Petticoats and Frock Coats: Revolution and Victorian-Age Fashions from the 1770s to 1860s (Dressing a Nation: The History of U.S. Fashion)

What would you have worn if you lived during the American Revolution or the early 1800s? It depends on who you were:

* Women wore layers and layers of undergarments, including corsets, chemises, and petticoats.
* Wealthy women followed fashion trends from Europe. One daring dress was the Empire-style gown, which featured a high waist, a low neckline, bare arms, and clinging fabric.
* Men of wealth wore powdered wigs in the Revolutionary era.
* Men flaunted plenty of accessories, including neckties, top hats, walking sticks, and pocket watches. Women accessorized with gloves, hats, parasols, and fans.
* Most farmers made do with only one or two outfits. Farm women spun yarn, wove fabric, and sewed clothing for the whole family.
* At the start of the Revolutionary War, American soldiers wore their ordinary clothes into battle. Uniforms showed up later.
* On southern plantations, some house slaves dressed in stylish dapper uniforms. But field slaves wore coarse, sacklike garments.
* Very young boys and girls dressed alike--in short-sleeved cotton dresses. After age four, boys switched to knee-length pants.

Read more about Revolutionary and early 1800s fashions--from pantaloons to silk stockings to tricornered hats--in this fascinating book!