Sharp Dressed Men?

[Joey Rios]

Howdy!

I have the opportunity to portray Virgil Earp and would like to present a proper and historically accurate representation. Time frame would be that of the Tombstone era, specifically the Earp-Holliday/Cowboy shootout.

Question: Are there any historical references to clothing, hat color, guns carried, gun belts worn or not, frock coats, etc., worn by Virgil Earp and the rest of the group?

Have been doing my share of research via internet and some books, but there seems to be either lack of information or conflicting information. (One web site stated this was due to the fact that, "not much was recorded because at that time, no one thought to record such facts as they were considered trivial and would not be a topic of such discussion in the future"-paraphrased.

I would like to portray Mr. Earp as detailed as possible. I do not want to portray Sam Elliott portraying Virgil Earp which seems to be the norm. Nothing against Mr. Elliott. I thoroughly enjoyed his performance and considered it to be one of the best to date.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Joe

[Joey Rios]

Yes Google has been my friend! Lol. Pictures of Virgil are headshots only. Finding photos of generic men's clothing of the period is easy. Just thought there may be some Earp experts with some detailed knowledge that I have either not found yet or isn't out there.

[Joe Sturgis]

Well I searched all images of Virgil Earp in the internet...Google, Bing, Yahoo, and MSN Et all, and as close as I can surmise it all in one lump; Virgil Earp was dapper in his style of clothing as was as his brothers; Wyatt,and Morgan; Dark hat, frock coat, fancy silk vest,frilled shirt, stringed bow tie, and all as is continually portrayed in cinematic Western films noir. Other than that. Sorry I couldn't be much of a help. I guess you had to look "toney" when your a town lawman in those days in Tombstone.

[Joey Rios]

I agree Joe, that seems to be the consensus. Guess they were "sharp dressed men" after all. Appreciate you takin' time and lending a hand!

Thanks, Joe

[Zeke Thundercolt]

Howdy Joe,

For what it's worth here's a few sites that should help you get closer to portraying an accurate Marshal Virgil Earp.
http://www.gentlemansemporium.com/victorian-clothing-guide.php
http://www.ushist.com/victorian_mens_clothing_f.shtml
http://www.victoriana.com/Mens-Clothing/mens-clothing-1868.html

Nowadays, most people think the town Marshal should have looked like a Cow-Boy fresh off the trail; however most lawmen back in the Old West boom towns were more on the level of businessmen and dressed more like bankers. This was nothing more than proper manners at the time and just considered the normal attire for an educated gentleman who lived in town.

The typical look back in the early 1880's was a frock coat and waist coat (vest) both in black and a dark hat was preferred for all around wear, since light colored hats were worn by gentlemen only in the daytime. The vests were usually cut straight across the bottom and had a higher lapel for businessmen than the lower lapels (with less buttons) that Cow-Boys wore.

The Four-in Hand and Windsor ties were popular at that time and the hats that the Earp brothers wore were reported to be very similar; dark with about a 3" brim and 5 1/2" flat crown. In my photo I'm wearing a museum quality recreation of the hat that Wyatt wore. On your photo page there is a young man wearing a hat (your son?) that is a lot closer to accurate than what has been worn in the movies. A friend of mine once said "The bigger the legend, the wider the brim" which is true when it comes to Hollywood's view of what to use for their movies.

I hope you found this helpful,
Zeke

[Joey Rios]

Thanks for the links Zeke. They have provided a wealth of info. I thank you for takin' a bit of your time to help out!

By the way, like the hat!

Joe

[Ringo]

Very interesting sites those, a bit upper class wear though,

[Buck Grizzly]

Gamblers especially high rollers would dress very well, unless they were pulling a scam as a hayseed. Also being in law enforcement wasn't the highest paying positions but I'm sure with all his extra curricular activities they would have had enough money to dress well.

[Zeke Thundercolt]

Yes, you are correct; being a Marshal in itself was not a high paying job, but with initiative you could make a killing :>)

In Dodge City, Kansas for example; Wyatt Earp started as a Marshal at $75 per month and moved up to $100, however he also received a bonus of $1 for each arrest and $1 for every court appearance. Arrests were made back then for things as minor as carrying a revolver, being drunk, disorderly behavior or acting in an angry and violent manner.

There were also Marshals that belonged to the 10% club, meaning that they received 10% of all the taxes they collected, even from mines and railroads. So it was possible for the local Marshal to be one of the upper class businessmen of the town.

[Marshall Trimble]

You got some pretty good advice from my compadres on the Forum here Joe.
During the 19th century men and women got usually got all duded up when they were going to have a photograph taken. It was a much more formal affair than what we see today because every Tom, Dick and Harry didn't have a camera back then.
If you can get your hands on that series Time-Life Books did back in the 1970s of the "Old West" there are a number of books including Townsmen, Lawmen, Cowboys and Gunfighters where you can see hundreds of photographs of the way people dressed. They usually donned their Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes when going to the photographer. I suggest you create your outfit like you were going to do the same. I'm sure Virgil was a well-dressed man when he wasn't out on the trail.
My advice would be to study these photographs. Take a look at outfitters that advertise in True West such as Wild West Merchantile for good authentic-looking duds. Don't try to copy some movie star. I've seen some of those imitators strolling the streets of Tombstone and other places. Sam Elliott is the best but you want to be an original. Create your own outfit based on authentic styles of the times.

[douglas grant]

Surely you must have seen the photo of the Dodge City Peace Commision...that has absolutely everything you need to see in one glorious photo....
http://www.skyways.org/orgs/fordco/graphics/peacecombig.jpg

[Zeke Thundercolt]

...everything except Virgil that is.

Original photograph of the "Dodge City Peace Commission" in June 1883. Front (l-r), Chas. E. Bassett, Wyatt S. Earp, Frank McLain, and Neil Brown. Back (l-r), W. H. Harris, Luke Short, W. B. Bat Masterson, and W. F. Petillon. This is the version with Petillon beside Bat Masterson.

Note that Wyatt is wearing a sack coat (not his frock coat with the customized pocket to carry his Colt SAA revolver) in the Dodge City Peace Commission photo: http://www.waltontaylor.com/sacksuit.html

Here's a link that offers some splendid period insights into the "proper" attire for a gentleman in the in the heydays of the American western frontier. http://store.soliscompany.com/mefainviera1.html

[douglas grant]

True...but its not stretching the imagination to suggest that Virgil wore the same clothes!! I like the suits in your first link..look really good!