Posted on 01/16/2011 9:11:15 AM PST by Pharmboy
Revolutionary war fashion show comes to Corsicana
Corsicana Yards and yards of embroidered silk and damask, wool and linen swirled through the Kinsloe House as part of a special 1700s fashion show hosted by the James Blair Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution Wednesday.
The creator of the dresses was Carolyn Schiewe of the Captain Molly Corbin Chapter of the DAR in Grapevine. Schiewe researched the dresses and then sewed them for herself and her friends.
Ladies during the revolutionary war were just as interested in fashion as we are today, Schiewe explained. And although she had assumed the colors would be muted or limited, she was surprised and delighted to find that wasnt true.
They had some dyes were very effective, she said.
Daily Sun photo/Janet Jacobs The Daughters of the American Revolution hosted a 1700s fashion show Wednesday at the Kinsloe House. Shown, left to right,
are Anita Robidou, Jane Doclar, Carolyn Schiewe and Hertha Northcraft of the Captain Molly Corbin Chapter.
Most of the nicer gowns came from England or France, and wealthy women could order their gowns by seeing fashion dolls called moppets that were shipped over with the full dress on them. Others ordered the fabrics and made their own in the colonies, Schiewe said.
Prior to the revolutionary war most fabrics were imported from England or France, although some fine silks came from China and calico from India, she said. People with money in the colonies had access to fine fabrics.
As the war progressed and England took actions to close the ports in Boston, New York and other colonies, fabrics were still a money maker for blockade runners or smugglers.
Cotton wasnt used as much as wool or linen because the gins that made separating out the fibers from the seeds werent common, and it had to be done by hand, which was expensive. Nor did the colonies have any large mills or weaving houses because England didnt want to lose its textile market in the colonies.
Carolyn Schiewe explains the construction and history of the clothes of the 1700s at a fashion show Wednesday at the Kinsloe
House while Anita Robidou models a riding or travelling outfit. Schiewe researched and then sewed all the outfits
In her presentation, Schiewe had her models show off not only the gowns, but also their undergarments, which were also authentic to the period, and the construction of the dresses. Women of that century didnt wear underwear, but only a shift, which was a long undergown that was also their nightwear. However, well-dressed women did wear layers of petticoats and well-to-do women wore corsets which pulled in their waists, sometimes to the detriment of their health. The wide-hipped look was made with bags on either side, and women had pockets accessed through slits in their gowns and below the various petticoats.
Among the beautiful dresses was also a more work-a-day dress that would have been typical of a tradeswoman, Schiewe said.
In showing that gown, Schiewe pointed out that women of that day only bathed every few weeks and didnt launder their clothes as often as modern women do.
They believed the natural oils in the skin protected them from disease, Schiewe said.
Their lacy mob caps were to hide their greasy hair as well as to keep the dust and dirt from collecting in their hair, she added.
Having the Grapevine group come and present in Corsicana was a special treat, according to Geneva Davis, the regent for the Corsicana chapter. Schiewe and her group are taking the educational program all over the state this year, she said.
I was so glad to be able to get them, Davis said. This is a perfect program for us.
Janet Jacobs may be reached via e-mail at jacobs@corsicanadailysun.com. Want to sound off to this article? E-mail: Soundoff@corsicanadailysun.com
My grandmother wore clothes similar to those.
I love the dresses... I love anything that covers the extra 20 lbs I’m carrying. But no underwear, and then not bathing for 2-3 weeks?(shudder)
The RevWar/Colonial History/General Washington ping list...
Freepmail me to get on or off this low-volume list
I like attire like that.
Much easier to remove.
Interesting... Thanks for posting this and please add me to your ping list.
Can you imagine our colonials seeing her?? What might have startled them more—blue bikini gal or a Ford F-150?
Third from the left, "Does this make my rear look big?"
Thanks for posting this interesting article. It’s a wonder the population didn’t die out with the hygiene habits common back then. Indoor plumbing, Thomas Crapper’s inventions and the modern waterworks and sewage works have done wonders for hygiene and public health.
Kudos to Ms. Carolyn Schiewe for personally researching and hand-making these beautiful dresses. What a labor of love! She must be a wonderful lady.
I would guess the women folk would have been shocked to see her in all that water since they didn't bathe very often.
Thanks for posting this!
I love the beautiful fabrics.
The creativeness of women sewing their clothes in days gone by never ceases to amaze.
I’ve looked and looked and looked. I just can’t see the Ford F-150 in that photo.
Please put me on your ping list! I’ve always loved history, but until the last couple of years, never fully appreciated this era.
Watched the first two episodes of ‘John Adams’ last night on DVD (again)...if you can make it through those two episodes alone and not feel proud to be an American, then you need to pack up and get the h*** out of here!
The styles of the past were a lot more flattering to people than today’s styles. I find especially that the dresses of the nineteenth century were flattering to older and/or heavier ladies. Even a rather heavy woman looks grand and dignified in a long, waisted dress with a moderate hoop or a corded petticoat, as opposed to the shorts and tank tops that let all the flab, cellulite, leg hair, and varicose veins hang on. Rarely attractive on anyone over forty.
“No. Your rear end makes your rear end look big.”.
No underwear inspired the earlier Tudor dance, “The Volt” (shown here in the trailer for Disney’s 1953 “The Sword and the Rose”):
http://disneymoviesonline.go.com/movies/the-sword-and-the-rose-750000000130/
Both of my daughters wish we still dressed that way ~ and they’re 24 years old. They love the way ladies dressed then.
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