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All,
This is something I just started working
on.
Let me know what you think. Comments are
welcomed.
Later,
Noel"Spirit Rider"Bell
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The FCF Outfit Handbook
By Noel"Spirit Rider"Bell
Frontiersmen Camping Fellowship is a great program.
It allows you to enact, see God's creation and fellowship with
others.
Far to often a new member enters the program and goes to work
on his outfit. To often he will buy something that is not period for
his outfit. Thus The reason for this book. This book Will give you ideas
on the clothing that the FCF time perido covers. From what I have been able
to gather FCF covers a time perido from the founding of Jamestown, VA to the
pre American Civil War.
There is alot to cover so let's get started.
Jamestown
Jamestown Virginia was settled in 1607. Jamestown was the first perment
English settlement in North America.
Jamestown Clothing (from Jamestowne.org website)
Until the lndustrial Revolution, all cloth weaving was by hand.
Likewise, garments were stitched by hand. Consequently, only the very,
very wealthy could boast a press full of the latest styles from Paris,
London, and other capitals. In each of these centers, fashions were created
for the monarch, his family, and members of the court. Such clothing, in
slightly less elaborate forms, trickled down to the aristocracy and to the
gentry. The ordinary yeoman had no hope of imitating anything so grand as
the garments worn by his, "betters". Because all clothing was expensive,
styles of dress did not change from year to year, much less from season to
season. Garments were passed down from one generation to the next. Many
bequests of quite ordinary clothing may be found in the wills of 17c
Virginians.
What of the fashions in the Colony? Between the landing at Jamestowne,
May 13, 1607, until the time of 1704 Rent Rolls, three distinct sets of
styles can be recognized for both men and women.
Phase One
The men's garments of 1607 Jamestowne Island actually pre-date Phase One
of 17c costume and probably are the most familiar. (Women did not come to
Jamestowne until later.) In 1607, the men came ashore in Elizabethan
clothing,the familiar garb worn by courtiers such as Sir Walter Raleigh.
However, it was not long before these Elizabethan fashions were replaced by
what have been labelled, "Jacobean" (after King James I) style, Phase One.
It was a new reign, and fashion for men called for a high standing collar,
baggy trunkhose (baggy, padded, short trousers) laced to long, embroidered
stockings of very bright colors, fitted doublet (upper/torso half of the
outfit), and roses on the shoes to hide the ties.
Phase Two
This is the period of the last English Civil War, the time of the Round
Heads versus the Cavaliers. (Teams from the University of Virginia adopted
the name, "Cavaliers", because Virginia remained loyal to the royal cause
during this civil war.)
Here was a change of fashion indeed. Sometimes referred to as the, "Age of
Leather and Lace", it was a period in which Cavalier and Puritan dress,
"showed which side one was on", during that long and dreadful conflict. As
Virginia remained loyal to the Crown, let's examine the fashions worn by the
wealthier Virginians of the time.
Men of this period wore a falling linen collar edged with lace over a
jerkin or jacket that came down to mid-hip. The sleeves of the jerkin were
full and open-cut showing the sleeve of the shirt, so as not to interfere
with the use of the sword. It should be noted here that during this period,
almost all men carried swords, whether in military or civilian dress.
Swords were simply a necessity. Police protection and, indeed, life itself,
often lay in the strength and skill of one's own arm. A man's clothes had
to be designed with that thought in mind. Trousers narrowed to self bands
just below the knees and over the tops of hose. These bands were held in
place by wide ribbons, usually fringed on the ends, called, "Venetians".
The Cavalier wore a broad brimmed hat with the brim often tacked up on the
left side over an extended plume. This on top of a head of long curls.
Again, all clothing in extremely bright colors. Gloves were gauntlets.
Phase Three
The third and final phase of 17c fashion came with the Restoration of
Charles II to the throne, 1660. Now was the time to dress up, to celebrate,
to attend the theater and entertainments, and to see and be seen. One
wanted to look his/her best. By now, a number of Virginia families were
well into their third generation in America. These people could afford to
send one or more sons to England to university. This meant the planter class
could bring home the latest fashions from London. And so they did. From the
ir portraits, it is impossible to distinguish an Englishman or his lady from
their counterparts in Virginia. As always, there were far more poor
(both in England and in Virginia) than there were the affluent. Consequently
, the ordinary Virginian dressed himself in the styles or cuts of the
well-to-do but certainly not in silks, velvets, and Italian brocade.
Homespun was the fabric worn by most colonists, and a beaver hat from
London, a cloak with a silver clasp, or a silver-handled sword were items
to be passed down to sons and grandsons.
Gentlemen's fashions were nothing short of elegant and showed the great
influence of the French court on the classes in England. The most prominent
feature was the periwig or peruke, a very long, wide-bottomed wig with heavy
curls. The men who wore these wigs cut short their own hair and sometimes
shaved their heads. When not wearing the periwig, the gentleman wore an
elaborate linen house cap. His periwig was kept on a head form on the
dressing table. Wigs had to be sent out often to be rid of nits. Over the
periwig, was worn a large hat, something akin to a tricorn, the brim filled
with plumes. Our gentleman sported a wide lace bow at the neck, a long elabo
-rately embroidered coat that came down almost to the knees, trousers
something like the plus fours or knickers of two generations ago, silk hose
that met the bottoms of the knickers, and mid-heeled shoes with bows at the
tongues. Often the heels, usually wooden and chunky, were a different color
from the rest of the shoe. This dandy's wish was to look good and to stay
well enough to enjoy the good life. Thus, he carried a pomander of spices
and perfumes to ward off offensive odors and/or harmful vapors. It did not
occur to him to bathe very often. Hygiene was a long way off!
