Clothing


Toddlers had to wear a brace around them to make them sit up strait. Women held young children in bags. And both boys and girls were dressed in a long gown and cap until they were five or six years old.
The boys clothing consisted of stockings, garters, doublet, brown shoes, points and hats. Boys always tucked in their shirts. The men wore robes, and felt hats. Men wore tights, too.
Girls wore skirts or a dress and usually a hat. Under their skirts they wore three petticoats, stockings, garters, and a waistcoat. They wore a hat called a coif, an apron and then their shoes. Girls and women wore bonnets.
During colonial times, women wore black or drab colored clothes. At a wedding, the bride sometimes wore yellow. However, white was the preferred coloring because it symbolized purity. During the wedding festivities, the men would try to take the bride’s shoe. Women liked to wear their hair up. They wore a corset under their dress to make them look skinnier. Women wore long coats with hoods in the rain. When women had their hands full they carried their baskets on their heads.

During colonial times clothing was passed down from sibling to sibling and was washed on a washboard by hand and hung out to dry. Also, clothes were handmade. They wore drab colors because it was expensive and difficult to attain pretty fabrics for clothes. Also, many religious groups believed that bright colors drew unwanted attention to women.