, half awake and half asleep, with one shoe on and the other off, not having time to put it on..."
Later in the 17th century, Randall Holme specified that sailors wore Startups which might have been some kind of work shoe or boot.
Preferred: Latchet shoes with or without holes with one or two pairs of eyelets and a tie and low to moderate heel.
Good: Latchet shoes with or without holes, modified 18th century low shoes, 18th century Hi-Los.
Discouraged: Buckles, horseman's boots, rope sandals, Ghillies, Gurkees, high heels.
DOUBLET:
The ubiquitous men's close-fitting jacket of the 16th-mid 17th century. You might wear a sleeveless Jerkin made of wool or leather over the sleeved doublet. It was extremely unusual to see men in shirtsleeves or jerkins over shirtsleeves alone except when working.
Preferred: Linen/hemp canvas (undyed/uncolored) or leather or suiting/worsted wool with a linen lining and fully sewn-on, matching sleeves. Ending at the natural waist with a peplum/skirting below. Fastened with small thread or glass or reproduction cast metal buttons and with a strip sewn behind the peplum/skirting with eyelets or eyes (matched to hooks) to connect to the breeches.
Good: Linen/hemp/cotton canvas or wool or leather with matching sleeves (if detachable, their fastening should be invisible), ending at the natural waist and fastened with metal or cloth buttons.
Discouraged: Waist seam at hips, no sleeves, wood/bone/horn/pearl/shell buttons., gaps in the peplum tabs, lace-up fronts, bagginess. For pre-1600 doublets & jerkins, peplum/skirting made up of numerous small trapezoids was not yet in fashion.
CASSOCK/COAT:
A utilitarian garment favored by sailors, soldiers, and working men as an alternative or supplement to the doublet.
Preferred: Linen/hemp canvas (undyed/uncolored) or wool (including worsted/suiting-weight up to heavy/hairy) with fully-attached sleeves and reproduction cast metal or thread buttons or a few pairs of eyelets at the neck slit.
Good: Linen/hemp/cotton canvas or wool with metal or cloth or thread buttons.
Discouraged: Wood/bone/horn/pearl/shell buttons.
CAP/HAT
Knit caps were practical and those like the Monmouth Cap as we call them today (what they looked like in the period is debated, but the style and the name were both around, just not necessarily joined) was popular amongst soldiers and sailors alike. Thrum caps can be found in all manner of images and descriptions of mariners' dress.
Preferred: Hand-knit "Monmouth" caps with or without brims, Thrum caps, or Toque/Beanie-style caps without tassels OR felt hats with a high crown (6+").
Good: Knit flatcaps or beanies or Tams/bonnets or low felt hats.
Discouraged: Bandanas, "cavalier" hats with low crowns, Pilgrim badges on hats, Pirate or 18th century hats or tricorns/bicorns.
ACCESSORIES:
Neck Cloths: These are very difficult to document for sailors in great numbers in this time, and appear to only become popular towards the very end of the century. They were around, just seemingly much less common than detachable white linen collars or the built-in collars of shirts. Blue calico (plant cotton) handkerchiefs were recommended for poorer settlers bound for the Massachusetts Bay colony in 1630 to be used as neck cloths. Most neck cloths earlier on probably would have been uncolored linen rather than the printed cotton or silk ones which take off in later decades or centuries.
Belts: Usually called girdles, these tended to be very narrow (around an inch or perhaps less in width) and didn't tend to have dangling straps. It's advised that you keep only a knife and perhaps a pouch (if needed) on your belt. Strapping cups and other accessories on besides inkpots for clerks and schoolboys was probably unusual.
Pouches: If at all possible, rely on pockets sewn into breeches. By this point, pouches/purses hung from the girdle (belt) are very rare in English images and written records and so were probably out of favor and uncommon.
Sword Hangers: Most sword hangers/girdles/belts at this point were still worn about the waist; baldrics were starting to come into favor but were still atypical. Avoid modern hardware.
Eating/Drinking Accessories: Aim for reproduction pottery, coopered wood, cast pewter, glass, or possibly hardened leather in appropriate designs/colors. Forks were still unusual in England.
Preferred: White or off-white linen fastened with single pairs of matching ties through eyelets or matching thread or cloth buttons or hooks & eyes. Plain band or foldover collars.
Good: White or off-white linen or cotton fastened with single pairs of matching ties or hooks & eyes or matching thread/cloth buttons. Plain band, foldover, or small ruffled collar.
Discouraged: Colored or patterned fabric, yokes, lace-up fronts, ruffles, metal/wood/bone/horn/pearl/shell buttons.
BREECHES:
Preferred: Wool in plausible colors or undyed linen/hemp/canvas, reaching up to your natural waist, fastened with thread, cloth, or reproduction cast metal buttons and with large hooks or eyelets in the waist for attaching to a doublet. Pockets sewn into the sides.
Good: Wool or linen/hemp/cotton/canvas reaching to the natural waist with thread, cloth, or metal buttons.
Discouraged: Elastic, codpieces, fall-front flies (18th century), wide knee-length slops, lace-up gussets at the back for adjusting fit, wood/bone/horn/pearl/shell buttons.
STOCKINGS:
Preferred: Hand-knit fine wool or silk or sewn wool fabric, either with seam up the back in appropriate colors.
Good: Cotton or wool.
Discouraged: Stripes or patterns, tube socks, tights.
SHOES:
***Evidence suggests that most sailors wore shoes on deck and preferred it, so if possible shoes are recommended for accuracy and your safety. One journal entry from 1661, for example says..
"...at night when we went to take our rest...many times when it blew hard were not sure to lie one hour...often (we) were called up before we had slept half an hour and forced to go up into the maintop or foretop to take in our topsails, half awake and half asleep, with one shoe on and the other off, not having time to put it on..."
Later in the 17th century, Randall Holme specified that sailors wore Startups which might have been some kind of work shoe or boot.
Preferred: Latchet shoes with or without holes with one or two pairs of eyelets and a tie and low to moderate heel.
Good: Latchet shoes with or without holes, modified 18th century low shoes, 18th century Hi-Los.
Discouraged: Buckles, horseman's boots, rope sandals, Ghillies, Gurkees, high heels.
DOUBLET:
The ubiquitous men's close-fitting jacket of the 16th-mid 17th century. You might wear a sleeveless Jerkin made of wool or leather over the sleeved doublet. It was extremely unusual to see men in shirtsleeves or jerkins over shirtsleeves alone except when working.
Preferred: Linen/hemp canvas (undyed/uncolored) or leather or suiting/worsted wool with a linen lining and fully sewn-on, matching sleeves. Ending at the natural waist with a peplum/skirting below. Fastened with small thread or glass or reproduction cast metal buttons and with a strip sewn behind the peplum/skirting with eyelets or eyes (matched to hooks) to connect to the breeches.
Good: Linen/hemp/cotton canvas or wool or leather with matching sleeves (if detachable, their fastening should be invisible), ending at the natural waist and fastened with metal or cloth buttons.
Discouraged: Waist seam at hips, no sleeves, wood/bone/horn/pearl/shell buttons., gaps in the peplum tabs, lace-up fronts, bagginess. For pre-1600 doublets & jerkins, peplum/skirting made up of numerous small trapezoids was not yet in fashion.
CASSOCK/COAT:
A utilitarian garment favored by sailors, soldiers, and working men as an alternative or supplement to the doublet.
Preferred: Linen/hemp canvas (undyed/uncolored) or wool (including worsted/suiting-weight up to heavy/hairy) with fully-attached sleeves and reproduction cast metal or thread buttons or a few pairs of eyelets at the neck slit.
Good: Linen/hemp/cotton canvas or wool with metal or cloth or thread buttons.
Discouraged: Wood/bone/horn/pearl/shell buttons.
CAP/HAT
Knit caps were practical and those like the Monmouth Cap as we call them today (what they looked like in the period is debated, but the style and the name were both around, just not necessarily joined) was popular amongst soldiers and sailors alike. Thrum caps can be found in all manner of images and descriptions of mariners' dress.
Preferred: Hand-knit "Monmouth" caps with or without brims, Thrum caps, or Toque/Beanie-style caps without tassels OR felt hats with a high crown (6+").
Good: Knit flatcaps or beanies or Tams/bonnets or low felt hats.
Discouraged: Bandanas, "cavalier" hats with low crowns, Pilgrim badges on hats, Pirate or 18th century hats or tricorns/bicorns.
ACCESSORIES:
Neck Cloths: These are very difficult to document for sailors in great numbers in this time, and appear to only become popular towards the very end of the century. They were around, just seemingly much less common than detachable white linen collars or the built-in collars of shirts. Blue calico (plant cotton) handkerchiefs were recommended for poorer settlers bound for the Massachusetts Bay colony in 1630 to be used as neck cloths. Most neck cloths earlier on probably would have been uncolored linen rather than the printed cotton or silk ones which take off in later decades or centuries.
Belts: Usually called girdles, these tended to be very narrow (around an inch or perhaps less in width) and didn't tend to have dangling straps. It's advised that you keep only a knife and perhaps a pouch (if needed) on your belt. Strapping cups and other accessories on besides inkpots for clerks and schoolboys was probably unusual.
Pouches: If at all possible, rely on pockets sewn into breeches. By this point, pouches/purses hung from the girdle (belt) are very rare in English images and written records and so were probably out of favor and uncommon.
Sword Hangers: Most sword hangers/girdles/belts at this point were still worn about the waist; baldrics were starting to come into favor but were still atypical. Avoid modern hardware.
Eating/Drinking Accessories: Aim for reproduction pottery, coopered wood, cast pewter, glass, or possibly hardened leather in appropriate designs/colors. Forks were still unusual in England.
Interpretations of Sailors' Clothes
These are a few interpretations of sailors' and working peoples' clothes from the early-mid 17th century. Every reenactor and historical interpreter makes compromises which may not be immediately apparent to others. When possible, go first to the historical images and information so as not to copy others' mistakes and misunderstandings.