Petticoats and Frock Coats: Revolution and Victorian-Age Fashions from the 1770s to the 1860s (Dressing a Nation: The History of U.S. Fashion)

What would you have worn if you lived during the American Revolution or the early 1800s? It depends on who you were! Women wore layers and layers of undergarments, including corsets, chemises, and petticoats, and they accessorized with gloves, hats, parasols, and fans. Men also flaunted plenty of accessories, including neckties, top hats, walking sticks, and pocket watches. Read more about Revolutionary and early 1800s fashions―from pantaloons to silk stockings to tricornered hats―in this fascinating book! What would you have worn if you lived during the American Revolution or the early 1800s? It depends on who you were: -Women wore layers and layers of undergarments, including corsets, chemises, and petticoats. -Wealthy women followed fashion trends from Europe. One daring dress was the Empire-style gown, which featured a high waist, a low neckline, bare arms, and clinging fabric. -Men of wealth wore powdered wigs in the Revolutionary era. -Men flaunted plenty of accessories, including neckties, top hats, walking sticks, and pocket watches. Women accessorized with gloves, hats, parasols, and fans. -Most farmers made do with only one or two outfits. Farm women spun yarn, wove fabric, and sewed clothing for the whole family. -At the start of the Revolutionary War, American soldiers wore their ordinary clothes into battle. Uniforms showed up later. -On southern plantation, some house slaves dressed in stylish dapper uniforms. But field slaves wore coarse, sacklike garments. -Very young boys and girls dressed alike--in short-sleeved cotton dresses. After age four, boys switched to knee length pants. Read more about Revolutionary and early 1800s fashions--from pantaloons to silk stockings to tricornered hats--in this fascinating book! Cover Title Page Copyright Info Contents Chapter One New Nation, New Clothes Chapter Two Fashionable Ladies Chapter Three Fine Gentlemen Chapter Four Who Made The Clothes? Chapter Five Hidden And For Show Chapter Six Style Setters Epilogue Timeline Glossary Source Notes Selected Bibliography Further Reading, Websites, And Films Index About The Author/Photo Acknowledgments Back Cover This look at the different modes of dress in America from the 1770s to the 1860s examines the clothing and accessories of the common people and soldiers, as well as the men and women of the upper and middle classes Photographs and text examine the fashion trends of the American people from the 1770s to the 1860s, describing the materials used to make men's and women's clothing and the styles that were commonly worn Preface : new nation, new clothes Fashionable ladies Fine gentlemen What to wear to work Hidden and for show Style setters Epilogue : end of an era/on the brink of war.