Peasant farmer’s clothes

The colours of clothes worn by regular people, farmers for example, in the early years of the 20th century, seem so very drab today. The difference between a greyback shirt worn by Canadian soldiers in WW1 and a peasant farmer’s shirt, might appear minimal to us now.

But we can be sure that the greyback would have been instantly recognised as ‘soldier’s wear’ back in the day. The tunic jacket of a soldier, of course, with its brass buttons, would identify its wearer as military.

In the same way, a farmer’s shirt, traditional civilian garb, was a signifier of his occupation. These shirts were made to last, endlessly repaired and patched, stitched back together after normal wear-and-tear.