Dress as a Colonial woman

• 1
  A Shift
  
  All women started to dress with a shift, shaped similarly to a plain long nightgown. It was usually made of cotton or linen. This shift was their nightdress, and it stayed on through the day as well. Long socks (of linen or silk depending on your status) were next.
  
  
• 2). The next item sounds uncomfortable. All women, except field workers, wore stays to shape their torso and push up their breasts. A century later stays morphed into corsets. A pocket, something like an apron, was tied on top of that. Smart travelers now have a passport and money pouch around their waist and under their clothing. The pocket was roughly the size of a medium-size paper grocery bag and that would hold keys, money and whatever. After that came a long cotton or linen under petticoat.
  
  
• 3
  
  
  All women wore some fabric over their hair. Those of African descent tied a fabric hair covering as shown in the picture. Each woman would have a unique way of doing this. Women of European descent wore a fabric cap of linen or lace like a 1940s baby bonnet without the rim.
  
  
• 4). The next garment is a petticoat. Again depending on status and budget, this could be linen, wool or silk. The women who had larger clothing budgets had fancier petticoats, kerchiefs and dresses. Over the petticoat you put on a "short gown." This is like a really long, long-sleeved blouse that buttons or fastens in the front and hangs down to mid-thigh. It is usually a contrasting color to the petticoat. A kerchief, about the size of a square yard, went around the neck. It would be folded into a large triangle and worn as a shawl. An apron was then tied around the waist, hanging down to mid-calf or a little lower. More worker class women would have a linen apron, and the higher status women would have a lace apron.
  
  
• 5). Women's shoes also indicated their status. Working women wore leather tie-up shoes, and higher-income women wore cloth-covered shoes. Working women wore straw hats, and richer women wore fabric hats with embroidery. Slave women often did not have hats.
  
  

Dressing as a Man

• 1). Men started in a bed shirt, that came to just above the knees. Men wore linen or silk stockings that were knee-high and held up with garters.
  
  
• 2). Most men wore breeches, or pants we might call knickers, that buttoned just below the knee. Field hands might wear more serviceable long pants. Breeches could be made of wool, linen, leather or silk and satin. Next came a waistcoat, which often fell over the hips and usually did not have sleeves. Waistcoats could also be durable fabric or finely embroidered silks. Like women, men wore a neck cloth. For wealthier men, it would be silk and wrap around the neck a few times, giving something of the appearance of a modern turtleneck. Working farmers would wear a kerchief, somthing, maybe knotted in the front.
  
  
• 3). The frock or topcoat was worn over the waistcoat, and its style and fabric would indicate the type of social standing and work the man had. The frock would keep the clothes underneath clean and also help keep the man warm. Shoes were made by the cobbler and had buckles as an ornament.
  
  
• 4). Men wore their version of the pocket, a haversack, on the outside of their frock, where they could get at it handily. It might carry lunch, a drinking cup, a piece of silverware and tools the man might use during the day.
  
  
• 5). A farmer would wear a straw hat and those of higher rank would wear cocked or three-corner hats.