What did Victorian Poor Men Wear?

Answer 1

The poor of the Victorian age, just as the modern poor do, wore what clothes they could get. Second-hand clothing shops (the ancestor to our thrift stores) were useful, of course, although the unpredictable nature of the sizes and types of clothing available meant the very poor were easy to pick out by their mismatched outfits.

The poor men of England, according to the Dictionary of Victorian London, generally wore their work clothes: Trousers of either moleskin or corduroy (both cotton fabrics), a clean shirt (checked or white), a black coat and waistcoat (black doesn't show stains as much; if you're American, a waistcoat is what we call a vest) and perhaps a bit of color in a scarf or muffler wound about the throat.

Of course, the very poor would have to keep the clothes they had for a very long time, and this would be visible in the aging and wear of the fabric; likewise, if they couldn't afford a warm coat (or had sold it to make the rent), they'd stuff cloth or paper into their clothes for warmth, just as the very poor still do today.

In terms of style, of course, the poor tended to be a bit behind, though typically not by much; peg-top trousers (with a tapered leg) were in fashion from the 1850s on, so used pairs were easy enough to find. Likewise, suspenders were in use (to keep the pants up, to cite the old joke) for a very long time, so pants with suspender buttons were also an easy find. (Suspenders were typically made of boxcloth, a type of wool felt.)