The Fashions of a Colonial Lady

In the early colonial times, the women made most of their own clothing. Starting from the 17th and 18th century though, dressmaking and tailoring services became available to the more wealthy families. Leather, linen, and wool were used to make the clothing. Most women used to have only two sets of clothing: one set used everyday and another set for Sunday where everyone attended church.

THE FASHIONS OF A COLONIAL LADY

The Fabrics… Slide#3 Hair, Mob Hats, Caps… Slide#4-6

Mitts, Mittens, and Muffs… Slide#7&8 Shoes and Pattens… Slide#9&10

Chemise, Mock, Shift, and Partlet…Slide#11&12Petticoats/Underskirts… Slide#13-15

Stays… Slide#16&17 Gowns… Slides#18&19

The Stomacher, Tucker, and Sleeve Ruffles… Slides#20&21

The Cape, Caraco, and Cloak… Slides#22Conclusion… Slide#23

Sources… Slides#24&25

THE TABLE OF CONTENTS…

The wool and linen of the clothing would be from the sheep and flax plant that the colonists grow. The colors of the clothing would come from the dye of the berries and roots that were collected. Spinning wheels were used to spin the colorful thread, looms were used to weave the clothes, and needles were used by the women to sew or knit the clothes.

WoolBerriesSpinning Wheel

The hats women wore outdoors can range from tall to short; made of fabric or straw; any color they choose; decorated with items such as ribbons, to flowers, to

feathers or anything else they choose; and with wide or narrow brims. The most favorable type of hat would

usually have a shallow, flat crown and a wide brim.

The women and girl’s hair would always be

covered. In the house, the ladies would wear mob

hats, or caps. Outdoors, they would

wear hats (or bonnets) for

protection against the sun and for

fashion.

The mob caps that the woman wore indoors started getting popular in the 1730s. The mob caps had a puffed crown in the rear; a deep, flat border around the face (either frilled or

laced); and finally, the side pieces at the end that could be tied under the chin, left loose, or

pinned together.

THE CAP Before the mob caps became

popular, the everyday regular caps were worn by the females. The caps kept the dirt and dust away from the hair and so the women and girls would not need to wash their hair so frequently. When outdoors, a hat would be tied and placed on top of the cap. The caps could be made of cotton, lace, and linen with ruffles or lace added as decoration. The styles of the caps were changed frequently.

Mitts from the 1700s (very common) were fingerless gloves that extended over the elbow. Sometimes, the mitts would

extend over part of the fingers as well (most frequently thumb) but the end would stay opened. There were also

knitted ones (the less stylish). The mitts would protect the women from the sun in the summer or keep them warm, yet not hinder the finger’s movements while working. Popular

adornments on the mitts would be embroidered floral motifs and fancy arm openings.

MITTS, MITTENS, AND MUFFS

In the winter, when it was too cold to wear mitts, the ladies would wear muffs instead. Muffs were

accessories that were tube shaped and came in several different sizes. The muffs were typically

padded and can be covered with feathers, fur, or cloth. The more fashionable muffs later were made of satin and velvet (affordable to the wealthy) including

jewels and lace trimmings. MITTS, MITTEN AND MUFFS

SHOES AND PATTENS Fabrics, leathers, or worsteds were used to

make the shoes. The women’s shoes sometimes have elevated heels, depending on the current fashions. Buckles, clasps, or ties were used to fasten the shoes. Pattens

were put over the actual shoes so as to protect the wearer’s shoes from damage or

soiling from the floor. Pattens included a raised sole above an iron ring and

adjustable strap to secure it. Pattens were also worn in the earl 20th century

SHOES AND PATTENS

A chemise is typically made of white linen and looks similar to a nightgown. The chemise is worn as an undergarment, sometimes

showing slightly above the bodice or through the sleeves of the gown, but mostly stays concealed. The chemise is usually paired with a

partlet (a piece of clothing that starts a few inches under the top of the bodice of the gown, and goes up into a neckband at the top with

sleeves; worn under the gown). Working women are often represented as wearing a chemise lacking jackets or long sleeves

over it, with their chemise sleeves rolled up. Upper class woman wore chemises that were made of fine linen and skillfully embroidered.

CHEMISE/MOCK/SHIFT AND PARTLET

A Partlet

A Chemise

Click icon to add picture

A CHEMISE/MOCK/SHIFT

The ladies wore petticoats (over the chemise/smock) with a jacket or a gown. Petticoats were a form of a skirt worn

mostly under gowns that were open-fronted (opened in the front from the waist down), requiring the petticoat

underneath to conceal the legs. The petticoats caused the gown/overskirt to have a dome shape and therefore

granting the wearer the sense of a smaller waist. Most times, women were to wear numerous petticoats before

finally achieving that goal.PETTICOATS/UNDERSKIRTS

There were petticoats made from cotton, linen, silk, wool. The quilted petticoats were worn for not only fashion but for warmth, later, in the

colder months of the years. The petticoats also come in different lengths for different activities or classes. An act was passed in 1710 of the length of the train of the petticoats for the persons of royalty (in France) from 11 to 3 feet; those of the highest position (ex: queens) with the longest train (11) and then those with the lowest position

(ex: duchesses) with a train of 3 feet the most. (Queens-11feet; king’s daughters-9 feet; king’s other relatives-7 feet; princesses that were

not the king’s daughters-5 feet; and lastly, ducchesses-3 feet)

PETTICOATS/UNDERSKIRTS

PETTICOATS/UNDERSKIRTS Aristocratic woman had petticoats that

trailed upon the floor, but with no trains. They pinned up their overskirt and looped up their petticoat outdoors though, so as not to get them dirtied with mud. Working-class women had skirts and petticoats that end from the top of their boots to a few inches above the ankles. The women of lower classes adore bright colors and so became a reason as to why red petticoats became so popular, especially among the Puritans.

STAYS Stays from the 1600s used to be called “boned

bodies” was used to give the ladies body good shape, the working women good support, and the young girls needed them to learn proper carriage. Those who did not tightly lace their stays (or corsets-19th century name) were humiliated and reprimanded by others. The types and quality of the stays varied greatly. Stays can range between exceedingly rigid to really flexible, composed of thin strips of boning contained by numerous layers of linen. Boning was made from materials such as pack thread, pasteboard, wood, metal, baleen. Other than linen, the stays could also be constructed with fine silks or utilitarian worsteds. The stays of the poorest quality were ones made from only one single thick layer of thick leather.

STAYSNamed “Tight Lacing or Fashion Before Ease”

Gowns were worn at formal occasions and for additional warmth. A gown was formed of a bodice and skirt connected together. Most of the times, the skirt attached to the skirt of the gown was opened in the front, allowing the petticoat to be exposed. Gowns were made of usually fabrics such as fur, satin, and velvet. The women of the 17th and 18th centuries had the choice of long, loose sleeved gowns; short, opened sleeved gowns; and sleeveless gowns. The bodice of the gowns were fixed closely to the body and the skirt of the gown was supported by numerous petticoats.

GOWNS

GOWNS

The stomacher is a triangular piece of clothing that gets attached to the front of the gown (by using lacing, pins & tabs, or hooks & eyes) to hold the

gown together in place. The stomacher can be soft or stiff. The fabric and trimming of the stomacher should match the gown. The tucker is the ruffle

(could be plain or made of lace) that is sewed up about the neck of the gown.

THE STOMACHER, TUCKER, AND SLEEVE RUFFLES

The sleeve ruffles are similar to the tucker but are ruffles (again plain or lace) stitched around

the edge of the gown sleeves to prevent the elbows from being exposed. The amount of

ruffles and decoration upon the sleeve ruffles depended on the current fashion.

THE STOMACHER, TUCKER, AND SLEEVE RUFFLES

Sleeve Ruffles

Stomacher

Stomacher

Tucker

THE CAPE, CARACO AND CLOAK A cape was made of either heavy or

light silk, wool, and cotton. A cape was usually shorter than a cloak, clasped at the center front, covered the shoulders, and was shaped all the way up the neck. A caraco was just a jacket worn indoors, with various different styles. A cloak was made from a heavy wool fabric that was similar to the cape, but it has a hood.

CONCLUSIONThe clothing of the girls and woman in the 17th and 18th century are exceedingly complicated. Each woman would have to wear too much garments to be considered dressing properly. If we were to dress like the upper classmen in the 17th or 18th century, then we would easily faint from being too warm and we wouldn’t be able to move at all with so many petticoats.

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By: Sally Lee 7A3Social Studies ID4