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Clothing
: Introduction
: Looking at Eighteenth-Century Clothing
by Linda Baumgarten
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| Back of Gown. Striped silk taffeta with checked pattern created by extra warp
float, bodice and sleeves lined with linen, skirt edges finished with pinking.
England or Virginia, 1770-1780. Associated with the Blair Family of Virginia.1983-225. |
he clothing that people wore in the past has the ability to fascinate and involve us as few objects of
their material culture do. Clothing
is intimate. Viewing a garment in a museum collection elicits an almost instinctive
urge to touch it and try it on ourselves (actions that are, of course, not recommended
for reasons of conservation). For some, it is a wish to experience the beautiful
fabrics, elaborate decoration, and tactile qualities ;experiences no longer
found in most of our own clothing. For others, it is a desire to understand
people from the past a little better; if we know such details as how they dressed
themselves in the morning, what it felt like to be laced into stays, or what
it was like to wear coarse linen and woolen while working in a Virginia tobacco
field, we might better understand the routine, human aspects of their daily
lives, which are so seldom revealed in the written records they left.
The clothing illustrated
in this article was worn by living people who had much in common with us. Not
only did people then respond to fashion, they also varied their garments based
on the activity and the formality of the occasion. The eighteenth-century words
"dress" and "undress" had meanings quite different from the way we use the words
today, though the basic concepts are still viable. "Dress"
clothing meant formal clothing with a different set of conventions and accessories
from "undress," or informal clothing. In 1775, for example, a woman could still
don a pair of exaggerated side hoops, or "panniers," to support her wide skirt
for a dress occasion, while her undress clothing ;although it would appear quite
formal to our eyes;had a more modest skirt size that may not have needed hoops
at all. Similarly,
the clothes in which a wealthy planter conducted his daily business differed
significantly from what he wore to a ball at the Governor's Palace. The garments
worn by a blacksmith or dairymaid for daily work were different from their best
outfits, reserved for Sundays at church and infrequent special occasions.
Learn more about clothing “What Clothes Reveal” Available through www.williamsburgmarketplace.com
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Historic Triangle