Concerning Doublets

[KD Burke]

After a recent discussion, my mind has been turned toward doublets. Specifically toward the Montrose. I'd like to ask for comments and opinions regarding an observation I made recently. To do so, I must present a few points:

1. This is a reproduction of a Confederate officer's shell jacket.



To my admittedly unschooled eye, it appears, with the exception of the military touches and the absent tails, to mirror the lines of a Montrose doublet.

Here is an image of a similar jacket, but with the lapels buttoned back to reveal the facings:



My thought was: Could this same concept be applied to a Montrose doublet?

If a talented tailor were turned loose with some fine midnight blue velvet fabric and some contrasting burgundy satin or grosgrain for the lining I think it might be quite a versatile garment.

1. It could be worn fully buttoned as a Montrose normally is.
2. It could be worj with the lapels buttoned back for a look similar to a Sherriffmuir (but more colorful).
3, It could be "half" buttoned, giving a look similar to this one from a previous thread:



So, I put it to the question! Am I brilliant? Am I daft? Would it be accepted as unique but proper evening wear or have I brought shame upoin my house for having conceived of such a thing?

KD
:ootd:

[MacLowlife]

KDB,

I congratulate you on your good taste. But first, do remember, the Montrose has no tails. "Your" shell jacket is essentially a Montrose, with slightly different button placement ( The Montrose doublets I have seen have the buttons arranged slightly further apart at the top than at the bottom. My own Montrose doublet, made for me with love and patience by my sainted mother, is of mid blue velvet, but it has contrasting burgundy for the lining and my fond wish was that I could wear it with the lapels buttoned back or half open as the gent in the other photo does. Sadly, there were hitches between concept and execution that stopped my Montrose from being that versatile. I do not believe any of them are inherent, but we ran into hitches that made it impractical to wear the doublet other than buttoned all of the way up.

Please see my thread MONTROSE MULTIPLEX

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...ltiplex-55197/

In which your brilliant idea is touched upon and Mr. MacLean posts the pic you posted above.

Probably the best thing in that earlier thread ( Other than JSFMacL's photo of the half-buttoned gent ) is the link to Folkwear patterns' BELGIAN CHEF'S JACKET http://folkwear.com/133.html which would probably have made a much better starting point than the McCall's pattern we used. If you want to compare, the McCall's number is M4745, I believe.

The big thing to remember is that many Montrose doublets do not include two full fronts- and if they do, a full lining for each front makes the jacket four layers thick. You may as well add Kevlar and call the thing bulletproof! But, in order to get the contrast / button back effect, you are going to need all of those layers. And someone will need to make buttonholes that work through all of that and maybe a little interfacing as well. Worst of all, it has to be made to fit NOW and probably can't be let out if it should shrink in your closet, because of the velvet. Oh, yeah, and then there are the pressing/ steaming issues, too.

May I suggest that you also consider piping or edging in the lining color, for when you do wear it buttoned all of the way up?

Think of how easily THIS look could be adapted for your Montrose:

http://www.robeshop.com/cassh-122.htm

Please let us know when yours is complete.

[KD Burke]

Original?!? I would never presume! I've not had an original thought in my life. I count myself fortunate if I can comprehend the ideas of others after deliberate and thorough explanation!

As to the piping, I'd already considered, and mentally approved of the thought.

I must find some talented soul capable of performing such a miracle before I can even think of commissioning it.

KD
:ootd:

[vmac3205]

Here is the fake Montrose I made Captmac from a Nehru collar 8 button tux jacket.



It cost me less than $50, and while it isn't as nice as the one he outgrew, it works.

[OC Richard]

That's a cool idea, making a Civil War shell jacket with Scottish-style cuffs for a Scottish dress doublet.

Interestingly, one of the jackets seen the The Highlanders Of Scotland (50-odd portraits of men in Highland Dress painted in the late 1860's) has that Confederate-style sleeve braid, and another man is wearing a shell jacket, both being popular military styles at that time.

[McMurdo]

My Montrose does indeed come with two full fronts, I think I'd have been upset if it did not, also no tails as was earlier pointed out. I think the three jackets you show are each wonderful, however I also think they are three similar but differently cut jackets, to try and make one jacket do all three would not work, to my mind it would end up being neither fish nor fowl. I say go ahead and get yourself a Montrose Doublet if that is what you want. I absolutely love mine, and I always feel that I fit in wherever and whenever I find the occasion to wear it.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

I know the look you are trying for as it is similar to the uniform jacket of a Knight of Malta. Any competent tailor could make one, although it would involve a lot of trial and error fitting. And that, my friend, equals a fairly hefty tailor's bill when all is said and done. If you go that route, pray you don't put on a few extra pounds... these jackets can't be altered in the same way a regular jacket can be eased out around the middle. All things considered you might want to follow McMurdo's sage advice.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Your comment about the similarity to a shell jacket is astute. When I first got my Sheriffmuir doublet, a lady who makes reproduction Civil War clothing for local reenactment groups (and whose husband has recently gotten into kilt wearing), commented that it was simply "a shell jacket" with x, y and z modifications. Her assesment: "I can make one of those and I don't even need a new pattern!"

End result -- she has a very happy husband, who should soon have a very nice new doublet. :-)

[OC Richard]

So...

anybody have a good Civil War jacket maker they could recommend, who could do one in plain black?

Luckily the three-pointed "slash" cuffs (as seen on several styles of Scottish jackets) were very common during the Civil War and anybody used to making Civil War jackets could easily make up a shell jacket with them. (New York Militia jackets usually had those, but many Confederate jackets did too.)