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 wasn’t 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 wasn’t used as much as wool or linen because the gins that made separating out the fibers from the seeds weren’t 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 didn’t 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 didn’t 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 didn’t 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.”
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Janet Jacobs may be reached via e-mail at jacobs@corsicanadailysun.com. Want to “sound off” to this article? E-mail: Soundoff@corsicanadailysun.com
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I refuse to believe my g,g,g,g,g,g,g,g,great granny was a stanker. Bathing only every few weeks? If that were true, I doubt I would be here. I’m sure they did the equivalent of sponge baths. I know they made their own soaps back then, and as hard as that effort was, I think they took being clean seriously. Remember, back in those days many believed, “Cleanliness was next to godlinees.” I did like hearing about the no underwear.:^)
They’re beautiful but wow- No thanks.
Can you imagine the washing and ironing nightmare?
Good model clothing for Tea Partiers!
The woman’s name, Schiewe, sounds like it would be pronounced Shuey which is an ancestral name in my husband’s family.
If my DAR chapter did this sort of thing I’d be in there in a heartbeat. We have three Revolutionary War ancestors in my mom’s family.
Thanks for posting - it’s a fascinating article!
Last year I went to a local dressmaker of period outfits. She was not that familiar with the 1776 time period as most dresses she made were for the 1860’s period. But, she did research and we met to discuss options. Then she went looking for material (which turned out to be a little harder than expected.) I made a choice from the material, she took measurements and a month later I went for a fitting.
She really makes things authentic: hooks and eyes, the slits in the skirt that was open, no elastic in wast but a draw string, etc. Anyway, I didn’t think the hook and eyes could be closed! Had inches separating them. But, she assured me that’s how it was done. Sucked it in and she DID close the hooks.
This was to be a dress for the 4th of July parade. Wore it for the parade and then returned to dressmaker to fix some problems. Many, many compliments on the dress and straw bonnet I purchased from online.
Lavender’s Green is the website of the dressmaker in town. Pretty sure she does NOT share my political views and why I wanted the dress. But, check it out. Haven’t worn the dress again, but look forward to another occasion.
I wonder if the adults weren’t more resistant to germs once they survived childhood - people certainly didn’t die of cancer back then.
My great-great-great grandmother wrote down the names of the 14 children she had from 1825-1845, only four of whom survived past age eight. Even my great-great grandfather barely made it as he was a very sickly child. I’m lucky to be here!
I have a letter from ggg-grandma to gg-grandpa asking him if he was still a Republican. We have deep roots in the US.
I want Mrs. Schiewe’s dress!
Your home page made me laugh.
Once you download it to RealPlayer, there is an option to convert the video to .wmv (Windows Media Video). RealPlayer video uses .flv (Flash Video) and so cannot be played on Windows unless you convert it to some Windows compatible format such as .wmv, .avi or .divx
What does WbtS stand for?
My step-daughter is in the United Daughters of the Confederacy as is her mother, and getting involved in enactments. I like the costumes myself but I don’t know if I have the time and energy to hand-sew costumes like that.
Those dresses look like evening wear - I think women’s day dresses weren’t so low cut, didn’t have as much detail and were made from wool or linen - more like the travelling dress shown in the second photo.
War between the States.
The dress second from left is day wear for a middle class lady.
... make that, cannot be played on the standard Windows Media player that comes with Windows.
Yes, thanks for posting this. I’ve never seen it.
You’re welcome, “2sheds”.
Monty Python fan eh?
So am I.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=monty+python+2+sheds&aq=0
This is one of my favorite subjects. My sister was just telling me last night that she would love to have WbtS era clothing - but where would we wear them? Reenactments, I guess, and/or costume conventions.
Nice story! How nice to have a letter from gggg-ma! I’ve got my grandpa’s memoirs and and that’s it. But they are very exciting — he was a German POW in Russia in WW I.
Watch the John Adams TV show. Toward the end, his adult daughter gets breast cancer and the doctors do all they can do — which is hardly anything. Very chilling episode.
I haven’t updated that in sooooo long, I better see how out-of-date it is! Especially since we are moving again in the next 4 months ;)
I guess I updated it sometime late last year, because the kids’ ages are correct, and the youngest turned 3 in late September. I threw in a little blurb about moving later this spring for good measure.
You can use this site to download each episode in .flv (flash video) format:
All you have to do is copy the URL of the video onto that site and it will do the download for you.
Once you have the full file, use this to play it:
Stay away from RealPlayer, it is spyware.
Thanks, but I’ll stick with RealPlayer. It is a widely popular program. One of the best known media programs out there. I’ve never heard of the two you mentioned. Not that that means they are untrustworthy. I just see no reason for switching at this point. Thanks again, though.
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