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Post by brokennock on May 12, 2020 2:52:11 GMT -7
With the understanding that everything was new once, and I personally think the "aging" of many items at time of manufacture is overdone, but also with the premise that a persona can use clothing and gear from an earlier time in that person's history but not later, I ask the following questions.
Say one's timeline for their persona is of someone who as a young man, late teens early 20's, scouted and served during the F&I war and then volunteered to do the same again during the A.W.I. If they are still wearing their F&I period waistcoat in 1777, for example, it isn't going to look new anymore. I'm thinking in most cases a mix of new and lightly used to well worn gear and clothing is appropriate. Their is a lot of info out there about aging guns and powder horns and leather goods. What about clothing?
How can one go about adding some believable wear to a waistcoat or pair of breeches? This "wear" is really controlled damage, how does one keep it from getting out of control?
What tools do people who do this often use?
Are there places on various pieces of clothing that get more wear or certain types of wear? Knees/leg cuffs on breeches? Maybe missing, and replaced with a mismatch, buttons on a waistcoat or breaches?
I would think breaches and shirts would be replaced more often than coats, jackets, and waist coats, so maybe wouldn't warrant as much "aging."
Thoughts?
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Post by paranger on May 12, 2020 4:11:19 GMT -7
One guy that I used to know would hang clothing outside in a sunny spot (over a fence, on a picnic table, etc.) and just literally weather it for weeks. I have personally never gone to that length, but it's a thought.
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Post by spence on May 12, 2020 7:59:28 GMT -7
That's not something I've ever been inclined to do. A lot of my clothing is pretty scruffy looking, worn, stained and repaired, but it got that way naturally by being lived in under rough conditions over quite a period of time.   My approach to reenacting centers around experiencing what the old boys did, not how they looked. That means I go about it with a different mind set, one that places different constraints on me than on some people. Working at looking a certain way is not a part of it. I understand that would be appropriate for some interpretations, for instance the village rat catcher I mentioned in another thread. As a demonstration intended for public view he certainly would not be decked out in all new, clean clothing. Doing my thing solo out in the boondocks, I don't have to be concerned about such things. There as many ways to approach the hobby as there are people in it, of course. For many it's all about the look, the proper stitching, the proper leather or fabric. For others it seems to be to only have gear made by famous makers of guns, knives, tomahawks, bags, etc. For a big proportion of hobbyists it's military, recreating some famous battle or incident. For me it's knowing what they did, learning how the clothing felt to actually wear it, what the food tastes like, learning the skills necessary to be a successful hunter with flintlocks, etc., etc. My way has given me more pleasure than I could describe over a long period of years, and I'm sure that's true for everyone, no matter the approach that fits them. Spence |
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Keith
City-dweller
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Post by Keith on May 12, 2020 13:16:22 GMT -7
I have never aged any of my clothing or equipment, it ages & wares from natural use. If looked after, clothing & equipment can last a long time. 18th century clothing does not stress as much as modern clothing, you have more room to move. I would not worry about the look, just use it & repair as needed.
Keith.
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Post by artificer on May 12, 2020 17:05:20 GMT -7
As far as using a 20 year old FIW waistcoat in the AWI, I kinda doubt it would still fit the person or be serviceable, since it would have been used much more often than we use clothes today. However, if the person still preferred that style of waistcoat and it was more recently made "new", that's something entirely different.
Considering a recent post from Spence (I think) about how a person going to Kentucky with one (or two?) changes of clothes would be in rags at the end of the year, suggests period clothes wore out when in hard daily use and probably somewhat from hard hand washing.
I also don't like "fake aging" a piece I'm going to use in the hobby. If one wishes to age their clothing, then WEAR it more often, even say on weekends when one is not participating in some aspect of the hobby. That and washing/cleaning of the clothes will soon take away that "Brand New" look.
Gus
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Post by brokennock on May 12, 2020 23:44:45 GMT -7
I think everyone I spot on really. That "aging" through honest use is the beat way. Sometimes I just wonder about things even if I have no intention of doing those things.
It was the previously mentioned rat catcher that got me thinking about it.
I was also wonder if anyone would bring up the purchase and making of items, clothing, of an earlier style at a later time. As Gus did. Would a tailor or seamstress, if buying in the public marketplace as opposed to clothing made at home, have made a 1750's style piece of clothing in the 1770's?
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Post by spence on May 13, 2020 8:33:29 GMT -7
Sometimes I just wonder about things even if I have no intention of doing those things. An excellent philosophy IMHO. I love people with curiosity. Nicholas Cresswell had something to say about the best way to "antique" your clothes. On the Ohio river, spring of 1775: "I believe there is but two pair of Breeches in the company, one belonging to Mr. Tilling and the other to myself. The rest wear breechclouts, leggings and hunting shirts, which have never been washed only by the rain since they were made." Spence |
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Post by artificer on May 13, 2020 16:27:22 GMT -7
I was also wonder if anyone would bring up the purchase and making of items, clothing, of an earlier style at a later time. As Gus did. Would a tailor or seamstress, if buying in the public marketplace as opposed to clothing made at home, have made a 1750's style piece of clothing in the 1770's? In the 18th century, what today we call "custom made" was known as "bespoke work" from tradesmen. IOW, you talked to the Tradesman and ordered what you wanted, then they made it as close to your "spoken order," as they could. If a tailor or seamstress did not make things the way people ordered them, they found themselves out of customers and out of business. I have no doubt that a longer waistcoat was more "slimming" and gave a better appearance for those like me who had found their bellies grew larger in later life. Too short waistcoats were often seen in 18th century drawn caricatures as intended objects of scorn. So we know they were conscious of this fact. So even if waistcoats were becoming shorter, I'm sure some were made longer than were fashionable by the AWI. Gus |
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Keith
City-dweller
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Post by Keith on May 13, 2020 21:42:31 GMT -7
I think everyone I spot on really. That "aging" through honest use is the beat way. Sometimes I just wonder about things even if I have no intention of doing those things. It was the previously mentioned rat catcher that got me thinking about it. I was also wonder if anyone would bring up the purchase and making of items, clothing, of an earlier style at a later time. As Gus did. Would a tailor or seamstress, if buying in the public marketplace as opposed to clothing made at home, have made a 1750's style piece of clothing in the 1770's? If the customer requested an earlier style then I assume that is what would be supplied, but don't forget the second hand clothing market, second hand clothing would not be purchased & re sold unless it was in reasonable repair. woodsrunnersdiary.blogspot.com/2012/10/wearing-out-of-date-clothing-old.html Rag-fair-Rosemary-Lane-By-Thomas-RowlandsonKeith. |
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Post by hawkeyes on May 14, 2020 6:17:54 GMT -7
I do wash my clothing when needed and really have never found a need to antique my article's. I grease my leather items as necessary and really that's about it. I let the natural take care of the rest when out and about. However, I do only handwash my clothing, no machine.
I'm able to say with some leather I have bleached out unsightly dyes, the modern dyes are certainly yuck. Not sure if that qualifies as antiquing though.
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Post by Black Hand on May 16, 2020 17:15:49 GMT -7
Anything new I've worn into the woods on a scout a couple times no longer looks new. The biggest issue I have with aging is it doesn't look natural - the stains and wear are in the wrong places and don't look right to me.
I do wash in the washer but do not use the dryer, preferring to air-dry instead. Hunting clothes get washed with baking soda, though my detergent is also unscented (as is anything else in my house, Dawn dishsoap is the most fragrant cleaner in my house) and used for my other period clothing.
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Post by brokennock on May 16, 2020 23:26:03 GMT -7
Anything new I've worn into the woods on a scout a couple times no longer looks new. The biggest issue I have with aging is it doesn't look natural - the stains and wear are in the wrong places and don't look right to me. I agree, that's why my curiosity lead me to ask the question. If one were to try to do a presentation and wanted that look, how best to do it. Where to add wear, and how? Are certain buttons more likely to get worn or broken off and replaced (or not replaced) than others? We read so much about the continental army and militia being reduced to rags, how often is something even close to this represented? Most of our purposes here are different, I understand that. For most if not all of us, we are more about how did this clothing and gear feel, function, and perform? What was it like to live, work, hunt in these clothes with the material goods of the day? But, sometimes there are good historical presentations out there, and it makes me wonder how best to go about achieving this effect. |
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Post by Black Hand on May 17, 2020 7:40:21 GMT -7
Look at your normal everyday clothing and replicate the wear areas and stains on your period clothing. You can rub a little dirt or coffee to replicate soiling in places where you wipe your hands. Collars and cuffs wear faster, as do the shoulder areas. Knees and rear are more often worn before the rest, as are prominent seams.
Look at your favorite woods clothing - the front of your leggings and hunting shirt are always more grungy.
Metal objects are easier, as a little tarnish or rust takes the new off. Use cold blue or burnt powder residue. Ignore the scratches and dings that you might otherwise file or sand out on metal or wood items.
The important part is to make it look natural. Dying a new shirt with walnut dye doesn't make it look older, it just makes it look dyed. Normal wear and aging is selective and localized.
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Post by artificer on May 21, 2020 12:13:59 GMT -7
I've been thinking about this thread more and realize I do some things that might simulate wear, but it is not for that reason. It is done to improve the use of the gear when new, for the most part.
When I first began making 18th and early 19th century Military Cartouche Pouches, I quickly found the heavier leather of the straps could cut into the neck, even when wearing a Regimental Coat, but definitely when wearing a Hunting Shirt or even a Waist Coat. I don't believe for a minute they would have put up with that, but I didn't know a period technique to soften the leather near the shoulder.
Finally I took off an old modern leather belt I had worn for years and noticed the large dip/curve worn into the back and some lesser curves along where it sat on the side of the body. What I came up with was bending the leather almost flat on itself and doing that every 1/8" or so and bending it again and again and again along the length of strap that went over the top of the shoulder, but not the entire strap. On the really heavy strap leather, I also did it on both sides of the strap. What that does is break down the fibers in the leather and softens it and made it instantly more comfortable. I did the same thing on Military Slings, especially near the swivels, and that kept the slings from cracking in use. OK,, it worked for those things, so I did it to my waist belt. Nowadays I use it wherever I need to soften the leather to bend or fold more easily.
In the 18th century, sandpaper or "glass paper' was not unknown, but it was expensive and usually only used for such things as fine woodwork finishing. They often used "boning" to press/crush down the wood fibers to make a surface smooth, rather than cutting the fibers like sandpaper does. There are also plenty of references to using natural rush plants to put a smoother finish on the wood surfaces.
OK, now many in the hobby don't like a shiny finish, but oil varnishes then or today gave/give shiny finishes. Heck, even raw linseed oil will give a shiny finish on wood when enough coats of it are built up. Cuthbertson talks about using varnish to polish musket stocks both more shiny/visually appealing to the military eye, as well as for better protection from the elements.
I don't always have a handy way to gather rush plants and I HATE steel wool as it always seems to leave "steel hairs" imbedded in the wood surface of the wood that don't show up until you have a few coats of finish on it. So I use different grades of Abrasive Pads when I want to "knock down the shine" of a finish, but more importantly, so it is less likely to blister my modern hands when I'm using wood handle tools.
Gus
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coot
City-dweller
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Post by coot on Jun 15, 2020 11:48:42 GMT -7
The best way to authentically age garments is simply to wear them. 18th c clothing works fine for mowing the grass, cutting/carrying firewood, working in the garden or shop. As others have mentioned, this puts the wear where it naturally occurs, cuffs, elbows, collars, knees & the fronts & seats of garments. It is like trying to "antique" furniture - the top drawers need to slide in & out a thousand times to wear the runners but the bottom of a table might not show any distress even if 100 years old.I finally retired one linen shirt when you could practically see thru it. Shirts often had the cuffs or collars replaced - with checked shirts, the new cuffs will match the originals perfectly if cut off of the bottom of the same shirt - which I am informed was a common practice.
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