It's All On The Line Together

A Dear Newbie has stumbled into a common misconception today and we should clear it up.
The flawed logic goes something like the following:
If Dear Newbie is a man, ...
...he knows about men's clothes...
...he is not a woman...
...he does not dress as a woman...
...he, therefore, would not know anything about clothing for persons of the female gender.

Whoa, whoa... Hold up there, Pard... that dog is maybe not gonna hunt.

Sure, Dear Newbie is a man and will research men's clothes...because he wears men's clothes. He'd also know some basics of women's and girls' clothes because he knows women (and probably girls too.)
Dear Newbie has a Mother and likely sisters too. They wear women's clothes. So, growing up, his drawers and Sister's drawers were beside each other on the clothesline and Mother's chemise was mended right along side Father's shirts. The conversations may have been whispered and not spoken of openly... but he may have heard about a "lady's time" too.
Dear Newbie, unless he is particularly naive, has likely assisted a woman out of her clothing at some point.  So, he has a basic idea of how women's clothing functions. He may fumble it and need her help, but it's not completely foreign.
If Dear Newbie is a common kind of man, he's likely married and he'd be passing familiar with his wife's clothing, though he doesn't speak of it and will call out anyone else who does.
 Perhaps Dear Newbie and his lady have been blessed with children. There's a chance some of those children will be girls. Girls who will wear female clothing. Who's clothing will go on the line next to Sonny's drawers and in the mending box next to his shirts.

The same can be applied to the Dear Newbie who is a woman. Men's clothing would not be as familiar as her own, but it would not be as foreign and scandalous as we often make it out to be.

So, we do a disservice to the people of the mid 19th century when a man cutely says, "I don't know 'nuthin' 'bout women's clothes."
They knew about clothing of the "opposite gender," they just didn't openly talk about it. Just like We don't openly talk about what goes on in the bedrooms of other people, and really prefer not to think about it too much (despite our love of celebrity scandals), Persons of the mid 19th century knew about clothing and just accepted it was there.
If we are to portray a person of the mid 19th century with a full range of knowledge, it's time we learn the basics of clothing the "opposite" gender.

Can I have your pattern for that? ...another rant.

If the Dear Readers will indulge me in one more rant, I promise to put up something... less angry... in the near future.

A tailor makes clothing patterns by drafting. It's a competitive profession. We compete with not only fellow professional tailors but also with every home crafter who has heard from her/his mentor that she/he can save money in re-enacting by sewing him/herself.
 "Making a frock coat couldn't be that hard. After all, Saint Grandma made ALL their clothes when they were small," quoth Crafter. So, they ask what pattern they should use to make a period correct frock coat or over-coat or trousers or waistcoat. Well, there are a few folks out there who put out patterns commercially. The pioneers in commercial patterns for the re-enactor market did their best to fill a niche. Others joined in with more detailed research and more solid patterning skills. They're still around.
There is still an unfilled niche in the commercial pattern pantheon, and I hope to fill it some day.

In the professional world, it is bad form to say negative things about a competitor. Even Saint Grandma agreed with a chipper, "If you can't say something nice, say nothing at all." My Grandmother and Mother instilled in me a sense of fair play too. Everyone deserves a chance, don't kill their chance with a careless word.
So in the competitive world of tailoring for re-enactors, I may keep an eye on the commercial patterns available, but I haven't used them in years. So I haven't tried out every commercial pattern for menswear there is. If I haven't tried it, I'm not recommending it.

Drafting the pattern is just the first step in making a garment. A tailor is in charge of everyone who does work for him, so he needs to be proficient in each phase of garment construction. He knows how to draft patterns. He knows how to fit bodies. He knows how fabric will behave. He knows the right stitches to put in what places to achieve the desired effect. He knows what is fashionable and when that's appropriate. He knows what is classic and how to maintain it. He knows what is out-dated and how to talk a customer out of it. These are not easily acquired proficiencies. These are not skills conveyed in a commercial pattern, even ones with stellar instructions.

I recently heard an excellent comparison. Asking a tailor to recommend a pattern is like going to a gourmet restaurant and asking the Chef for the recipe to his signature dish. At best, he'll recommend you buy the book in which he placed that recipe. At worst, you're mucking about casually with his livelihood. If you can make the signature dish at home, you won't come to the restaurant to buy it from him. If you don't go to the restaurant, he'll have to close it. He'll then be out of work and searching for a new job.
If you can make a tailored garment at home, you will stop patronizing tailors. We'll be out of a job and looking for new work. Not to mention we have to look at all the cut corners and lack of innards in your work at the events we attend. "Where'd I leave the acid-reducer?"

I'm not gonna let that happen to me nor any of my fellow tailors. So darn tootin', you ask for a pattern and I'm gonna recommend a tailor or shirt-maker.