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Post by Hippolyta on Dec 2, 2009 15:59:02 GMT -5
Clothing and Accessories
Clothing was extremely expensive due to the high cost of cloth. As a result, most people could afford one or two complete outfits. Aprons protected clothing from the rigors of work. Worn-out clothes were cut up for patches, used to make char-cloth for lighting fires or, if linen or cotton, sold to papermakers.
The colonial period had a number of stylistic periods. Clothing of the upper classes changed the most. Working men’s clothing style was influenced but changed relatively slowly while the style of working women’s clothes saw virtually no change.
Clothing is an area fraught with pitfalls. Spain, Italy, the low countries, Germany, France, and England all had differing styles at the same time. People who traveled (including merchants, sailors, dignitaries and people on the grand tour) would see and describe different styles. In the American colonies the Dutch, Germans, Swedes, English, French and Spanish all interacted in one way or another. A description of a single item may not apply to everyone’s experience.
Most of the dress described here can be considered as the English norm.
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Post by Hippolyta on Dec 2, 2009 15:59:31 GMT -5
Feminine Dress
A shift, also called a chemise among the upper class, was an ankle-length linen nightdress with drawstrings at the neck and wrists, or between wrists and elbows, that was the standard undergarment. It was worn day and night and was the most common article to be owned in multiples. It might have ruching (ruffles) beyond the drawstring, or none at all. The shift changed very little as it could be adapted to each new style in turn.
A woman was considered naked in her shift alone. Throughout the period showing an ankle or elbow was considered inappropriate, although breasts might be shown during nursing or in certain European fashions (Holland, mid-seventeenth century). In part these ideas came from the physical functionality of ankles and elbows, which were not considered attractive.
Working Women’s Clothing
Lower-class women worse much the same style clothes throughout the colonial period. These were simple and functional. Over the shift was worn a straight, ankle-length skirt under which pockets, or egg-shaped bags worn on a string around the waist, could be reached through holes in the skirt. The torso was covered with a jumps or bodice, a laced-up vestlike garment with some boning to provide support and shape. A bodice in the early period was a pair of bodies and was sometimes called corsets in the plural. Excessive boning was not found among the lower class because it prevented them from working. Some bodices were made of leather, giving shape and support without being too stiff to work in.
The exact cut of the bodice changed a bit during the period. The tabs below the waist level were sometimes rounded, sometimes squared, and the bustline was sometimes cut above the nipple to flatten breasts, other times below the breast for support. During the early period, the waist was long, with the bodice coming to a point well below the waist.
To protect this basic outfit, a short apron was added or a longer version called a pinner or pinafore was pinned to the gown or bodice.
A hat was a necessary addition, not just for religious reasons (early) but for warmth and fashion. The most common were mobcaps, circles of materials with a drawstring around the edge that drew them up into a bowl-shaped cap. The wealthy wore mobcaps mostly at home. Lappet (eared) caps were similar to mobcaps with lappets or latchets extending down like a scarf along the throat. Pinners were small yarmulkelike coverings for ladies. Straw hats, often decorated with sewn-on ribbons, flowers and other trims, were common and functional in the summer. The finer straw was braided. Women also wore felted beaver hats. As with men’s hats, straw and felt hats could be cocked into bicorn or tricorn forms.
Cold weather required heavy clothing, and this was most easily and practically accomplished with a hooded cape or cloak made of wool, which could be drawn close or used as a blanket. Much clothing was made of wool for warmth.
Aristocratic Ladies’ Clothing
A wealth of variety occurred in the dress of aristocracy. While some ladies in the earliest period may have dressed as (lower-class) women did, such dress did not last long. The aristocracy showed its wealth in its clothes, and the merchants emulated them as much as they could.
The pairs of bodies (bodices) were an integral part of ladies’ clothing in the earliest years. In the 1460s they were shortened to a blouse-like top, with a low boat neckline, short tabs and puffed sleeves, and then would resume the long form. Later, they became an undergarment worn under the coat (from the French côte, rib) or gown, and redesignated stays in the eighteenth century.
Stays were worn all the time, including during sleep, although night or sleep stays had less boning, mostly in the back for support. Children were placed in stays between seventeen months and three years of age, with the intent of forming the desirable shape of an inverted cone. Special adjustable stays were made for pregnant women. The influence of stays on miscarriages cannot be calculated. Prolonged use of stays weakened back muscles to the point that stays were required for support, which accounts in part why older women kept earlier styles after stays went out of fashion. The lack of mobility allowed by stays resulted in a female courtesy (curtsy) known as the sink. The heels were placed together in the first ballet position, at a right angle, and the hands were clasped at about navel height. The knees were slightly bent and then straightened as the eyes were dropped and the back kept straight. In addition to the restrictions on mobility imposed by the stays, aristocratic clothing was cut so the arm could not be raised higher than shoulder height.
Like lower-class clothing, the line of the front of the bodice (even when incorporated into a gown) changed, first long, then shortening and finally lengthening again.
If the gown closed in the front, either with clasps or laces, a stomacher covered the functional part. The stomacher provided further opportunity for decoration or contrast and often included a busk – a flat wooden, whalebone or metal piece shaped like a long leaf – to stiffen the face.
The petticoat might be made of the same material as the gown or a contrasting material. It may even have belonged to another gown. Under the petticoat might be found underpetticoats or a farthingale. In some early styles the petticoats might be layered to reveal the underpetticoats as well.
The farthingale arrived from Spain in the early period. It was usually a wood or metal frame, essentially cone-shaped, over which the petticoat hung. The English adopted the French farthingale or hausse-cul (a doughnot-shaped roll set on the hips), which gave a more bell-like shape to the petticoats. In the early period the long busk pushed the front of the farthingale down, tipping it up in the back as can be seen in many late-Elizabethan portraits. It passed from fashion by about the 1640s, although some use was made a bit later.
Bed gowns were short jackets worn over the shift when sitting up in bed, and occasionally as informal wear, especially among the working women. Women’s riding habits were based on men’s clothing, although they had full skirts.
Hair and Wigs
Hair was generally worn up, off the face. Letting hair down was considered risqué. Neck-length curls were allowed, and special locks of ringlets to be worn under hats were available in later periods. In the early period hair might be dressed on pie-shaped forms seen in Elizabethan portraits. In the mid-seventeenth century ringlets were fashionable.
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Post by Hippolyta on Dec 2, 2009 16:46:10 GMT -5
Masculine Dress
Clothing for men falls into two distinct eras during the colonial period, the first roughly corresponding with our early period, the latter during the middle and late period (1675 – 1783). In the earlier style, clothing was still Elizabethan in basic concept, with a suit of clothes comprised of a doublet, breeches and cape or casaque. After about 1680 the coat, waistcoat, breeches and shirt became the basic form.
Working Men’s Clothing
Working men’s clothing followed the fashion more than working women’s did, but ostentation had no place here. The leather doublet or jerkin of the early styles gave way to a leather vest, jacket or apron in the later ones. As armor, the relatively cheap and durable leather protected the shirt underneath from the hazards of daily labor. Better craftsmen might wear waistcoats and simpler versions of higher-class clothing.
Gentlemen’s Clothing
In the early style, the doublet was a heavy, sometimes leather, short jacket, often extending forward at the front seam like a suit of jousting armor. Some were slashed (cut in the sleeves or body) to allow puffs of the shirt to protrude. The slashings were often picked out in contrasting thread, including gold or silver wire. Points (small inverted cones of metal) were sometimes used to trim doublets. The cape was relatively short and sometimes weighted at the lower corners. (Fighting with a sword and a weighted cape was an effective multiweapon technique.) The breeches were fairly tight and had a separate codpiece, a sheath or pouch for the penis. At times the codpiece was quite overt, but increasingly it was incorporated intot he breeches.
For a good part of the period, the coat reached to below the knees, de-emphasizing the mostly hidden breeches.
In the earliest days breeches were called slops and were loose and balloonlike. As coats cut away in the front, breeches were increasingly exposed and assumed more importance in the style.
Waistcoats were long vests, shortening in length as the period progressed, but at first as long as the coat. The waistcoat was often worn with several buttons undone to allow the stock (a neck tie) to be gathered from inside through the gap, or to allow a ruffle to protrude from within. Some, called sleeved waistcoats, had holes which allowed sleeves to be tied on with tape (ribbon).
Garters held up the hose and at times were displayed outside the clothing. Later, garters were incorporated into the breeches as tabs, with the hose rolled above the knee and girded in place. Small garter buckles were used to fasten garters in place.
When worn without the coat, the shirt, breeches and waistcoat were known as smallclothes.
Hair
Periwigs or perukes came into England from France in the late 1630s, although Charles II and the court did not wear them until 1663. Wigs were at first highly curled and shoulder length.
The size, style and material of the wig were badges of rank. The finest wigs were made of human hair, then, in descending order, yak, goat, and horse mane. Some men even left their hair showing at the front of the wig to emphasize that they were indeed wearing a wig.
Heads were shaved at breeching (around 6 years of age) and once a fortnight after that. At night the bald head was covered with a negligee cap. Wearing a wig required straight and upright posture, for lowering the head risked flipping the wig, a most embarrassing event.
Facial Hair
Styles in men’s facial hair changed much in the colonial period. In the early days, beards were similar to Vandyke beards or they were full but closely trimmed along the jawbone and cut square, as in the portraits of John Smith. After 1630, when Louis XIII personally trimmed his officers’ beards to a mere tuft of hair on their chins and mustaches, this style became common throughout France, which largely set the styles for Europe. After the beginning of the eighteenth century, facial hair had disappeared among civilized men (pirates, trappers and the like continued to wear beards) and remained out of fashion until after the colonial period. At no time were mutton chops common.
Men’s Hats
Men wore hats of several forms. Flop hats, worn during the eighteen century, had round crowns and round brims, with one side turned up and pinned, often with a button so it could be let down in bad weather. Similar hats had been worn earlier, although most had squared crowns and wider brims. Some of these had iron frames inside the crown to protect the head from sword blows. Lightweight, fitted, fabric negligee caps were worn at night to cover the shaved head.
Servants’ Clothing
African immigrants wore the clothing in which they traveled until they were sold in the New World. After that, they were generally given clothes befitting their tasks and rank. As most new immigrants were bought for field work, they were usually given shirts, breeches, hats and possibly hose and shoes. Later, as they or their children learned the language and possibly skills, they might move up in rank. House servants might be finely dressed in livery (house uniforms) to reflect well upon the owner. Craftsmen and kitchen staff would be somewhere between, dressed comparably to freemen in similar positions.
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Post by Hippolyta on Dec 2, 2009 16:55:03 GMT -5
Shoes
Shoes were essential to people who walked as much as the colonials did. Most shoes of the colonial period were straight-lasted, or symmetrical, made to fit either foot. They actually match the bone structure of the foot better than shoes made to fit only the left or right foot and allowed longer life by switching the shoes to equalize wear. Some, like the moccasins adapted from the Indians, were made to the shape of each foot. English shoes were constructed much more heavily than these.
Most shoes were fully welted, containing an outersole, innersole and shank made of thick, heavy sole leather, which provided real support for the foot. Lighter, more flexible dancing (turned) shoes were made inside out and pulled through themselves so the stitching was hidden inside. The finest dancing shoes were made of strong, supple and expensive dog skin and could be worn out by one night’s dancing. Mules (stitched-downs) were the equivalent of slippers, a simple top stitched to a single layer of sole leather. Some mules were made with back straps, other with stitching on the soles for traction for tennis and fencing.
In the early period shoes were fastened with laces and covered with ornate leather or fabric decorative rosettes. About 1700 the use of buckles began. Toe styles could be square (early and work), rounded or pointed. Heel height could vary a bit, with men’s shoes high about 1660, but most shoes looked much like modern ones.
Pattens were wooden soles with straps raised up on iron supports to keep a person out of the mud. Boots were for two purposes: Riding boots were tightly fitted to the calf so the rider could feel the animal and control it better, and jackboots were made of hardened heavy leather and worn by postilions and cavalrymen for protection. Neither were designed for walking, which could be quite painful with boots on.
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Post by Hippolyta on Dec 2, 2009 17:03:23 GMT -5
AccessoriesA variety of accessories were worn or carried in the colonial period. Garters, fastened with small garter buckles, were used to hold up stockings, which were heavy, long socks. A girdle was a belt used to carry tools, not to hold up the clothing. In the very earliest days expensive clothing was decorated with brass or gold points, small decorative pendants worn like fringe. Hooks and eyes were used to clasp pieces together. Gloves were worn in the early period for protection from swords and during work, as well as to keep warm. Snuff handkerchiefs were large (about two feet square) and used in the highly stylized ritual of taking snuff. Etuis and chatelaines were worn on girdles to carry sewing equipment, writing equipment, calendars or other daily necessities in a small, usually ornate, metal or tortoiseshell capsule. Wallets would be large and were used to carry papers and paper money. Purses were for coins. After the early years, swords were not commonly worn expect for ceremonial purposes. Jewelry was minimal except at formal events, where small pendants, earrings and an occasional brooch were worn. Rings were the most common. Fans were carried by both ladies and gentlemen, and some (lower-class) women. The simpler ones were made of paper over wooden sticks, while the more elaborate were glazed paper, silk, lace or chicken skin over bone or ivory sticks. The fancier ones were double-sided and often printed with designs on both sides. Although many museums make much of fan language, it was a rather simple and subtle language used in the colonies. Meaning | Action | Anger | Strike palm of hand with closed fan | Jealousy | Flutter fan before face | Concern | Fan very quickly | Coquetry | Fan slowly and languidly | Can't talk | Tip of closed fan placed to lips |
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Post by Hippolyta on Dec 2, 2009 17:10:16 GMT -5
Storage
Clothing was not hung up as is done today. Instead, it was folded and laid flat in chests, on shelves in clothes presses (not actually a press, but a case piece with drawers and shelves behind the top doors) or in drawers. For travel it was either packed flat or rolled much like a soldier does in a duffel bag today. Trunks and portmanteaus were the most common luggage.
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Post by Hippolyta on Dec 2, 2009 17:10:35 GMT -5
Levee
Related to dress was the levee, a social custom among upper-class women during dressing, In the colonial period it was not improper for a lady to entertain visitors in her bedroom, but rather common, as her bedroom was often her sitting room. The levee was a formal entertainment while completing dressing, including making up and setting the hair. Surviving guest lists indicate that men were entertained as often or more so than women.
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