What was Booth wearing?

[irshgrl500]

(12-14-2013 09:23 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  Once again thank you to Rick for sending this photo. This shirt is made exactly like the ones worn in 1860's from an original pattern.

Wool flannel shirt maybe like what Booth was wearing?

OK, and thank you for your explanation, Roger. This attire is hardly different than that, which I described, and add the Frock jacket (walking) and this tie, (my bad), and the thigh length boots, I still am at a loss as to how my description (as Laurie said) was vastly different than that of what Booth was actually wearing. And I thought I had provided fairly good sources. Subsequent posts made it sound as if I described Booth in a hoop skirt, and pigtails.
K

[J. Beckert]

I just went through the Gutman's book and I couldn't find a photo of Booth wearing a double breasted frock coat. I think this style here appears to have been a favorite of his and he was photographed in it several times. I'd say the type of shirt Rick found with a simple cravat and a coat like this would be close.

[L Verge]

Wool flannel shirts were for warmth and for rough wear and attire. Detachable collars were for finer shirts and were a pain in the neck to attach. They also were more prevalent in the decades after the war when merchants, bookkeepers, professionals, etc. chose them along with detachable cuffs to save on laundry. Why would you want a nice, white, stiff, detachable collar for what is essentially a work shirt -- and especially if you were going to be riding like the wind for hours?

As for the boots, they were custom-made specifically for Booth and bore his name. Therefore, it would not be a case of "Oh well, they are too tall for my shorter frame, but I'll just roll down the top and they'll be okay." They were definitely cavalry boots.

Period fashion magazines can often give wrong impressions of what American styles were. Most of them featured new designs coming out of the continent - Paris specifically. They were more avant garde than what the average American would wear, and we Americans were also usually 1-2 years or more behind the continental styles (if we ever adopted them). Unfortunately, many of the current websites on fashion feature what graphics they can locate, and those are the ones I described. (P.S. Be careful of the Ford's Theatre site sometimes. Users have found problems with some history in the past.)

I feel that our best source for identifying Booth's clothing is definitely Joseph Hazelton's. The fact that Booth had on a BLUE FLANNEL shirt would stand out in his mind because it would not be typical of what Booth or anyone else in civilian clothes would be wearing to the theater (and much different than what Hazelton had seen him in earlier). Likewise, he would NOT mention a tie because wearing one - again, especially to a theater -- would be de riguer. He would have been more likely to mention Booth NOT having one on.

I learned forty years ago, however, in stressing authentic period clothing to our volunteers at Surratt House, to never say never. Just like today, people used what was available and what they felt comfortable in wearing. And, men's clothing changed very little from 1850 through the Edwardian age, making specific claims to dates very difficult.

[Jim Garrett]

(12-12-2013 02:57 PM)Rsmyth Wrote:  Dave, apparently Booth was wearing 7 spurs and they were all different.

Both military and Civilian style spurs. Always a good idea to have replacement spurs in case you loose one or two jumping from a theatre box. Since the Booth spur in Annapolis is of an 1880's design, JWB must have had it custom made to reflect what gentlemen would be using in the future.

[L Verge]

The answer as to whether or not Booth was wearing a tie has been hidden in plain sight, and those of us well-versed in the Lincoln assassination history should have known it from the start. One of the items removed from Booth's body was a tie pin. At the time it was found, it was holding together his undershirt; but we can be certain that the fastidious Mr. Booth would not have started his adventure in such a rag-tag manner.

That stick pin was inscribed to JWB from his friend and fellow actor, Dan Bryant, and had been a gift - one that the assassin had used to embellish his neck attire as he headed to Ford's Theatre that night. It also would indicate the style of tie that he wore. Pins were not required for bow ties.