Learn what men, women, and children have worn—and why—in American history, beginning with the classical styles worn in the early American republic through the hoop skirts and ready-made clothes worn before the Civil War. Authors Ann Buermann Wass and Michelle Webb Fandrich provide information on fabrics, materials, and manufacturing; a discussion of levels of society, daily life, and dress; and the types of clothes worn by men, women, and children, including American Indians and enslaved people. The authors have painstakingly researched such primary sources as diaries, letters, and wills of the people of the time, in addition to secondary resources. Just a few of the topics include: • The constant problems of getting fabrics, such as wool, or cotton, in the late eighteenth centuries • The types of clothes that slave men, women, and children were allowed to wear • The beginnings of patterns and the mass production of clothing in the mid nineteenth century. The volume features numerous illustrations, helpful timelines, resource guides recommending websites, videos, and print publications, and extensive glossaries.

This study of clothing during British colonial America examines items worn by the well-to-do as well as the working poor, the enslaved, and Native Americans, reconstructing their wardrobes across social, economic, racial, and geographic boundaries. Clothing through American History: The British Colonial Era presents, in six chapters, a description of all aspects of dress in British colonial America, including the social and historical background of British America, and covering men's, women's, and children's garments. The book shows how dress reflected and evolved with life in British colonial America as primitive settlements gave way to the growth of towns, cities, and manufacturing of the pre-Industrial Revolution. Readers will discover that just as in the present day, what people wore in colonial times represented an immediate, visual form of communication that often conveyed information about the real or intended social, economic, legal, ethnic, and religious status of the wearer. The authors have gleaned invaluable information from a wide breadth of primary source materials for all of the colonies: court documents and colonial legislation; diaries, personal journals, and business ledgers; wills and probate inventories; newspaper advertisements; paintings, prints, and drawings; and surviving authentic clothing worn in the colonies.

Perfect for any reader interested in fashion, history, or popular culture, this text is an essential resource that presents vital information and informed analysis of key fashion fads not found elsewhere. Fashion Fads Through American History: Fitting Clothes into Context explores fashion fads from the 19th century to the current decade, providing the reader with specific insights into each era. The text draws fascinating connections between what we see in fashion phenomena—including apparel, accessories, hair, and makeup—and events in popular culture in general and across history. Written by an art and design historian, the book is ideal for a wide range of student research projects, especially those in American history, social studies, art, and literature classes. It covers topics overlooked by fashion history texts because of their origination outside of the formal fashion system. Each entry provides critical historical context to help readers understand why the fad originated and why it resonated with consumers, and presents vital information and analysis of key fashions that were intimately related to currents in contemporary culture. The text also considers the resurgence of some fashion fads in the late 20th and early 21st centuries and provides context for their relevance.

Ready-Made Democracy explores the history of men's dress in America to consider how capitalism and democracy emerged at the center of American life during the century between the Revolution and the Civil War. Michael Zakim demonstrates how clothing initially attained a significant place in the American political imagination on the eve of Independence. At a time when household production was a popular expression of civic virtue, homespun clothing was widely regarded as a reflection of America's most cherished republican values: simplicity, industriousness, frugality, and independence. By the early nineteenth century, homespun began to disappear from the American material landscape. Exhortations of industry and modesty, however, remained a common fixture of public life. In fact, they found expression in the form of the business suit. Here, Zakim traces the evolution of homespun clothing into its ostensible opposite—the woolen coats, vests, and pantaloons that were "ready-made" for sale and wear across the country. In doing so, he demonstrates how traditional notions of work and property actually helped give birth to the modern industrial order. For Zakim, the history of men's dress in America mirrored this transformation of the nation's social and material landscape: profit-seeking in newly expanded markets, organizing a waged labor system in the city, shopping at "single-prices," and standardizing a business persona. In illuminating the critical links between politics, economics, and fashion in antebellum America, Ready-Made Democracy will prove essential to anyone interested in the history of the United States and in the creation of modern culture in general.

Common Threads: A Cultural History of Clothing in American Catholicism

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, and they accessorized with gloves, hats, parasols, and fans. Men also flaunted plenty of accessories, including neckties, top hats, walking sticks, and pocket watches. Read more about Revolutionary and early 1800s fashions—from pantaloons to silk stockings to tricornered hats—in this fascinating book!

The Politics of Fashion in Eighteenth-Century America

This book discusses American and British military uniforms, the simple clothes of the Americans, and the first American manufactured fabrics.

A collection of photographs from museums, collectors and private dealers that documents five centuries of Native American artistry.

This unique four-volume encyclopedia examines the historical significance of fashion trends, revealing the social and cultural connections of clothing from the precolonial times to the present day. This sweeping overview of fashion and apparel covers several centuries of American history as seen through the lens of the clothes we wear—from the Native American moccasin to Manolo Blahnik's contribution to stiletto heels. Through four detailed volumes, this work delves into what people wore in various periods in our country's past and why—from hand-crafted family garments in the 1600s, to the rough clothing of slaves, to the sophisticated textile designs of the 21st century. More than 100 fashion experts and clothing historians pay tribute to the most notable garments, accessories, and people comprising design and fashion. The four volumes contain more than 800 alphabetical entries, with each volume representing a different era. Content includes fascinating information such as that beginning in 1619 through 1654, every man in Virginia was required to plant a number of mulberry trees to support the silk industry in England; what is known about the clothing of enslaved African Americans; and that there were regulations placed on clothing design during World War II. The set also includes color inserts that better communicate the visual impact of clothing and fashion across eras.