Dressing for Winter: A Lower-Middling Class Man's Clothing in the 1820s

The second video in our dressing series. It is intended to show clothing worn by a lower to middling class man during the winter months in the early 19th century. Working-class clothing was more utilitarian in nature than the upper classes. Layers of wool, silk, linen, and cotton provided the first defense against the winter cold.
Sources:
Cuff buttons: Roy Najeki www.najecki.com/repro/reproin...
Half Stockings: South Union Mills www.southunionmills.com/
Kerchief: Burnley & Trowbridge burnleyandtrowbridge.com/
Shoes: Pavel Khorev
Coat: Steve Abolt, Allegheny Arsenal
Citizens Fur Hat: Michael Agee
Music Clarinet Quintet in A major, K. 581 4 - Allegreto con variazioni
Performed by William McColl
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Music provided & License through musopen.org
This music is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Filmed at the 1820 Col. Benjamin Stephenson House 2022©
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Website - www.stephensonhouse.org
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Instagram - / benlucystephenson
Twitter - / stephenson1820

[@danebultemeier6639]

I appreciate your focus on what an “average Joe” would’ve worn. A lot of historical fashion focuses quite a bit on the very wealthy.

[@1820ColBenjaminStephensonHouse]

Thank you! We have plans for future videos focusing on different classes. And, we agree, the upper class styles gets more attention and tends to lead viewers to believe everyone dressed that way.

[@no_siema_co_tam6650]

i was looking for more info about this specific time period in men's fashion! your video was very comprehensive and gave me a lot more knowledge, thank you :]]

[@1820ColBenjaminStephensonHouse]

We're glad you found it useful. Thank you so much for watching and leaving such a lovely comment.

[@janetgrangerdollhouseneedl4856]

Thank you, that's fascinating. It seems that, comparing this video with the one about what a woman would wear, the woman would have had a lot more layers!

[@1820ColBenjaminStephensonHouse]

The working class lady was definitely warmer...LOL! There are additional items a man of his status could have worn too such as gaiters or wrist and knee warmers but I've always thought the ladies would have been nice and toasty compared. Thanks for watching!!

[@mg8642]

Great video, thanks for sharing. I wouldn't mind one of those long coats myself, it looks really warm.

[@amirgeffen]

WOW I love it ...

[@1820ColBenjaminStephensonHouse]

Thank you! 😊

[@carolesmith4864]

What a great video. The clothing was really nice and very warm looking.

[@1820ColBenjaminStephensonHouse]

Thank you so much! They are really comfy too.

[@TheInga90]

Love this!

[@1820ColBenjaminStephensonHouse]

Thank you!

[@BattleAxe1345]

That short coat looks amazing! Wonderful presentation.

[@1820ColBenjaminStephensonHouse]

Thank you so much!

[@randywatts6969]

What sort of hat would’ve been de riguere?

[@1820ColBenjaminStephensonHouse]

There were a wide variety of hats worn by men at the time. Period paintings will give you an idea of those that were more common. A great visual source for the US are paintings by John Lewis Krimmel. He does a lot of public scenes with all sort of interesting details.

[@clarkbar48]

Why did the cuffs not have buttons? Was it so the men could show off their cufflinks? Or was it hard to fit the cuff correctly with a button?

[@1820ColBenjaminStephensonHouse]

Some shirts did have sewn on buttons but cufflinks were popular too. A lot of it centered around the ease of removal for laundering. Shirts were classified as an undergarment at the time and were frequently laundered. Buttons could be broken during the process so removable closures were more convent and in some case less expensive.

[@samivestlund]

@@1820ColBenjaminStephensonHouseand thus only the upper class men usually had buttons since if they broke they could just get new ones

[@O_DoodleMom5]

I’m surprised there were no gloves worn.

[@1820ColBenjaminStephensonHouse]

It very probable he would have worn gloves too. Many period images show this class of man without gloves which seems rather odd since they were available. We based his final ensemble on several images where no gloves were worn. Thanks for watching!!

[@SStupendous]

This isn't meant to be an exact depiction of how every man in 1820 dressed, it's more of a specific look and of course plenty wore gloves.

[@brownbear2419]

Surprised you did not put on English Boots instead of shoes.

[@1820ColBenjaminStephensonHouse]

We considered using gaiters over his shoes but opted just to show the shoes this time. Boots would definitely have been an option.

[@arandorapress7561]

People must have stunk to high heaven🤢

[@1820ColBenjaminStephensonHouse]

LOL! It probably wasn't as bad as you think. Most people washed up everyday but full baths just weren't very practical.

[@mikado_m]

Not bathing doesnt mean not taking care of yourself. They just smelled like people. Washing yourself with a rag still keeps you decently clean. Especially with some soap if your skin could take it.

[@SStupendous]

Lmao nowadays people say this about anything between 100,000 BC and the 1920s... In a few more decades people will be talking about how badly people in the 60s and 70s stunk! Like sitting for a photo for hours, it's BS that people who don't know anything about the topic like to parrott!