Mabel S. and Wig Maker (Paraphrase)

Women who were 21 and older and were not under men (if they were widows or they were unmarried and declared independence from their fathers) could have the same rights as men, except for voting. It was called Fem sol status. They could go to court, sue, be sued, and press charges, but they couldn’t be a Justice or on the Jury. Generally only men owned shops, but women who had Fem sol status could too. Important women who didn’t like the laws their husbands in the government passed, or those who supported the revolution, would wear homespun dresses or day wear to really fancy, formal balls as protest instead of importing new silk from England. It was called The Homespun Ball, or The Non-Importation Act. These women didn’t like the importation and tax laws, and they wanted independence from England. They also supported the revolution.

Mabel S  Williamsburg trip

Piper Jassem 2016-17

The Europeans had made their beauty standards from their beliefs. They had believe that the Africans, Powhatans and anyone else with a darker skin tone than them were a lesser society and deserve to punished just because of what they looked like. Many of these requirements blended beauty and racism together. Suntans and darker skin tones were not considered fashionable and a lot of their fashions had encouraged that. Women would wear mitts and masks to block themselves from the wind and cold but also to keep the sun away from their arms and faces so they could stay a pale, pristine white. Having white skin showed a sign of status and was practically a beauty standard. Some makeup products really increased racism in the 18th century because the story behind the products was that were used to increase beauty but the products were only made for white skinned people. That’s the Europeans and Americans saying that only white people can be beautiful. It’s really unfair that having pale, white skin gave a lot of social recognition. This gave the Africans a completely closed door to being able to have any status on the social hierarchy. Another bigger problem connecting to cosmetics and fashion was sexism.

Grace Burns 2016-17

Women were constantly judged by society and by men. Women in the Colonial era were dehumanized and used as trophies, not like the strong independent people we’ve become. Clothing separates women into racial groups. Clothing and social standing was an unfair ranking of wealth. Women were influenced by society to spend money on new “fashionable” clothes to elevate their social standing. Social standing today is still a ranking of wealth. Today women are pressured by the media too look like the women in magazines and dress like celebrities. Women should be confident in their jobs, wealth, clothing, and in their own bodies. If we learned anything from Colonial America, it is that women shouldn’t be treated like objects and they shouldn’t have to impress anyone.

Piper Jassem

Notecards

17th and 18th Century Standards of Beauty

Quote:

“Beginning in the 17th century and continuing throughout the 18th century, both men and women in England and France wore obvious cosmetics.  Gender differences were less important than class differences – cosmetics marked one as aristocratic and  à  la mode,  were adopted as well by those who were trying to rise in social status or become fashionable.  Makeup was not intended to look natural – in fact, it was called “paint” — but instead, “…to represent one’s aristocratic identity as declaratively as possible through cosmetic artifice.”  Women and men showed their respectability and class through white skin, and heavy makeup was considered more respectable than naturally light skin.”

Paraphrase:

• Both men and women wore cosmetics
• Gender difference was less important than class difference
• People used makeup when they were trying to rise in status or show off their status
• They did not want their makeup to look natural, it looked more like paint compared to the cosmetics we wear today
• Women and men showed their respectability and class through white skin
• Heavy makeup was considered better than just showing off your naturally light skin tone

My Ideas:

In 17th and 18th century, women and men were using makeup but no really how you think they would. In our modern world, we use makeup and cosmetics to make ourselves look and feel beautiful. In their world, they used cosmetics to show their status or to try and move up in it. Status was looked upon greatly and makeup played an important role in it. If you had extremely white skin or wore tons of heavy makeup, although you were more looked down upon if you just showed off your naturally pale skin. In our modern world, we sort of use makeup as cover up and try to make it look natural, they designed their makeup to look like paint. It was filled with lead and other bad poisons which caused many women and some men to get lung and heart because they put too much on their face and body.

I find it really interesting that w omen and men showed their respectability and class through white skin. This kind off used how racist they were and how looked down upon the African Slaves were. I wonder if the slaves had put anything on their faces once they got to America, to make their skin tones look lighter. Or what if their masters had made them wear makeup so the master could show off weath and status?

History:

Created: 11/01/2016 09:08 PM

Grace Burns

Source:

Walker, Kiki. The Milliner . Crabtree Publishing Company.

Quote:

“Suntans were not fashionable, so women wore mitts when she went outdoors. Mitts kept the sun off her hands and arms. In winter, leather gloves kept a woman’s hands warm”

“Masks protected women’s faces. In summer, women wore green silk half masks, to keep the sun away from their skin. They wore full masks of blacks silk or velvet in the winter to shield their faces from cold and wind.”

“Women wore plain aprons to protect their everyday clothes from stains, but wealthier women wore aprons adorned with lace and embroidery. Women wore these aprons to make a gown look fancier or to give it a new look.”

“Fashionable women carried silk or paper fans, not only to keep cool, but to accent their gowns. Young women flirted with their fans at young men.”

“Pear necklaces and chokers made with velvet, satin, or lace ribbons were popular colonial jewelry. Some, carried small portraits. Most necklaces and bracelets were strung on ribbons and tied with bows.”

“Some ladies carried small handbags to formal events. The purses were made of expensive fabrics and were decorated with beads and embroidery.”

“Milliners imported fancy shoes made of silk, satin, velvet, linen and fine leather. Shoes were decorated with embroidery and trims. Some shoes fastened with lace, others slipped on like slippers. Other shoes fastened with buckles. Some buckles had diamonds or other jewels. Women could switch buckles to create different looks.”

Paraphrase:

• Women would try to keep their skin lighter (masks and gloves)
• Women used unnecessary accessories to adorn themselves (aprons)
• Shoes were a woman’s prize possession, something they took pride in that separated the classes (milliners had them sent over from London) 
• Fans were used to attract men and keep cool (flirting with the opposite sex)
• Women wore jewelry with portraits of their loved ones on their necks and fastened them with ribbon
• Women would carry purses just for show which were also decorated

My Ideas:

Women in the 18th Century would take any measure to portray themselves as graceful and beautiful. The most popular look was a natural and innocent look. Women used gloves, masks and makeup to achieve a look of pure beauty. Gloves and masks would be worn in the winter and summer to protect delicate skin from the elements and achieve a fair complexion. I can infer that because at this time Europeans were enslaving Native Americans and African Americans that it was considered a disgrace to the Colony and Gentry Class (the slave owners) to have dark skin. One thing that I find unfair is the fact that the Gentry Class would wear aprons as accessories to embellish their gowns, not for practical purposes. Poor women wore aprons to protect their everyday garments from dirt and other things while laboring. Wealthy women also used fans made of silk or satin as accessories. These fans could be plain and simple or adorned with beads and embroidery. Women used fans to keep themselves cool and to flirt with young men. 

The shoes that these women wore were imported from London by milliners. Some were fastened with lace and others with buckles. Women took pride in their shoes because they reflected their wealth and social standing. Buckles were preferred for casual attire because they could switch the buckles to create different looks. I can infer that from a poor woman’s perspective, that seeing new accessories everyday on the shoes of other women made them want to marry wealthier men s that they could enjoy the same luxuries. I don’t think this was fair because the work of other women was not recognized or valued as much. Why were the women who didn’t work at all rewarded for taunting those less fortunate?

History:

Created: 11/03/2016 08:50 PM

Piper Jassem                           Humanities 7

November 2016          A Day In the Life of a Colonist

A Day In the Life of a Gentry Woman

My name is Catherine White, used to be Catherine Baker but when I married I was forced to change it. I’m a woman in the gentry class. Even though the middling class doesn’t get the great clothes and food that we do, I would much rather be in the middling class. I could have my own talents. My wishes on my birthday were always to become a milliner and make clothing for myself and others. It’s also a possibility that I wouldn’t have to marry. This high up on the hierarchy I would be so looked down upon if I had chosen not to marry. My least favorite thing about being in the gentry class is all the beauty standards.

“Get your wig ready! Put on your makeup! If you don’t step up your looks you will never be able to find a husband,” my mother would always yell at me.
I’m upstairs in my room tying my stay when I hear the door slowly creak open. My servant, Penelope, peeks her head through the door.

“Do you need help with that?” she says gently.

“Yes please. Can you just tie the last strings?”

Tonight was the night of the most famous ball in America. This ball had brought people from just inside our little colony all the way to England. I wish I could just wear a petticoat and shift but that would just be unacceptable. Tonight myself and the rest of the women will walk into the Governor’s Palace wearing smaller stays and bigger hoops than anyone would ever believe possible. Every year I don’t want to go back to that ball, but it’s a way to make a name for my current and future family members.

I walk down the frail staircase dragging my hand over every detail on the banister. I need a change of setting to help clear up my mind before this big event. The marble floors are cooling on my feet. I grab a brush and began layering the white, lead makeup on my face. Even though my mother died a few years ago I can still her voice saying, “No one likes a suntan Catherine!” And, “dark skin will never be beautiful, that’s why the Africans are our slaves.” And, “If you don’t put on your paint people will mistake you for a slave and beat you.” I could never really tell if she was honest or joking but most of the time she took apperance really seriously. I had and will never think of the Africans as lesser. John and I practically treat our slaves as if they were part of the family, but that doesn’t change how others see them. A layer of white begins to cover my face so I put the paint down and pick up some rouge. I put a little rouge on on my lips and cheeks but don’t put on anything more than that.

There’s hardly any time before we have to leave so I dart upstairs to grab my dress. I slip it over my head and the blue silk brushes my skin until the bottom hits the ground. I go back down the stairs again. I’m practically just pacing around our home. I find John in the living area reading a piece of paper. I’m always wondering what he’s reading but the women don’t get to do much around a gentry home.

“Honey, put your shoes on. The carriage will be here any minute now,”  he says with his booming voice which is currently, surprisingly calming. I slide my shoes over my stocking and walk outside. I finally get a breath of fresh air but the carriage arrives before the air can even make it to my stomach. John walks out right on cue and we hop in the car together.

I take my first step on those familiar cobblestone roads once again and I begin walking into the building. I link arms with John as we discuss our plan for the ball itself. He opens the door for me and I walk in, scanning the room. Almost all the women have way fancier dresses than me. They are all wearing at least a pound of makeup just on their faces and their shoes are just way out of the ordinary. I can tell that even by tomorrow my family will no longer be the top of the social status and I know this will not be great for my future family and we will all have to work a lot harder to be at the top but… I could not be more excited for myself.

Seventh Grade Colonial Museum

“A Look at the Colonial World Through the Eyes of….”

Name: Grace Burns

2016-17

Title of Creative Piece: A Good Impression

Tonight I will attend the weekly ball. I have been getting ready for almost an hour now. I look around the big open living room. The soft, slick wooden banister slides through my finger. The sound of my feet echo through out the big empty house. The floors creak under the newly matted rug as I walk through the big arch way and go to sit down. My tight stay prevents me from bending down to fix my dress. My hair is styled up tight and decorated with ribbons and flowers. The sun is beginning to set as it shines through the big window in the front of the room. I live to the side of town, down the street for the milliner’s shop. Tonight the ball will be hosted at the Governor’s palace which is at the end of my street. This ball is particularly important because it is where I met my husband. My two children and Ilive off the the wealth of my husband. He is good friends with the Governor and he has a seat in the house of Burgesses. He buys new clothes for me and my daughters so we can look nice at the weekly balls.

My name is Lydia White. I am a young lady of proper poise and grace. I grew up on the outskirts of town on a plantation. I can remember as a child running off into the field where the slaves worked, then getting yelled to come back into my house. As a child, girls have to be taught to look nice and have proper manners so they can find a wealthy husband to support the families money. Back on the plantation we would host parties and gathering where people from in town would come to dance and enjoy lawn games and sunsets. My father is a very wealthy businessman. He grows tobacco and cotton in our fields and sells them to the London company. With all the money that he made from the tobacco he bought us more slaves and clothes and jewlery. Me and my sister Viola would have tea parties after tutoring my the fields where the slaves worked. We would listen to the slaves sing as we drank tea and gave each other makeovers. The servants looked so pretty in the sparkling sun with mothers old gowns. Their voices synchronized with the speed of their work. Viola and I would sneak our old dresses and shoes to the little kids that worked in the field. We always seemed to feel bad because they never got to drink tea and wear pretty dresses. After all that’s all a woman could ever want.

It was may and my eldest daughter, Maria was eligible to attend her first weekly ball. She had just finished her tutoring a few months ago and was old enough to marry. All our servants were helping her with her hair and her clothes. She descended the staircase in a long silk dress. She sat on the chair across from me. We drank tea as I refreshed her memory of her task at the ball. She was supposed to find a young duke with a job and land. She had to make a good impression on the gentry class and all the young men looking for wives. We met my husband at the door as he helped us out side and down the front steps. We walked down the moon lite road shadowed with trees and lamp posts. Soldiers met us at the Governor’s Palace leading us through the long corridors filled with lights. Chandeliers made of crystals hung from the tall ceilings and reflected on the walls and floor. The music from the ballroom was growing louder and the sound of our shoes walked along the marble floor. Maria, who had been waiting for this ball for years, held her head high as she began to pick up the pace. Big wooden doors stretched all the was up to the ceiling slowly opened. The man on the stage announced our name as we walked in. The music began to play as we made simple conversation with friends. I summoned my daughter over to meet the Dutchess son. He bent over and kissed her hand. “I hope this goes well,” I said to the son’s mother. He lead her into the dance floor, the grand chandelier hanging overhead. She face powder shimmered as the waltzed through the floor. My husband grabbed my hand and lead me into the dance floor. We danced to our favorite songs and tried to get as close Maria as possible. We spun round and round, my hoop allowing my dress to spin out. We danced the night away. Hoping we would be getting a letter from the Dutchess in a few days inviting Maria to meet her son

As I think about myself in this world I wonder did Maria made a good impression on society. Maria leaned over to me and whispered, “why does society matter? Why do we have to wear uncomfortable clothes and impress men?” I hesitated, “Because it’s our job. It’s what we have been preparing for your whole life.” I knew that that wasn’t the real answer. But as a gentry women I must put my best foot forward and acted like I was okay. Hiding my emotion and sitting still looking pretty.