© Duane A. Cline 1999
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Clothing of the Pilgrims Each fall at Thanksgiving time we are reminded of the misconceptions the general public has concerning the appearance of
the Pilgrims, who are generally represented as somber, straight-laced Puritans in black or gray with exceedingly large white
collars and cuffs. The major problem has arisen from the fact that very few historic examples of Pilgrim dress are available
from art works of the period. Ever so slowly a change in this impression is beginning to be noticed--due in the main to the
influence of the Society of Mayflower Descendants and Plimoth Plantation. Pilgrim Apparel How do we know what the Pilgrims actually wore? The Pilgrims were certainly knowledgeable of fabrics and clothing
construction. In looking at the occupations of the Pilgrims we find that Isaac Allerton and James Chilton were tailors,
William Bradford was a fustian-maker, Edward Tilley was a cloth-maker, John Tilley was a silk worker, Francis Cooke and
William White were wool combers or carders, and Digory Priest had been a hatter in London. In addition to those
clothing-related trades we know that William Mullins was a boot and shoe merchant, and Thomas Rogers was a camlet
merchant. Other merchants who may have dealt in similar goods were John Carver, John Turner and Richard Warren. Sources of Information Few items actually worn by the Pilgrims still exist. Everyday clothing such as shirts, breeches, stockings, underwear and
nightshirts were worn out and went into the rag bag just as our own clothing does today. However, several items such as
gowns, doublets, shirts and shoes worn by people in England during the same period do exist in museum collections. By
studying them, costumers and historians have a detailed look at garment styles, materials and colors. Many of the Pilgrims and other colonists were considered "common folk," and are rarely depicted in paintings of the period.
However, high-fashion trends trickled down to the masses. So historians can get a fairly accurate picture of Pilgrim dress by
imagining how the high-fashion trends might have been simplified with fewer special accents and made of simpler materials. Written documents found in tailors' manuals of that period in England tell the proportions and finishing details for jackets,
shirts, skirts and dresses. Beyond that we have numerous Pilgrim wills and inventories which name many articles of apparel,
their materials and colors. Brewster left his son "one blew clothe suit, green drawers, a violet clothe coat, black silk stockings and skyblew garters."
Bradford had "a Turkey red grograin suit, red waistcoat, tawny colored suit with silver buttons, a violet cloak of velvet lined
with taffeta." Mrs. Winslow wore a pointed, narrow, lace-trimmed slipper. Rose Standish had an embroidered cap.
Constance Hopkins had a felted beaver hat. Other inventories mention such things as "three red, quilted-and-lace caps,"
and "violet and green waistcoats." Sources of Patterns Unfortunately, the modern pattern books do not carry patterns for Pilgrim dress. The patterns closest in style to Pilgrim
apparel are the patterns which have appeared in pattern books from time to time for women's centennial dresses and colonial
costumes for men. Those, however, are of a later period and are not suitable. Costumers for the theater and re-enactors
(such as those at Plimoth Plantation), have evolved their own patterns from many of the sources mentioned above. A
number of the patterns they use have been taken directly from authentic articles of clothing in museums. Unfortunately,
these patterns are not available to the general public. The best thing to do is to examine sketches such as those accompanying this article, photographs of interpreters at Plimoth
Plantation, or such reliable sources as authentic paintings and drawings from the period, then search the pattern books for
garments which might be adapted. There might be a fitted jacket in one and a blouse or full skirt in others. Hopefully, there
will come a time when Pilgrim patterns can be made available to members of the Society. Women The woman's basic garments consisted of underpants, stockings, petticoat, chemise, bolster, bodice, skirt, apron, coif, outer
gown and shoes. The chemise (or underblouse) rarely showed except at the neck, sleeves and wrist. The bodice (with or without sleeves)
corresponded to the man's doublet and was occasionally of a material different from that of the skirt. The bodice was
generally pointed in front, though it might follow the natural waistline. In either case, it would most likely have a short skirt
or tabs along the lower edge. Ordinary women generally wore dresses with a bodice and skirt of the same material, though
the sleeves might be of a different material. According to their tastes and abilities, they tried to emulate the court fashion of
long, tight waists. The neckline might be cut low in front, but was filled in by the chemise which was worn under it. Sleeves
on the whole resembled those of the men and were no larger than the modern coat-sleeve. Turnback cuffs and wrist-ruffs
were very popular. The overall silhouette of the woman's dress was shaped by wearing a huge padded roll (or "bolster"), which was tied around
the hips under an immensely gathered skirt. Occasionally, the full, gathered skirt was left open down the front, exposing a
heavy petticoat made of a contrasting fabric and color. The petticoat could be plain or quilted or embroidered for
decorative effect. At the neck, the woman might wear a ruff or falling band fastened with a brooch or tied with strings into a bow. However,
the small collar of the chemise might be the only thing showing at the neck when wearing a bodice with sleeves and a high
neckline. Shoes for women followed the general styles worn by men, being low-heeled and round-toed. However, fashionable women
owned shoes made of rich silk or brocaded cloth, as witness Mrs. Winslow's wedding slippers. When heels were introduced,
women took to them eagerly as a means of increasing their height. As an outer garment, the women commonly wore capes, although outer gowns or coats were often worn. The woman's
coat or gown might be cut with a fitted top or fashioned to hang loosely in back from stitched pleats on a yoke. The woman's hair was parted in the center and pulled back to puffs at the sides unless a coif (or cap) were to be worn, at
which time the hair was tucked neatly under the coif all around. For the most part, hats for women were copies of the men's
hats. Women often wore a long, wide apron, which might nearly conceal the skirt of her gown. At times they drew up a corner of
the apron and tucked it under the belt, creating a drape in front. Fastened to her belt, the woman carried her "pocket," a
small cloth draw-string bag which might be heavily embroidered. If she were working in the garden or sewing, she might
also have a small knife or a pair of scissors suspended from the belt by strings or ribbons. Men The man's clothing consisted of underpants, stockings, shirt, breeches, waistcoat, doublet, cape or coat, cap or hat and boots
or shoes. The man's shirt was a full blouse with full sleeves gathered into armseye and cuffs, much like the peasant shirt of today.
Shirts were, as Stubbes wrote in 1583, "either of cambric, holland, lawn, or else the finest cloth that can be got. And these
kind of shirts everyone doth now wear alike...wrought throughout with needlework of silk, and such like, and curiously
stitched with open seam, and many other knackes beside. Shirts...cost...ten...twenty...forty shillings, some five pounds,
some twenty nobles...and some ten pounds apiece." Worn under a waistcoat without sleeves, the shirt was seen at the collar
and sleeve. The presence of the shirt worn under a doublet with sleeves was only revealed by the collar and cuffs, or when
the doublet or waistcoat were removed during work. Over the shirt, a man wore a waistcoat which was a short jacket with or without sleeves. Over the waistcoat went the
doublet, which was a jacket with a standing neck band similar to the Nehru collar of more recent times. The doublet might
also be collarless, generally opening at the front and fastened with a row of closely spaced buttons. The armseye seam was
generally covered by a crescent shaped roll, wings or tabs. The waistline came to just above the hips and was usually
pointed in front. The doublet generally had a short skirt or tabs along its lower edge. Doublet sleeves for the common folk
were not much larger than those of the modern coat-sleeve, and were often detachable. The sleeves were sometimes made
of a material different from the body. When detachable, the sleeves were held in place by lacing them into the armseyes
under the shoulder crescents. Military men such as Myles Standish and the militia might wear buff coats made of leather
(with or without sleeves). The breeches were usually full, baggy, knee-length Dutch "slops." The material was gathered at the waistband and at knee
bands. On occasion the wide legs of the breeches were gathered below the knee by means of a drawstring or ribbon, and a
neat bow was fashioned on the outer side below the knee. The stockings were long woolen or cotton stockings for the
common folk, though they were sometimes of silk for special occasions. Popular footwear for men in the northern countries was either high-topped boots with turnovers or low-heeled, round-toed
shoes. The shoes came well over the instep and were generally secured by a thong or ribbon. There were no shoe buckles
during this period. The same was true of hat buckles. They did not come into fashion until much later in the 17th century. During cold or rainy weather, the men wore either capes or loose-fitting overcoats. Capes (both long and short) remained
the most popular outer garment at the beginning of the 17th century. The capes might have collars or a cowl, but often they
were collarless, especially when worn with a ruff or falling band. The overcoat was likely to have crescents or wings over
the seam of the armseye, just as the waistcoat and doublet. Men did not generally part their hair, but swept it back. The headgear for men showed a great variation. Some men wore
the soft flat cap, the knitted Monmouth cap, or large straw or felt hats with medium-sized crowns (flat, round or indented)
with a wide brim, which might be turned up at the front, back or side. For the common men and apprentices the flat cap was
most common. The cap was either knitted or cut from sturdy woolen fabric and stitched together. For the higher class
citizen, an elegant hat of silk was made over a wire frame and decorated with braid, cords and tassels, etc. Neckwear The ruff, which had been such a distinguishing neck wear for both men and women during Elizabeth's time, was in the
process of being replaced by the "falling band." However, during the early years of the 17th century, both ruffs and falling
bands were being worn by both sexes. The falling band was a gathered collar which evolved when the ruffs were not
starched and allowed to fall softly on the shoulders.
Accessories Belts were almost always worn by both sexes. Since the 17th-century garments seldom had pockets, both men and women
used the belts as a place to tuck gloves, a soft hand-purse, or a letter. They might also suspend gathered bag-purses, knives,
scissors or other articles from the belt. Gloves for both sexes had gauntlet cuffs, which were sometimes stiff with embroidery. Decoration Braid or lace "guarded" (or covered) all of the important seams of a tight-fitting doublet or bodice, and edged neck bands,
shoulder crescents or tabs, as well as the doublet or bodice skirt. The English had been famous for their needlework since
the 10th century.
Children The children's dress of the day did not differ greatly from the adult fashions. Colors Although the men occasionally wore black or gray on days of worship, the everyday dress was greatly influenced by the
colorful clothing of the Dutch of that period, employing colors such as red, brown, blue, green, yellow and purple. Many of
the colors may have been muted in intensity because most of the colors used in that day were those which could be obtained
through the use of vegetable dyes from various plants, leaves, berries, barks and nutshells, or occasionally from the roots of
certain plants. Yellow could be obtained from the leaves and stems of the weld plant. A bright orange could be achieved by
using saffron. Red could be extracted from the roots of the madder plant, and a rich blue was the result of using the leaves
of woad. Brown and black dyes could be obtained from the bark of the alder tree, while tans and browns could be obtained
from the bark of the oak tree. When the historic records speak of such colors as "sad red," they indicate a deep, dull red.
Generally, the colors were not as brilliant in hue as those used in the clothing of today. Materials In contrast to the synthetic materials produced in our own time, the clothing of the Pilgrims was made entirely from natural
materials such as wool, linen, silk, cotton and leather. Although this list of potential fabrics may seem limited at first glance,
there was a wide variety in fibers, weaves and textures to consider when selecting material for clothing. Some of the fabrics
mentioned in literature are: Bombast, a twilled fabric of cotton and linen. Bombazine, a twilled dress fabric having a silk or cotton warp and a worsted filling. Bristow frieze, a coarse woolen cloth with a nap on one side only, which was made near Bristol. Broad cloth, a fine, plain-woven, double-width black cloth used mostly in men's clothing. Calicut cloth, a cotton cloth from Calicut on the Malibar coast, later called calico. Cambric, a fine, thin, white fabric made of linen; or, a closely woven cotton fabric used as a substitute for linen cambric. Camlet (or, Chamlet), originally a costly eastern fabric of satin weave made of camel's hair or Angora, but later a substitute woven in various combinations of wool, silk and hair. Crasko (or, Crash), a coarse linen used for towels. Cypress, a kind of satin originally brought from Cyprus and used for hat bands. Frisado, a silk plush. Fustian (sometimes called bombast), a cotton and linen cloth with a twill weave, similar to light weight canvas. (Later, the term was used for corduroy or velveteen.) Grograin, a coarse silk fabric, sometimes woven as a mixture of mohair and wool, stiffened with gum. Holland, originally a fine, plain linen of brownish color (unbleached linen) named for the country where it was first made. Kersey, a kind of coarse, narrow cloth woven from long wool and usually ribbed. Lawn, a fine, sheer, plain-woven linen or cotton fabric, thinner than cambric, used for dresses, handkerchiefs, and the like. Linsey-woolsey, a coarse cloth made of linen and wool (or cotton and wool), originating in Lindsey, a village in Suffolk, England. Pintado, a kind of eastern chintz. Padusoy, a rich and heavy corded silk material. Say, a twilled worsted fabric similar to serge, which was used for suits, coats, doublets and gowns. When woven in silk, it was used for lining capes and coats. Serge, a twilled worsted fabric used for doublets, breeches, capes, and gowns.
In time, the falling band was simply a long strip of cloth which was
gathered or pleated onto a neck band and tied in place with a cord. As with the ruff, the falling band was usually edged with
lace. As noted earlier, the only collar seen might be the simple collar of a chemise for women, or a shirt for men. A chemise
or shirt for special occasions might bear a lace edging, or a bit of needlework.
After the Reformation, embroidery became a major decoration in wearing apparel. Some articles such as
coifs, night caps and purses might well have had an all-over embroidery with floral patterns being the favorite motif. Even
the common folks must have braiding, and at least a modest amount of needlework.
Last modified October 7, 1999
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