"Pirates: How Colorful Their Outfits, Really???" Topic

Yes. I know it is Hollywood. Nevertheless, I like the overall "drab" and "boring" look of the Pirates in Pirates of the Caribbean:

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However, a lot of the classic pirate illustrations (and the paintjobs of most collectors of pirate figures for that matter), seem to be extremely colorful.

QUESTION:

Unless they were regularly taking down ships with brand new wardrobes, how colorful were outfits on the average pirate in those days really?

CC

In other words, did people like Black Scorpion get it right by using more muted tones?

link

CC

You seem to be asking shall I pick hollywood hype 1 or hollywood hype 2? I'll stick with 18th C piracy as the figures alude to that era though are crazily overdressed for action at sea in the Carribean. Piracy through the centuries is clearly not the same 'piracy' so my comments clearly don't apply to 16/17th century piracy.

Yes, some successful captains and head crew were colourful to the extreme in whatever they plundered, and on the other hand the smaller pirate crews 'were a wretched hive of scum and villainy' who were drunken roustabouts who lived in utter squalor aboard their ships and rarely took any prizes of great significance. In either case you have to recall they did not have washing machines or maids to keep them ironed and pressed plus they lived in hot, moist climates. Most of the time the clothes they wore were grubby and dull whatever the original colour. The more pressing need than to looking hot n sexy was to take anything of value to sell for money to gamble and drink and wench and escape their personal demons.

A significant number of the pirate crews were actually pressed pirates who in later trials were able to prove they did not take part in any piratical activity nor benefited by taking any plunder and hence clearly wore everyday sailor clothing. Trial transcripts make interesting reading but isn't all that sexy for descriptions of their clothes. IIRC clothing didn't make a large percentage of loot though raw cloth did. What general clothing may have been plundered would be generally of average quality to begin with as merchant captains of small ships wouldn't be sailing around with their spare finery in a sea chest just in case they meet a nice mermaid to impress.

That said, most pirate figures are hollywood pirates anyway, so I say big and bold is the way to go :O

You want fancy colorful clothing..?

Wait til chemical dyes are developed.. Vegatable dyes start out drab.. and the Caribbean sun does not help them..

What general clothing may have been plundered would be generally of average quality to begin with as merchant captains of small ships wouldn't be sailing around with their spare finery in a sea chest just in case they meet a nice mermaid to impress.

I have seen some evidence to dispute this. A namesake of mine (not an ancestor but probable family) was a merchant seaman in the period spanning the Napoleonic War and his accounts are in our local county archive. From them it appears he spent a good part of his earnings on fine clothes which were usually kept aboard the vessel he was with. He may have been an exception (I have not seen any other accounts) but nothing in his correspondence suggests this.

This was mainly Scotland to Europe with a few voyages to Africa and India.

x42

I think you missed the bit where I wrote 18th century ie 1700's.

The accounts cover a period of nearly 50 years starting perhaps a bit later than you are talking about (1770s to 1820s). I would have thought that the habits of seamen not to have changed too much in the intervening span and in the earlier time with the likelihood of the vessel being his only home and so where he kept any finery he had, more probable.

As I say it is some evidence not proof.

x42

The first pirates I painted were the Foundry pack based on the Osprey "Pirate Captains" book. We all know what a lion of historical accuracy Osprey is, right? <cough cough>
So, MY dread Bartholomew Roberts is pure pink and gold silk.

Most of mine are tar and drab (striped trousers, of course), but on Friday nights, the boys like to put on the Ritz. It's Ladies Night down at the Admiral Byng!

I prefer not to paint the boys who are taking on the role of Ladies, thanks.

Allen

Indeed seamen throughout the 18th cent at least, and more than likely their early 19th cent brethren (and at least a few were the one and the same) did keep a (or more) set of finery aboard. Often they had no other home, but would need nice clothing for going ashore. However, these are merchants and naval men. There is little true documentary evidence of pirate life. From what I've read, it was no where near as colorful as Hollywood would make it appear.

That said, at least one well known pirate captain (can't think of who right off) lived in Virginia Beach, VA, and often came home – probably with crew. It strikes me that another lived in MA. In light of this, it is possible, and even probably, that some pirates lived normal lives, at least as normal as merchants and naval men.

For 19th cent, the LaFitte brothers also appear to have done very well.

In the end, it's what you make of it and how you want them portrayed. Are these homeless, sea- and desert island-living pirates, or are they normal people with normal homes who happen to have an extra-legal source of income?

"Ladies' Night" means "cheap drinks for cheap women", Allen. My boys are merely taking advantage of that. It doesn't hurt if you put your crimson sash on!

For 19th cent, the Lafitte brothers also appear to have done very well.
Well, now you're getting into a whole other type of piracy. The Lafittes had a lot more in common with Tony Soprano than they did with Blackbeard.

LT

>>> "Ladies' Night" means "cheap drinks for cheap women", Allen.

Not at the Bourbon Street bar in San Diego, which is packed with Navy types when the fleet is in. There are major cross-dressing events that are so advertised.

>>> My boys are merely taking advantage of that.

As do the salty seamen today. I expect that other ports in other times accommodated the same practice, for when the boys tired of just the rum and the lash. That's life in the senior service.

Allen

Here's a little reading material for you, John:

link

As an aside, the Amazon comments are almost TMP-esque:

"Being a expert on pirates I must remind readers and the author that fully half of all pirates were casterated before they went to sea."

"Reading this book really was an experience in deja-vu. I'm a leading authority on reincarnation and a honorary pirate at Sea-fair."

Tell me we don't know those people…

Allen

Roger the Cabin Boy? Seaman Staynes?

I believe I read a review in the New York Times a while back. "The Brotherhood of the Coast", indeed.

Which are more bizarre, I wonder. Youtube or Amazon comments?

At least The Amazon types tend to use actual words. I don't think I have more than six YouTube comments that qualified as actual sentences.

Pseudointellectuals or internet hoodlums? You make the call.

Youtube hoodlums would not recognize a book.

Also a common TMP characteristic.

To return to the original idea, I think that we really overestimate the effect permanent dyes and dry cleaning have on colourful clothing – I suspect the average pirate was pretty drab and boring

As to YouTube hoodlums, they probably can't even spell book

Remember "Calico" Jack Rackham.

Frederick,

Thanks for bringing it back to topic.

CC

Cosidering the salt water and sun that would bleach or fade any colors fast, I imagine the where rather monotone as Black Scorpion represents them. This is not to say that some didn't carry a trunk full of fancy clothes, mostly some eccentric pirate I imagine. I also expect that he would spruce himself up for a particularly special event like taking another ship and sending the commanding officers to the plank. All in all I would go with a grey outlook toward these pirates with a splash of color from some of the leaders.

What is calico fabric anyway?

Remember, during the golden age of piracy, it was fashionable to wear ribbon. Ribbon was often given as gifts. Trade with the far east, (East India Trading Company), India and China, brought colored fabrics and silk.

Since the local haberdasher in New Providence carried less of a selection of clothing than an East Indiaman prize, Pirates would have adorned themselves to a great degree with looted clothing.

The point about weathering is valid. The object would be to wear a mixture of rags and finery, but all weather beaten. Your pirates should dress a little like Britney Spears, only a tad more masculine and tasteful.

Is it not the case also that sumptuary laws would have been in effect in some 17th century nations so that pirates, finding themselves in a lawless society and with access to lace and trim and ribbons to excess, would have often overadorned themselves as an expression of freedom and rebellion?

Pirates would have made themselves bright and spectacular in the same way that modern bikers cover themselves in black leather and denim.

A lot of sailors had a nice outfit for going ashore and impressing the ladies. But they didn't wear them at sea where they would get dirty and sweaty. They would dress much the same as legitimate seaman of the same period. Most clothing of the period was pretty drab. Bright colors were hard to achieve with the dyes available. A colorful bandana would be about it. Check out this site I just found: link

By the way this is what real sailors wear today. It's just an upgrade of what they wore in the age of sail
link

Awesome link there. Thanks.

CC

Even if their clothing was colorful, after a few days at sea, they'd look like !

Normal sailors of the RN were often very 'Dandified during the 18th-19th cent when going ashore--often with ribbons bells and jazzy earrings etc--it was only in the later 1800's when uniform was brought in that they calmed their appearence…but even up till WW2 Square rig had a fair amount of ribbony stuff going on!!

I have authoritative evidence that pirates did dress quite colorfully:

YouTube link

Any ideas on where to find a figure?

And now for a practical solution. Paint them bright colors and then wash them with Vallejo smoke on account of laundry detergent hadn't been invented yet.

Rich