This woman
wears a correctly shaped cap tied under the chin, a petticoat, jacket,
and apron tied in front. The narrow tape ties are visible at her
waist. The neckerchief is pinned with some type of broach. The
patterns and colors of her clothing are not “matched”.
This rather
homely woman wears a petticoat, striped bed jacket, neckerchief, and
cap. Her petticoat is well mended. She also wears her cap tied
underneath the chin.
Old friends
are hard to part with. The 18th century bed jacket did not
fade into oblivion at the stroke of the clock with the coming of the
19th century. The following illustration was published in
1850, and the garment the woman is wearing would be period correct for
18th century wear, or by changing the name by which the
garment was known from bed jacket to sack or sacque it remains correct
through the 1860’s. The sack was sometimes decorated and trimmed and
worn for traveling or other activity through the 1850’s, but by the
1860’s was evolving into more of a working garment.
This fishwife wears a petticoat,
bed jacket, neckerchief, cap, and shoes while she works. This
illustration dates to the 1830’s.
This painting
shows a woman involved in kitchen work dressed just as the
illustrations above depict. The paintings show colors that the
illustrations do not.
As a general
rule 18th century clothing is easier and quicker to sew
though it should be hand-sewn, and roomier and much more comfortable
to wear. For information on period correct food, please see
http://www.oocities.org/thistledewbooks.
