As the ever-successful Pirates of the Caribbean franchise proves, we all still love a pirate. Fashion historian Amber Jane Butchart researched their sartorial influence for her book Nautical Chic* and discovered the pirate has been mythologised for centuries. “From Captain Hook to Captain Jack Sparrow, the pirate is now seen to embody romance and adventure on the high seas,” she says. It goes back to Bryon’s The Corsair, which portrayed the pirate as a romantic rebel. But they didn’t all resemble Jack Sparrow. A description of a real-life pirate she unearthed from 1699 said: “Large jointed, Lean, much disfigured with the small pox, broad Speech, thick Lipped, a blemish or Cast in his left eye.” Where’s Johnny Depp when you need him?…
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The Simple Things (Digital) - 1 Issue, 01-Jul-2015