Ruby Wexler

2016

Title of Notecard: Fashion Shows Identity

Source: Hall, Jill M. ““Clothing and Fashion in the 17th Century.”.” Facts On File , 2014, online.infobase.com/hrc/search/details/358077?q=colonial clothing.

Quote:

“The details of appearance conveyed identity. Contemporaries recognized a person of wealth and privilege by his or her fine clothes, rich ornaments, and elegant bearing, and responded with an appropriate level of deference. Clothing also represented actual value. A person’s wardrobe represented a significant investment. Clothes were worn, repaired, remade, handed down, and sometimes sold or pawned for cash.

European writers revealed their discomfort with the relative undress of Native people, describing them as “naked” even while enumerating their garments (breechcloths, leggings, moccasins, mantles, and so on). Colonial narratives record gifts to the Native leaders, gifts that usually included at least some items of European clothing. A key element of many colonial ventures was to “civilize” American Indians, and an essential part of European civilization was proper—that is, European—clothing. In this instance clothing served both as a gift of value, costly and—in the colonial context—rare, and a gift of identity, which would bring the Native leader and eventually the community closer to the European ideal of appearance.

Native peoples adapted European cloth and clothing, incorporating them into their dress. They used thick “duffel” cloth for cloaks or mantles that had traditionally been made of furs. But as the growing colonial population eroded the traditional Native ways of life, Native peoples were increasingly pushed to adopt European ways, especially European clothing.”

Paraphrase:

• A person’s wealth was distinguished by their clothing and decoration.
• One’s clothing was one of the main things that they spent their money on.
• Clothes were used, sold, given to younger relatives and reused.
• The Natives were first viewed to be naked because they wore little clothing.
• The English gave gifts to the Natives lots of the gifts had English clothing in them.
• Some of the European settlers wanted to “civilize” of the Natives, one of they ways they tried to make them more proper was to give them English clothing.
• Eventually the Natives used some of the English clothing as well as their own.
• The Natives used a cloth called duffel cloth to make cloaks, though their cloaks were usually made out of furs.
• As time went on and the colony grew, more and more Natives started to the English ways and use more and more of their clothing.

My Ideas:

Clothing was one of the main points that lead the depletion of the Native Americans. The English settlers gave them gifts that often included clothing, the Natives started to take the new clothes in to their own culture. This seemed harmless at the beginning, but later it become clear that the English want to take over the Natives. I think that they tried to make the Natives respectable by making them look more like the English. One of the examples of this is Pocahontas, she was the daughter of the great chief Powhatan, then she married John Ralph. She was given a new name was taken into the English traditions and ways of dress. In a way this is a less brutal version of bringing Africans and making them work under horrible conditions. The enslaved Africans stared to adopted the English clothing while still keeping their own cultures’ clothes. Though like the Natives they were eventually forced into the European ways of dress. The English showed their wealth and rank through their clothing, enslaved people were automatically judged by their clothing and race. The Natives also had their own hierarchy that was also shown by clothing. I think that eventually the Natives were showed their rank through the amount of English clothing they had showed their rank because if you could have traded more clothing that means you have things to trade and you are wealthy. Clothing could also have been very helpful or unhelpful in the drama of society. If you were someone looking to get married you would want to have nice clothing to look wealthy, to look well keep and maybe just to show off. If you wore odd or different clothes you might be though as odd or different. The English settlers spent a good amount of their money on their clothing, the Natives and enslaved people weren’t this particular though they were still showing their rank through their clothing.

Annabelle H.
2015

Title of Notecard: Materials, and Hierarchy Rankings
Source: Taylor, Deborah C. “Clothing in the Colonial Period.” Encycl…

Quote(s):

“Wealthy merchants imported most of their cloth from England and considered local homespun coarse and suited only for workers and servants. English sumptuary laws prohibited the use of fancy laces, ruffles, and embroidered cloth by any but the upper classes.”

“Native Americans dressed in various styles according to tribal customs. In general, they wore clothing made from animal skins: boots, dresses, shirts, leggings, a fur cloak in winter, and hats.”

“The Euro-American workingman’s costume consisted of loose breeches, canvas jerkin, woolen hose, and felt or straw hats. Poorer women wore simple short gowns, which allowed for physical labor, and modest linen caps, although farm wives used vegetable dyes to create ‘Sunday best’ outfits from homespun. Prosperous American men dressed in breeches of fine cloth, waistcoats, silk stockings, broadcloth coats with silver buttons, silver buckled shoes, heavy cloaks, and wool or beaver hats. “

Paraphrase:

• Rich merchants got some cloth from England mostly.
• The rich thought that the less fancy fabric was for servants and workers.
• There was an English law that states that only the higher classed people can use fancy cloth.
• Native Americans dressed in relation to tribal traditions.
• The Native Americans wore animal skins of all sorts.
• Working European men wore wool, and felt or straw hats.
• Poor women wore simple things like linen hats.
• Farm wives made their ‘Sunday best’ with using vegetable dyes.
• Successful American men wore fine cloth, silk, broadcloth, and heavy material.

My Ideas:  This is important because it shows that the wealthy people that lived in Europe had a better wardrobe then the poor people. They rich in Europe cared more about clothing, they had more access to fancy things. But the servants had to wear simple cloth, that had boring colors, but they were inexpensive. But who made the law that only wealthy people could wear fancy materials? Maybe it was a greedy, selfish, vain ruler of England that didn’t care about the low ranking people, only the rich and themselves. The type of material that a rich merchant is wearing, is very different then the type of material that a poor servant is wearing. Maybe the person who made the law wanted everyone to know the difference between high class, and low class. The rich people had a chance to wear amazing things with lace, and ruffles, and things with beautiful stitching. But the poor ranking people had a chance to wear dirty rags that were probably rough, and not smooth and soft like the wealthy people would wear. I think that the law is unfair, what if a servant got a piece of clothing that was fancy for a gift? They wouldn’t be able to wear it at all, even if someone just gave it to them. Even the low ranking people should have a chance to wear something nice for a change, and not just rough rags.

Cate W.
2015

Title of Notecard: Colonial Appearances
Source: Walker, Niki, and Bobbie Kalman. The Milliner. New York, NY: Crabtree, 2002. Print.

Quote(s):

“Appearances were important to many colonists. People were often judged by their clothing and possessions. Wearing beautiful, fashionable clothes showed people that a colonist was successful and could afford expensive things.”

“Her gown was impressive, indeed, not only because it was made in the latest style, but because it required several yards of expensive fabric.”

Paraphrase:

• Many people were judged by what they are wearing.
• Appearances were very important.
• People would try their best to look their best to look fashionable.
• Everyone had also tried to wear as much expensive things so they would look nice
• Women would wear things that other people would like to see
• Women would try their best to stay in the latest fashion.

My Ideas:  Back then you would see people walking around with the prettiest stuff. Women’s dresses has to be beautiful with the prettiest fabric and men had to wear their nicest clothing too because people judge other people by what they are wearing. When someone looked at someone back then, they would instantly think that they would be rich or poor and they would treat that person differently just because of how they look. Many of us do that still today. We judge other people by the way they look not the way they act. Outfits are so different these days and so is true beauty. Womens beauty was so important back then because they wanted to look their best for other colonists. Nowadays we still want to look our best, but our beauty is different. The way women try to look pretty is now more of a sexy pretty. For example, If you look at Halloween costumes you could see how they are different than other costumes that people wore when halloween started. Today, not everyone gets that sexy look but that is what men these days sometimes like. Sexy wasn’t good for people back then. Back in the Colonial Era women wouldn’t even be able to show their shoulders. So I think that it wouldn’t be good if they showed any thing else. Back then people just wanted their wigs to be beautiful or they wanted the latest fabric and a complex dress. That was the type of beauty that women had back then.