Dress Like a Pilgrim
Around the 400th anniversary
of the voyage of the Mayflower and the founding of Plymouth
Colony we will see many pictures of the Pilgrims. Nearly all of them
wrong! The public image of what the Pilgrim’s wore is based on old
images from the 19th century and
early 20th century that are
historically incorrect.
As James Baker, noted Pilgrim historian, points out in his
recent article in the Mayflower Journal there is a major image
problem associated with what clothing and apparel Pilgrims wore. The
image of black clothing, buckles and blunderbusses persist in the public
mind. To overcome this misperception and to assist in this effort to
change public perceptions, the donning of appropriate garments
representing what the Pilgrims actually wore is an objective for the
commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Mayflower.
So, what did Pilgrim men and women wear?
The short version:
They dressed like everyone else of the
time. They almost never wore black because it was expensive. They didn’t
wear buckles on their shoes or hats. Shoe buckles wouldn’t start being
used for 40 years or more and then only as a fashion statement. A
blunderbuss is equivalent to a sawed off shotgun and was not a weapon
very many people would have. A long range musket was much more useful
for hunting and defense. They did take their muskets to church with
them.
The basic apparel for pilgrim men would have consisted of a
doublet, breeches, shirt, stockings, latchet shoes, and a hat (brimmed,
flat, or a Monmouth cap). A Monmouth cap is very much like a plain
stocking cap or navy watch cap.
Women’s Apparel
The basic apparel for pilgrim women would have consisted of a shift or
chemise, a bodice/waistcoat/jacket, petticoat or shirt, stockings,
latchet shoes, and coif or cap. Women also wore brimmed hats the same as
men.
Fabrics
In 17th Century England and in the Netherlands,
there were two basic fabrics that were used for clothing, wool and
linen. There was combination of wool and linen know has fustian corduroy
that was also used, however finding this fabric today is almost
impossible. Cotton while available was very rare and very expensive in
the early 17th century and would not have been used by the
Pilgrims.
Colors
We know that the Pilgrims wore a variety of colors in
their clothing from probate records where the color of various clothing
items were mentioned including the colors violet, blue, green, yellow,
brown and gray. The color red was also listed. However, the reds that
were used in the early 17th century
were more of a brick red or a matter red which is a little more orange
in nature than modern reds. Black was a difficult color to obtain in the
early 17th century and was
very expensive and thus would have seldom been worn by our Pilgrim
ancestors.
From
https://themayflowersociety.org/history/dress-like-a-pilgrim/
with some edits for IowaMayflower.org
.
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