|
1700s FASHION Scratchy wool is the first thing that comes to mind and, yes; it was plentiful in the 1730’s. The fabrics of that era also included cotton, linen and silk woven into brocade, taffeta, satin and velvet. The upper class believed that fabrics that shimmered made them look more dignified. Colours of the 18th century came from natural vegetable dyes. People of property wore light pastel hues. Paintings show men’s coats in green damask, yellow brocade, pink silk with a white pattern and cream silk with a small all-over pattern in fawns and browns. It was important for men, women and children of the nobility to maintain a stylish appearance. French fashion, like food, was widely copied throughout Europe. We can assume the people of means at Three Rivers, as at Louisbourg, adopted the same style that was in fashion in France, only a few years later.. In correspondence with France in 1741, Jean Pierre Roma, one of the Island’s first merchant pioneers, asks for a bale of drygoods from France. |
|
At Fête Roma each September four Monsieurs will dress as the elite of Three Rivers in the 1730’s. The appearance of Jean Pierre Roma, Commander of Three Rivers, will show that he clearly is the privileged leader and developer of this business community. Roma, will be in a knee-length, collarless blue velvet dress coat, called a justaucorps. The broad turned-back cuffs on the sleeves, the ornamentation at the front edge of the coat and the sleeves and the flowing side pleats mark the well-to-do man. In this era costly accessories accented the finely stitched hand tailored garments. Gold and silver trimming, braid and embroidery were common. It must have taken a lot of time for the servants to dress the leisure class. The next part of this suit was a waistcoat, cut a little shorter than the dress coat and it did not have the pleats. It was made tighter, and it was buttoned either altogether or from the waist upward. This vest developed out of a short doublet or jacket of the 1670’s. Called la veste, it now reached almost to the knees and was tight round the chest. It too had a slit at the back. |
|
But most were not the business elite. The working people wore the same basic garments year in and year out. The working man’s shirt (chemise) was cut from coarse textured natural linen or hemp. The square shirt was cut from thirty-inch wide cloth using every scrap of fabric. It too was hand sewn and shaped for ease of movement with gussets. Fishing was the main business and cod the main catch. The fisherman’s trousers or culotte, were made of rugged, striped, hand-woven fabric and were cut in a straight-leg style. Their loose fitting wool vest, toque and thick hand-knit socks were practical. While shoes were made to order in the 18th century, wooden shoes kept the fisherman’s feet drier than leather boots. Tarred canvas sleeves and an apron, sometimes made from leather, protected them when handling fish. Women’s clothing was modestly multi-layered even the hottest weather. The underneath layer for women of all classes was a simple ankle-length linen shift. Over the shift, the working women (servants and seamstresses) at Three Rivers wore an underskirt with panels of fabric gathered into a band at the waist. The skirt or petticoat had panels of coarse wool, again gathered at the waist. It is likely that the women of Three Rivers worked as hard as the men. The cloth in their dresses would be hand woven, probably in France, from coarse fibers, linen or wool and dark-coloured. The most dominant feature of their attire was a very full apron worn to protect the rest and a linen cap covered the head.
Written by Joan Perrin, September 2004.
|
|
ROMA at THREE RIVERS PEI 1700s Fashion |
|
Underneath the suit a gentleman wore a fine linen shirt, bleached white. The baggy sleeves protruded below the coat sleeves. The valet would fasten a broad lace cuff to the wrist with coloured ribbon. For trousers the men wore knee-breeches, called the culotte with the band at the knees showing below the waistcoat. This culotte of the 1700’s was a major fashion change replacing very wide baggy pantaloons of 1650’s. These upper class people had the constant attention of servants who would complete the man’s attire with wooly or cotton knee length socks and black boots with a large buckle. A band of linen called a neckstock was worn around the neck. While men were clean-shaven by a servant, personal cleanliness was not a priority in the 18th century. This may be why upper-class men were powdered and perfumed. Make–up or “painted faces” for both men and women was in fashion, perhaps to hide the marks from smallpox and other diseases. |
|
Photos by Ken Perry |