Getting Dressed in 18th Century Working Class Women’s Clothing

Despite was TV shows and movies would have you believe, the clothing of working class women in the 18th century was full of color and variety! People of the past cared about how they looked and did their best to keep up with changing fashions, even with limited means. This video provides a look at the typical clothing of a working class woman in the 1770s. The basic layers are a linen shift, cap, stockings, garters, shoes, under-petticoat, stays, and petticoat. Over this can be worn a bedgown, jacket, or gown, accessorized with a kerchief and apron. I get a lot of questions about the patterns that I use for my historical clothing, but most of the time I don’t use commercial patterns, especially for 18th century clothing! However, Burnley and Trowbridge sells many great patterns for 18th century clothing and they have a number of tutorials on their YouTube channel. Most of the linen for my clothes as well as all of the materials for my stays and the reproduction kerchief came from there!