Lady Anne Bonny's Pirate Ensemble

Often the most overlooked aspect of renaissance and tudor history is life at sea. With the edicts of the Pope to divide and conquer the world, Spain ruled the day in Renaissance Europe. Naturally Britain and the other protestant nations wanted what Spain had. Thus pirates and privateers were hired to plunder as much Spanish property as possible. Cloaked in this dubious legitimacy, sea lanes around the world were soon chocked full of upstarts, opportunists, and cut throats of every ilk. A good, loyal captain or sea-pilot was hard to find indeed. No where was a more lively tale told than the legend of the lady pirate Anne Bonny and her partner Mary Read. Brash, deadly, outrageous, and contemptibly clever, Misty Thicket Clothing is very pleased to indulge your imagination with our complete Anne Bonny lady pirate ensemble.

Pirates were never known for their advanced taste in clothing; most fashion was dictated by chance of plunder more than aesthetics. Moreover, the sea air was notoriously corrosive to natural fibers, so that even the toughest leathers and linens were eventually given up to ruin. As a result, your average buccaneer often went barefoot on deck, wore loose, button-up pants that came to just below the knee, and as many layers of linen or stout cotton as they could get against the cold. Captains favored the buckled, hard leather shoes and striped socks favored by nobility and often chose jabots over crevattes. Our complete pirate ensemble is based on the late seventeenth century in an Atlantic region legendary for its piracy: the Carribean.

To start with, the sea jerkin (often worn under a heavy wool pea coat) was wrought of good strong twill-weight cotton and buttoned up for warmth. We offer the long jerkin in your choice of colors (see below to order). It is designed to fit the contours of a sea-faring woman, and the garment will be made to fit your precise measurments.

The loose fitting pirate shirt (shift) is a rendition of the common shifts of the day. It is a standard, collared "poet" shift, cuffed at the wrist with a single button closure, and an open "V" neckline. The shift is made of a soft but very strong weaver's cloth in 100% cotton. Click here to purchase separately.

The one item of clothing in our ensemble that a pirate "almost" always wore was their pants. Comfortable, loose, and flattering, these pirate pants are sure to keep even the baudiest lady pirate chaste and modest (Honest! Would a pirate lie?). Made in 100% cotton or cotton blend, the pirate pants have an elastic waistband for comfort and convenience and are cuffed at the bottom for adjustment. Pant cuffs are secured with a laced and grommeted closure. The pants are also made available in a broad array of color choices. Our Pirate Pants are Unisex! Click here to purchase separately.

No buxom beauty would be caught dead without their crevatte. The crevatte has a curious and long reaching history as the de facto standard neckware for sailors around the world. It was worn as a basic scarf against cold weather drafts, was used as a handkerchief, and even ended up as a makeshift biggins to ward off the hot sun. We show it wrapping the head to keep all those dirty, lice-infested dreadlocks in place. Thus shown, it can hardly be called a crevatte, but can easily be wound into a proper necktie. Worn either way it is indispensable to a pirate and is available in your choice of color in 100% cotton. Click here to purchase separately

Admittedly, the candy striped linen sash shown on our sassy lass is more about style than authenticity. Only the hardest and least fortunate pirates would have resorted to keeping their clothing tied in such a sash. Most men favored a wide leather belt with a heavy leather baldric crossing the chest to hang guns and swords from. However "Hollywood" the sash may be, it is striking, and fits the dashing image of a swashbuckling pirate. The linen sash shown is available to you in your choice of color. Click here to purchase separately.