Sailor suit

“ Partly to please myself, and partly to convince my cousin, I went to a large outfitter’s shop in the Minories next morning, and representing that I wished to make a present of a suit of clothes to a young sailor friend I asked the shopman to show me a number of sizes in pilot coats and cloth trousers. I said that I was about the height and breadth of the young man for whom I wished to buy the clothes. The shopman measured me round my chest, took the length of my arms and of my figure and then made up a parcel of the clothing that came nearest to the measurements. ”

“ Streamers of sailor hat, 53, 53 — — Scotch cap, 53, 54 — on barristers’ gowns, 219 — — hats, 52, 52 — — head-dress of twelfth century, 53, 53 Strings, cap, 149 — on mitres, 54, 54 Stripe on trousers, vestige of a row of buttons, 81, 82 Stripes on sleeves of non-commissioned officers, 114 Stud, 118, 119 Suit, sailor, 162 Sumptuary laws, 349, 350, 351 — — a hindrance to trade, 351 — — usually a failure, 349 Sun-bonnet of barge women, 61 ”

“ A sailor has a peculiar cut to his clothes, and a way of wearing them which a green hand can never get. The trousers, tight round the hips, and thence hanging long and loose round the feet, a superabundance of checked shirt, a low-crowned, well-varnished black hat, worn on the back of the head, with half a fathom of black ribbon hanging over the left eye, and a peculiar tie to the black silk neckerchief, with sundry other minutiæ, are signs, the want of which betrayed the beginner, at once. ”

“ It is best to obtain the real sailor dress from a nautical outfitter, either in white drill or serge; viz., loose trousers, loose jacket tucked into them; a belt round the waist, the sleeves of the jacket fastening at the wrist; having a sailor's collar, very open at the neck, with a silk handkerchief tied in a sailor's knot beneath it; a man-of-war straw hat, or a sou-wester and peajacket. The drill suits have the jacket trimmed with blue down the front and on the cuffs and collar.
SCHOOLBOY. For a tall boy; green jacket, with triple row of buttons down the front; large frilled collar ”

“ A thick-set middle-aged man, tidily dressed in a blue serge suit of nautical cut, the sort of thing that they sell, ready-made, in sea-ports and naval stations. His clothes went with his dark skin and grizzled hair and beard, and with the gold rings which he wore in his ears. ”

“ A round vest of blue cloth, with buttons marked with an anchor, and wide trousers bound to his hips by a red woollen girdle, completed our man's apparel. Side-whiskers of brown, shaded with fawn colour, encased his square face, which expressed both good humour and decision of character. A superficial observer might have supposed the left cheek of the sailor to be considerably inflamed, but a more attentive examination would have disclosed the fact that an enormous quid of tobacco produced this one-sided tumefaction. ”

“ His hands, bronzed by the tan of sixteen summers, were clasped under his head, and his legs were crossed, one soleless shoe on high vaunting its nakedness in the face of an indifferent world. A sailor's blouse, two sizes too large, was held together at the neck by a bit of red cambric, and his trousers were anchored to their mooring by a heavy piece of yellow twine. ”

“ Two, and sometimes three, complete suits of sails are carried, the best or newest suit for seas where the stormiest weather may be expected, the next best suit for general use, and the fine-weather suit for regions where light, variable airs are always found, and where it would be a great waste of money to allow good canvas to bang itself all to pieces against the masts as the vessel rolls idly upon the sleepy swell. ”

“ It is imperative that your vessel, whether she be a cruiser pure and simple or a racer, should have a well cut suit of sails. If it is your intention to treat her to the luxury of a brand new suit, I hope that you placed your order with a responsible sailmaker weeks ago. The winter is the correct time to have your sails made, when the knights of the palm and needle are not so apt to be rushed. ”

“ The dress of the men has nothing different from that used below, but are chiefly remarked by a passion for large brass buttons, which they fix on a sailor’s jacket, when they are so fortunate as to obtain one, without regard to any arrangement. The women also wear the short robe already described; but their hair is most commonly braided into two tresses falling over each ear in front of the body, and instead of the tissue of bark, they employ a piece of leather in the shape of a pocket handkerchief tied round the loins. ”

“ The officers have no special full dress coat with the cutaway skirts or swallow-tail effect, a frock coat taking its place; and the enlisted men have in addition to the ordinary sailor shirts with the wide falling collar a dress jacket reaching to the waist line and roached over the hips like the jackets of the American midshipmen. This jacket has a row of small buttons down each side of the front and also on each cuff and is worn unbuttoned with the falling collar of the shirt outside of it. ”

“ As the youth thus lay, the deadly paleness of his countenance, the extreme fairness of his throat and part of his neck, which, as the sailors hastily untied his neckcloth and opened his jacket, were fully exposed to view, the beautifully formed brow strewed by thick masses of golden curls gave him so much the appearance of a delicate female, that the sailors looked humorously at each other, as if wondering what right he had to a sailor's jacket ”

“ Gloves are necessary. Tan or gray suede is the most correct. In winter an ulster should be worn. Select for sea or for ocean voyages the warmest lounge suit you have, or, if you feel more disposed, a warm tweed knickerbocker suit, such as you wear for golf. I think it is a good principle to put on your old clothes at sea. [Pg 162] Only very vulgar people dress for this occasion. For late dinner on the ship I would have a black cutaway coat and a light tie. I believe men must change their clothes before dinner at all places and under all circumstances. ”

“ As for sailors, it is true, I admit, and the bad custom seems to involve that constant “hitching up” of the lower garments which, however popular in transpontine dramas, cannot, I think, but be considered an extremely awkward habit; and as all awkwardness comes from discomfort of some kind, I trust that this point in our sailor’s dress will be looked to in the coming reform of our navy, for, in spite of all protests, I hope we are about to reform everything, from torpedoes to top-hats, and from crinolettes to cruises. ”

“ The uniforms of both officers and enlisted men in the United States Navy follow rather closely in style, color and cut those worn in the British Navy, and some interesting traditions of the latter service may be seen even in our naval service. For instance, the black neckerchief worn alike by the British and American sailor was made black after Trafalgar as an emblem of mourning for the Great Nelson, and the three [Pg 16] white stripes around the edges of the collar were so placed to commemorate Nelson’s three great victories, Copenhagen, the Nile and Trafalgar. ”

“ With a friend the blue-jacket is willing to share all his worldly possessions—even to the contents of the mysterious little bag that holds his cleaning-rags, brick, and emery paper. Since the work of polishing a piece of brass make no great demand on his mental activity, the sailor chooses this time to "spin a yarn," and, from the fact that the recipient of these low-voiced quaintly-worded confidences usually shares his cleaning-rags, the tar describes his friend as his "Raggie." ”

“ If you are going on a long voyage by sailing ship and expect to pass through the torrid and both temperate zones, you should provide yourself with thick and thin clothing suitable to all latitudes. If you are a society man of course you will carry your dress suit and a goodly stock of fine linen to match, but if you are "roughing it," and have no letters of introduction nor social designs, the dress suit will be superfluous. ”

“ As for your other correspondent, the first principle of dress that all garments should be hung from the shoulders and not from the waist seems to me to be generally approved of, although an ‘Old Sailor’ declares that no sailors or athletes ever suspend their clothes from the shoulders, but always from the hips. ”

“ The rank of Chief Warrant officers, Warrant officers and Chief Petty officers is indicated by gold stripes upon the sleeves above the cuffs as follows:—
The uniforms of the enlisted men are of the usual sailor cut common to the navies of most naval powers. The blue uniform consists of a dark blue flat cap with the name of the ship in gilt upon a cap ribbon around the band; a loose jumper worn over a tight jersey, and trousers of the sailor cut with wide spring at the bottoms of the legs. The white uniforms consist of a white flat cap, white duck jumper and white trousers. ”

“ Before he had packed, he had unhappily pawed at the prized black suit. It had become stupid. "Undertaker!" he growled.
⁠With a shrug which indicated that he had nothing else, he had exchanged his overalls for a tan flannel shirt, black bow tie, thick pigskin shoes, and the suit he had worn the evening before, his best suit of two years ago - baggy blue serge coat and trousers. He could not know it, but they were surprisingly graceful on his wiry, firm, white body. ”

“ When that solid down-pour fell upon us we all turned out from below with dirty clothes and blankets, and made a lather of soap visible everywhere. To keep clean during the days we were on our allowance, I bent on my clothes to the end of my chest lashing, and had the ship haul them along on the crest of the waves. In this way much dirt was removed. The towing of clothes, if the ship is making good headway, reduces the sailor’s wardrobe, [129] for it will not take many hours for a vessel to drag a piece of clothing to ribbons, if she is sailing at a good rate. ”

“ The enlisted men of the French Navy wear uniforms of dark blue cloth for cold weather and of white for hot weather, those for the chief petty officers consisting of a plain cap with black leather visor, a sack coat with gilt buttons and plain trousers, and those for enlisted men of lower ratings consisting of a flat sailor cap, overshirt and trousers of a design similar to those worn in the British Navy. ”

“ The British sailor's uniform is picturesque and characteristic, but certainly less attractive than ours. It is cut not of broadcloth or of serge, but of heavy blue worsted, and a detachable collar of blue linen falls back upon the blouse. Our sailors are forever washing the blouses to keep the white stripes of the collar clean; the Briton has only his collar to care for. ”

“ The practice of allowing the American sailor to wear a sweater and toboggan cap, except on "dress" occasions, has also tended to make him smack less of the sea than the flowing-collared sailor-man who will be performing similar duties on a British ship. Since the fighting of the modern warship is about 90 per cent. "mechanical" and 10 per cent. "nautical," however, the lack of the "Yo-heave-ho" touch in the Yankee sailor- [Pg 258] man is by no means in his disfavour. ”

“ They are, it is perfectly true, granted a sum of money by a paternal Government wherewith to purchase their kit, but brass buttons and best serge suits do not blend with life on board a herring drifter at sea in all weathers. Sea-boots, oilskins, jerseys, and any old thing in the way of trousers and headgear are far more fashionable. Indeed, one may occasionally happen upon a skipper wearing an ancient bowler hat when well out in the North Sea and away from the haunts of senior officers who might possibly take exception to his battered tile. ”

“ Upon the helmet was also placed a small electric lamp, but of great power of penetration.
With heavy weights upon their feet, the wearers of this ingenious diving suit, having not to depend upon cord or life line, could remain at great depths and for a long period under the sea. ”

“ There is always, to us, this appearance of lightness of foot and heavy strength of upper works, in a sailor. And he feels it himself. He lets his jacket fly open, and his shoulders slouch, and his hair grow long to be gathered into a heavy pigtail ”

“ As soon as the ship was hove to, a young man (one of the sailors) dressed in a smart suit of black, knee-breeches, and buckles, with his hair powdered, and with all the extra finery and mincing gait of an exquisite, came aft on the quarter-deck, and, with a most polished bow, took the liberty of introducing himself as gentleman's gentleman to Mr Neptune, who had been desired to precede his master and acquaint the commander of the vessel with his intended visit. ”

“ Do you boys want to come along?"
"Is it safe?" asked Mark, who was inclined to be cautious.
"As safe as any part of this under-sea voyage," replied the professor. "These diving suits are something I have not told you about," he went on. "They are my own invention. Besides the regular rubber suits there is an interlining of steel,—something like the ancient suits of chain mail—to withstand the great pressure of water. Then, instead of being dependent on a supply of air, pumped into the helmet from an apparatus in a boat on the surface, each person carries his own air supply with him." ”

“ Accordingly, we had no sooner got the ship before the wind, than his chest was brought up upon the forecastle, and the sale began. The jackets and trousers in which we had seen him dressed so lately were exposed and bid off while the life was hardly out of his body, and his chest was taken aft and used as a store-chest, so that there was nothing left which could be called his. Sailors have an unwillingness to wear a dead man's clothes during the same voyage, and they seldom do so, unless they are in absolute want. ”