95th Rifles Uniform: A Deeper Dive

Bertie surveys the pattern details

All my patterns have arrived, and after spending a couple of days picking at the corset (more about which in a post to follow), I feel tolerably confident about my outfit, so I switched tracks to work on the uniform.  Figured to start with the coat, as it's going to be a much harder job.

I'll be in my bunk.

I read the pattern instructions first, as you do, and was still failing at visualization for many of the steps, so the next step is to cut out the pattern pieces and see if enlightenment is gained by having tangible things to look at and play with like a chimp fitting block shapes into holes.  The basic pieces were pretty obvious, but some of the detail pieces were not working in my head, so (after a futile bit of Google Image Searching) I finally put "Sharpe's Eagle" on the actual teevee.  Now, I chose that because it's the best episode, IMAO; but it was an exceedingly clever choice on my part for two reasons; one, because there are a good number of close-ups of Sharpe in (partial) flagrante, so you can see some bits of coat construction; and two, because there's scads of the regular infantry in it, who are wearing the bog-standard pattern coat as she is wrote.

Here's Sharpe in a regular redcoat; note the
"looping" (the shiny giant equals-signs on his front),
the skirting/tails, the pocket, and the epaulette

So, there were (at the start) two angles for me to consider in modifying the pattern; the first being, how do the 95th Rifles uniforms differ from the regular infantry? and the second being, how does Sharpe's uniform, as an officer, differ from the rank and file?  And later, another issue spawned, to wit: how does Sharpe's uniform as depicted in the show differ from the historically-accurate--and are we re-creating history, or cosplaying Sharpe?  After the evening's diligent attentions (ahem), here's what I've got:

• Coat skirting: Reg. inf. have skirting that comes most of the way to the front, with braid; 95th Rifles' rank-and-file have a swept-back and unadorned skirting more akin to the classic Regency tailcoat; Sharpe himself has no skirting at all.
• Sharpe's jacket is actually a little shorter in back.   It's also divided into three tabs, probably for ease of motion.  I think this is none of it historically accurate; it keeps popping up to show his shirt in back when he moves, which is Not The Thing; and the jacket is most like the hussar and light dragoons coatees, which are either straight around the back or have a very very vestigial coat-tail.
• Front closure/ornamentation (these are a conjoined concept):  Reg. inf. have buttoned coats with large-format "looping" of particular regimental lace--a good part of the pattern is devoted to dealing with this.  The Rifles just have three rows of buttons, of which the center set is the actual closure.  Rifles officers, well--they have jackets à la hussarde, that is, based on the fancy-dancy Hussar regiment: tons of braiding.  Though, being skirmishers, the Rifles do not have braid of gold or silver, but of sober black.  More interestingly, though, unlike most of the repros-for-sale I've seen, Hussar-style jackets don't just use the trim to ornament the buttonholes; the trim extends off the center front and becomes the buttonhole!  So the good news is, this means (in theory) no buttonholes.  However, I am curious as to why most of the repro people are not doing this.  



This is a French hussar pelisse,
but you get the idea

• Fun fact: Sharpe's jacket does work this way...but he also has about half a dozen hooks-and-eyes fastening the center front and a dark green (cotton?) placket.  Clearly this is for security and/or to prevent unsightly gapping, but I haven't yet seen any historical evidence for this being A Thing.  I wonder if this plus the odd back tabs means that they made the jacket before casting Sean Bean, and they had to do some quick retro-fitting to make it work on him?
• Cuffs: The regular infantry have straight-edged cylindrical cuffs with more of the big boxy looping on them.  The Rifles, officers and men, have the Hussar-style cuffs with a pointed edge, which for the officers is in black velvet with more of the trim above it.
• Sharpe's cuffs are set with five buttons (which is accurate to the official regs) but the buttons are above the cuff facing; there doesn't seem to be any catch or hook so that it closes at his wrist.  Though he's enough of a ragamuffin that it could have just come off, I guess?
• Pockets:  Infantry have 'em (ornamented with yet more looping), Rifles don't.  That's easy.
• Waistcoats....so.  I don't think rank-and-file of any flavor have them.  Infantry officers do.  Hussar officers might?  But I don't see anything in the regulations or in the show to indicate that Rifles officers did, so I'm leaving it out.

After this data sorting, I think I'm ready to cut out the muslin.  I'll start by cutting it straight across the back and see what that gets us, fit- and movement-wise...though I now wonder if I didn't ought to cut out the trousers first, as they sit in a very different place than modern ones do, and then I can make sure the coat lands where it ought.

Bonus round: here's a blog post from someone who did a full-on Hussar kit for a Jane Austen ball.  (I only wish she'd included more background info about the waistcoat.) (Note that it closes with hooks-and-eyes...!)