But the elsuive evidence of it being universally used for such "manly" hobbies/pursuits as hunting ,boxing fencing (with the connotation that the wearer was therefore brave,daring etc., etc.,) and that being a well known and accepted fact of Georgian life is not found yet,is it,which was my point( and why I've been -and still am- scouring sources like poor old Henry Angelo's memoirs ,amongst other books)

The Smollet "jockey"quote is the nearest to the History Wardrobe's claim,isn't it?.

Re chills: perhaps I should have been clearer, but this was part of the point of the advice given in my post above: a flannel garment would help retain body warmth. Why? Because flannel is(and was)made of wool of various weights and had a napped surface: that was why it was reccommended( as per my post above)to invlaids or or others(sometimes as a preventative measure) to keeping away the gout or other illness thought to have been caused by becoming chilled.The reference to "weakening" the consitution by wearing a flannel garment in Philip Thicknesse's advice is a refernce to the heat produced by the wearing of such a garment,and this was thought sometimes to be debilitating:-)

The evidence of it being used by invalids is certianly to the fore: and it's no wonder,IMHO, Marianne marshalled that evidecne to suit her view of the COlonel.