We have accessories today, and so did people in colonial times! By now, you've probably picked up on the trend: expensive materials like lace or silk were only for the gentry class, linen was for the lower classes; the less you needed to work, the more clothes and accessories you would have. With that in mind, here are just a few more accessories that were seen in the 1700's and 1800's!
Mitts - keeping skin pale and ladies modest!
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| A fairly commonplace set of mitts |
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| Dyed and embroidered mitts |
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| Another view of the above mitts |
Muffs - for use in the winter, usually stuffed with wool or cotton and lined with fur.
Fans - for waving away unpleasant smells and for expressing yourself (Princess Diaries, anyone?)
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| A brise fan |
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| An ivory fan - for the wealthy only! |
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| A painted wooden fan - much more affordable |
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| Paintings like this on commonplace items are typical of the colonial period. |
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| An assortment of fans |
Parasols - for style and keeping the sun off.
Reticule Purses - coming from the style of the pocket, a little drawstring purse that became popular in the early 1800's, when dresses lost many of their layers.
Capes - for keeping warm in the winter!
Hair
- for those who couldn't afford anything else, tucking hair into a bun
and covering it with a mob cap was the way to go. However, for the truly
affluent, wigs were in style. You could choose to simply have
pre-styled extensions added on for you, although the truly rich shaved
their heads and wore wigs. These would be styled by the wigmaker, as
well as being serviced and cleaned by her. Curls were very popular, as
well as ornamentation like flowers, fruit, combs, feathers, pearls,
etc., with the most lavish customers having ships in full sail with
working miniature cannons or birdcages with live birds inside! (think
Marie Antoinette)
The
hair would come from animals like goats, yaks, and horses for cheaper
wigs, but also from humans for the more expensive ones. Girls in Europe
and Asia (not America, as the climate was deemed unsuitable for good
hair) would be raised to sell their hair, with the following
qualifications: it must have never been dyed or bleached, it must be
kept clean, and it must be longer than 16 inches.
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| Hair extensions in the window of Williamsburg's wigmaker's shop. |
I've covered pretty much everything you need to know for an introduction to colonial women's costuming, but if there's anything I missed, or anything you would like to know more about, please leave a comment, and I will try to do another post with more information!
If you're simply curious about historical costuming, I can recommend a few resources. Personally, I love podcasts, because I can learn while I'm driving, or as I fall asleep. My two favorite sources are Colonial Williamsburg podcasts, especially the ones on historic trades. I also enjoy How Stuff Works - Stuff You Missed in History Class, which has a lot of episodes on historical figures and events, as well as some really interesting ones on historical undergarments (the best is Bloomers and Beyond).
I would also recommend checking out Colonial Williamsburg's website, www.history.org. They have many pages on costuming and textiles, including a game called "Dress the Part", which allows you to see how an outfit is built.
Finally, just start googling things! If there's something that you're interested in, google it, and I'm sure you'll find something that helps answer your question. I've stumbled across many blogs that way, as well as quite a few books. Right now, the book that I have been particularly captivated with is called Fitting and Proper, by Sharon Ann Brunston. It's a collection of 18th century clothing from the collection of the Chester County Historical Society, accompanied by scaled down tracings if you want to replicate anything.
Hopefully this post was helpful, and I hope that you can enjoy costuming as much as I do! Please feel free to comment with any questions at all, or any suggestions for future posts. :)
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