Description

Typical of the well established commercial Ready-Made Clothing industry of the 1860s comes this handsome shirt made of printed tan and black cotton. (machine sewn shirt with handsewn button holes) One left breast pocket. Appropriate for civilian and military application this shirt is made on the square with underarm gussets. The shirt collar is cut in our researched signature lower pattern rather than many of the mainstream taller affairs which do not seem to have as much documentation in original examples and period photos. The detachable collar is made of “boiled” or bleached white cotton and is cut in a documented squared and pointed style. These collars come unstarched and per a common style button over the shirt collar button and a button in the center of the back of the shirt collar. (as opposed to studs employed on higher end shirts) The collar unstarched is seen in period photos and converts an everyday common shirt to a dress shirt that can be worn with a tie. It likewise dresses up the sack coat with coat collar buttoned, for dress parade or laid open for a social affair. Printed cotton production was mechanized commercially in the early  19th century. By the 1850s it was mass produced and affordable enjoyed established popularity for cotton shirting for a myriad of pattern types including a stripes of all widths and variations. This shirt and print pattern has a subtle elegance and could be equally worn as a day shirt or a dress shirt with frock, etc. I really like the looks of this shirt and evidence suggests we should see more stripes in all types of shirts other than just the imported British military utility work shirt. Limited Run.

    Our shirts are made in the manufacturing style of the well documented Ready-Made clothing industry, personally modified Ready-Made style, and also “sent from home” and hand finished styles.  Dogma prevails within the “authentic” reproduction industry pushing predominantly handsewn shirts as the norm of the period. The fact is that while cherished and kept handmade “sent from home” shirts are well documented in collections, a more objective look at the material culture of the period as opposed to these individual pieces, reveals that Ready-Made clothing proliferated the market as well as the fact that individual household and sewing guild owned sewing machines were relatively common. While some individuals were less skilled in using machines for some small work, the only specific part which was all but universally hand done was the buttonhole. (although research suggests that some European manufacturing was beginning to practice in this area also) If you want a “sent from home” completely hand made shirt that is fine, but machine sewn our partially machine sewn are equally well-researched and authentic for the consumable shirt of the period. (please see our hand finished shirts) Buttons are another subject – we occasionally use original buttons from our vast collection of period examples on some of our shirts. Calico buttons are fine, documented and cool. If you like them great, but, again sound research method suggests, while somewhat popular – they certainly weren’t dominant.