These are the various styles I suggested for my potential customer. All are typical of 18th century pirate crew according to written records and artwork of the time. Fabric choices should be sturdy natural fiber fabrics such as linen, wool and cotton. Unlike earlier periods, shirts in colors other than white, stripes and small checkered patterns have been documented. Striped slops are period appropriate. Faded, weathered colors are the best choices

To assist my customer in making his decision, I included back views of both slops and breeches. As you can see, slops are much simpler in the back than breeches, making them suited to the majority of crew members. However, those who came from higher social standing (or appropriated clothing from a member of the upper classes) would have been able to wear breeches. In addition to the back detail shown, breeches also involve buttoned cuffs and slits at the lower edges of the legs.

Much of my inspiration came from this site. The photos, descriptions and references are great. I have been trying to contact them for permission to link, but their mailbox is overflowing. My apologies, but the site is too good not to cite.