Cowboys in the Woods Tintype

[Shotgun Steve]

Not sure where the cowboy description came from.

[Skeeter Lewis]

Clothes were cut slim in those days - not the baggy stuff the repro manufacturers try to convince us was the style.

[Irish Dave]

Clothes were cut slim in those days - not the baggy stuff the repro manufacturers try to convince us was the style.

Agreed. Even though those ol' boys were (mostly) thinner and smaller than our 21st Century builds, the "big baggies" sold by most manufacturers today are very rarely ever seen in any of the photographs of the period I've seen, nor described in reference works on men's clothing of the era.

They must be an extension of the "relaxed fit" wave that struck the jeans market a few years ago. They remind me of the "zoot suit" pants of the 1940s and '50s. Hilarious.

[River City John]

Well, to be fair, on all these images of slender, slightly built men, yes, the trowsers are more tailored.

RCJ

[Texas Lawdog]

RCJ, I hven't been slightly built since I was in JR High.

[Irish Dave]

RCJ:

Point well made and well taken, as I also referenced in my earlier post.

Still, at a time when a "portly" profile was often seen as a sign of wealth and success, not everyone was twiggy. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there's an obvious difference in the cut of larger waist-size suit pants between, say, the 1950s and today. Having a larger waist today does not necessarily doom one to the tent-legs of the '50s. Nor did it in our period.

IMHO, most repro manufacturers appear to be stuck on a baggy-seat and thigh format that is not representative of all men's styles throughout our period. Obviously a larger waist necessitates a slightly larger cut, but does not have to be overdone.

Descriptions in some of my reference books ("Dressed for the Photographer" jumps to mind) refer to men's pants as typically having stove-pipe legs for much of the period since men's styles changed very little compared to the ladies.

True, skinny guys have skinny pants. But I was just noting that period pants do not have to be the size that many are today in order to be correct for the period.

[boilerplatejackson]

Interesting fact about period clothing is that many garments were made of wool. Wool shrinks badly when washed
in boiling water. Even streatch boards could only do so much.

[Delmonico]

The sizes one could buy at a store in the time period had much bigger gaps than the sizes today.  (Take a time machine back to 1870, walk into the dry goods store and ask for a pair of Levis in 38W 34L and watch the blank stare.)  Also, if you study enough old time photos, most the clothes are either to tight or too loose, never just right, refer to the first sentance.  Also the later the century became, the more tailored the clothes became.  I didn't see any date on that picture, but it easily could be into the 1880's despite being a tintype.

[Frenchie]

Most interesting to me are the very large buttons on the vest of the man on the left, and the rounded corners of the bottom of the vest and the almost "morning coat" cut of the coat on the man on the right. Query for the group, how common were such details?