Although the sportsmen of Lieutenant Colonel Peter Hawker’s generation wore top hats and tailcoats while walking-up partridges, by the time Shooting Times first landed on the breakfast tables of the sporting gentry some 25 years later, much of the attire worn in the field would be reasonably familiar to us today. Some traditionalists may even be found clad in apparently comparable garb.
As shooting became more popular, special features began to improve performance, be that material or design alterations to regular daywear. By the 1870s, the shooting coat and knickerbockers had become a familiar look for sportsmen. The coats were high buttoned, with two front pockets and a breast pocket. Some had a cap pocket in the waist seam. All pockets were flapped to keep out water and debris.
