A month or two ago I was in the midst of a Pinterest research trip, when one of the blogs I was reading mentioned a book I hadn't encountered in my research before: "Put on Thy Beautiful Garments" by Merideth Wright. I did a bit more digging (with the intention of adding it to my Christmas list), and found an old library copy for less than $10! So I went ahead and ordered it. Unfortunately, I mixed up my shipping and billing addresses, so it got sent to my house instead of my dorm, and I had to wait a long time before I actually saw it.
There seem to be two versions of the book - one published in January of 1990 by Clothes Press with the title "Put on Thy Beautiful Garments: Rural New England Clothing 1783-1800" and the other published by Dover Publications in December of 1992 with the title "Everyday Dress of Rural America 1783-1800: With Instructions and Patterns." Both have the same cover illustration (done by Nancy Rexford), but I am unsure of the content differences between the two. So to keep from confusing anyone, including myself, I am reviewing the one from 1990, "Put on Thy Beautiful Garments."
The book is divided into five sections. Part 1, “What People Wore,” goes into some background, providing general information, research, and instructions for using the book to make the clothes it contains. Part 2 is “The Individual Garments,” and it looks at each article of clothing individually and discusses who would wear it when, fabric choices, and construction, as well as providing simple, scaled down patterns. It is divided into “Women’s Clothing” and “Men’s Clothing.” Part 3 goes more in detail about fabric and gives instructions on hand sewing techniques. Part 4 is a collection of places you can buy patterns, fabric, and notions, as well as places you can look for more historical information. Part 5 is a very thorough bibliography.
I found the book to be incredibly educational, particularly the section on period-appropriate sewing techniques. Also interesting was the inclusion of clothing worn by the Western Abenaki people! While it doesn’t give instructions or patterns for their clothes, it does talk in depth about what they wore, what it was made of, how it was worn, and how trading with the settlers impacted their wardrobes. I’m actually very glad it doesn’t include instructions on making their clothing, as that would feel appropriative. “It’s a culture, not a costume,” after all.
Having been published in the very early 90s, some parts are a bit dated. For example, in the section on women’s stays, it talks about using cardboard or roller blinds as boning. It makes me very glad that synthetic whalebone exists now, and that the internet makes it widely accessible. Also dating things a bit is the resource section - it talks bout mail ordering and ordering from catalogs. I haven’t had a chance to look into all of the resources listed yet (maybe keep an eye out for a follow-up post?), so I’m not sure if that section is terribly useful.
The patterns start at the innermost layer and work their way out. The women’s section starts with a shift, then stays, pockets and petticoats, three types of gowns (open and round gowns, shortgowns, and chemise gowns), a neckerchief, and an apron, followed by a bit on hair and headwear. The men’s section is arranged similarly, starting with the shirt, then the cravat, breeches, waistcoat, coat, and frock, followed by a hair and headwear section. There are also short sections on stockings and shoes. Patterns or drafting instructions are given for everything except the headwear. The patterns are drawn on grids where each square is an inch, allowing easy drafting and sizing. Instructions are straightforward, often referencing what type of stitch or finish would be used.
I can’t think of anything that disappoints me about this book, honestly. I’m thrilled about the section about sewing techniques and I can’t wait to dig into the Resources and Bibliographies to see what gems are still accessible!
With any luck, I’ll be back before Christmas with a follow-up post!
Stay warm, stay safe, stay dry.
Alex