Men's Clothing in 18th-Century Louisbourg

Standard men's attire consisted of a chemise, a vest, breeches, a justaucorps, stockings and shoes. On their heads men wore a wig and a tri-corn hat. A vest was worn over the chemise and usually hung down to the top of one's thighs. Breeches were the pants of the 18th century. They ended with a garter just below the knee and were fastened with buttons and a buckle. A justaucorps was a type of overcoat worn over a vest with breeches. Stockings covered the feet and legs to above the knee and were held up by the garters of the breeches. It has also been found that men owned underclothes such as drawers and camisoles. These were only worn indoors.

Clothes Exclusive to Men of the Working Class

There are several types of aprons used by the men of the working class. The two most common aprons were the tablier and the devantaux. The tablier was a simple apron usually used in the kitchen. Interestingly, 132 tabliers were found in Governor Duquesnel's household and together they were worth less than one livre. The devantaux was made of goat's leather or sheepskin. They were usually used by fisherman to protect their clothes while cleaning fish.

Bachots and sacks were used by fishermen, usually for carrying clothes. Some examples of clothes carried in these sacks were the fisherman's chemise, their culottes (pants), socks and their toque (hat). These carrying bags were made of seal skin or white fabric.