Adventures in Historically Accurate Colonial Costuming

[With a nod to Laura Frantz's post "Dress, Shoes, and Stays - Oh My!"]

So ... I’ve always been a perfectionist. Painfully so, and one of the lessons I’ve had to learn as a mother of many is knowing when to let go of the Quest for the Perfect.

Here is one time when I just couldn’t, quite. :-)

A participant in the 2006 Parker's Ferry event

Several years ago, when I first began research on my Revolutionary War novel, Loyalty’s Cadence, I joined a Yahoo group for researchers and living historians, called 18cWoman (18^th Century Woman). That list is no longer in existence, but its replacement, 18cLife, has been fairly active. Over the years, the kindly folk there have answered my story questions on everything from regulations about British campfollowing wives to Colonial Christmas traditions. I’ve also witnessed countless discussions about proper clothing for period reenactments and living history events. These people tend to be meticulous in their research and attention to detail, so when the idea of sewing a “real” eighteenth century outfit occurred to me, I brushed it aside. Again—and again. :-)

Okay, I finally thought, IF my historical ever sells. It would be cool to wear one to booksigning events. Then came my first contract for Defending Truth, and the project lurked in the back of my mind through the months of writing and revising the novella. As a challenge to my sewing skills, it would be as much a creative endeavor as the writing, and it was just as important to me to get the research right.

So, a quick overview of 18c (eighteenth century) women’s wear from the skin outward:

• Shift: the equivalent of 18c underwear, made of pure linen for its availability and breathability. The quality of the linen was determined by one’s station and wealth. “Chemise” is the French word, more commonly in use in the nineteenth century.
  
  
  

  

  JP Ryan stays pattern

• Stays: basically the predecessor of a corset, which again is the French word and not in use until later. Often referred to as a “pair” of stays, referring to the two halves, or “bodies,” which is where the word “bodice” comes from (“a pair of body’s”). In the 18c and before, as much of a support garment as for shaping, like an 18c lumbar belt. In use as early as the 16^th century, and worn by babies and children as well as adult females. (That scene in Pirates of the Caribbean, where Elizabeth wears stays for the first time, is inaccurate in so many ways ... )

• Pockets: a bag or two, sewn to a cloth tape and tied around the waist for access through side slits in the skirts. Often highly embroidered, and NOT worn on the outside to attract marriageable men ... 

• Petticoat: essentially a skirt, at least one, more often two. These were often linen, quilted cotton, silk, or wool. Working women wouldn’t bother to match the petticoat to their jacket or gown, but dressy gowns often had a matching petticoat. 

• Gown: an open-fronted garment with sleeves, more or less embellished. Fastened down the front with straight pins (yes! it’s true!), or hooks and eyes. The open skirts are sometimes hiked “a la polonaise.” Made of linen (striped or plain), wool, silk, or a block-printed cotton (see Debra’s recent post about fabrics). In lieu of a gown, women also wore jackets, shortgowns, or bedgowns (for undress/casual wear around the house).

• Apron: also of linen, pinned and/or tied over everything to catch workaday dirt and grime.

• Cap: a very fine linen, of varying ruffled styles, but NOT the “gathered circle mobcap” style so often seen in ‘70’s historical dramas.

Summer-weight worsted wool

So, when planning this, I had to consider a few things: time, place, cost. The first event I wanted to wear my gown to was the 2013 ACFW conference, held last weekend. The main event is a Revolutionary War reenactment in early November. More historical accuracy would be appreciated at the latter than the former, so I knew I had leeway with finishing and construction to begin with. Cost was a factor because, well, 100% fiber fabrics are usually not cheap, especially for period-appropriate gown fabrics. When inquiring on 18cLife, I was told that drapery-weight cottons were the thing, not quilting cottons (and I had to be careful of the print); linen, but be careful of stripes; wool, usually a summer-weight worsted suiting, and not a twill weave; or a silk print or brocade. Just the thought of trying to choose overwhelmed me. Then, a particular wool went on sale, only to be out of stock by the time I made a decision, so I was back at square one ....

[to be continued!!!]