Redcoat/late 1700s English army uniform help?

[ludicrouslouisa]

Hey everyone! I'm an internet reviewer, among other things, and I have a few different shows. http://blip.tv/infamoussphere#!page=2 One of them is called "period drama drama", and on that particular show I like to dress in the costume of the period the film is set in. It doesn't have to be 100% accurate, but I generally prefer it to be visibly accurate, and not cheap and nasty looking.

It was a slightly bad creative "rule", in a way, because it means that I have to sew like hell whenever I want to make a new Period Drama Drama (unless I have clothing from that time period just sitting around.) And I would like to do a review of Barry Lyndon. Which means that I now have to make myself a redcoat (huh. Redcoat is also what you call the soldiers themselves. It makes googling hard. Is there a better way to describe the army uniform?)

Now I'm aware that there seem to be a crazy amount of variations in the army uniform (all to do with what regiment etc), but what Barry wears is the fairly "standard' white facings, white turned back tails at the back thing, red waistcoat, etc. Like so. http://i32.tinypic.com/2n6daib.png
http://i2.listal.com/image/462824/936full-barry-lyndon-screenshot.jpg
I suppose it's sort of like..a coat with a vent in the back with the split parts sort of..buttoned in the middle? And it's sort of..double breasted but the facings are turned back and buttoned on themselves? Sorry, the terminology is really confusing. My basic approach so far will be screen capping lots of images from the movie, and then doing some sketches, and then making a muslin, which I will do, but right now it's all at the nebulous conception phase and I wondered whether anyone had any experience making this kind of uniform stuff, and any tips (like..where does the shoulder seam sit? What's the general shape of the coat? Waist seam? Etc)

Thanks I've found a bit of stuff with googling, but not a tonne, seeing as "Redcoat" is the name of the soldier as well as the garment.

[Antidigger]

Have you tried googling for "redcoat uniform"?

[Alexus1325]

Phew, that was quite the mission I set myself!

Here's the relevant Smoke and Fire pattern page (scroll down to Regimental Coat pattern). Here's a closer look at the pattern line drawing.

Here's the J. P. Ryan 1750s military coat.

And lastly, there is the Pegee 1776 military coat.

You may find page 18 of this scanned book useful: Military Uniforms: 1686-1918.

[ludicrouslouisa]

Thanks very much for all the assistance! I know it sounds like I'm a horribly lazy person, but I did do some googling myself and turned up some redcoat patterns. I was just wondering if there was anyone out there who had made one (since there seem to be several in progress blogs for things like..civil war gowns, regency dresses etc.) Maybe no one is interested in making mens' stuff, or it's easier to purchase? (I found some fantastic made-to-measure examples, but they'd probably only be for museums, really serious reenactors, or film productions, since they are...rather expensive, as they should be for the level of detail and craftsmanship that goes into them.)