Title: Women's Clothing Styles During the Revolutionary War | LEAFtv
Headings: Women's Clothing Styles During the Revolutionary War
Women's Clothing Styles During the Revolutionary War
Defining Roles, Adapting to Practicalities
The Basics: Shifts, Stays and Petticoats
Layering: Robes, Gowns and Stomachers
Accessories: Cap and Hat to Hose and Shoes
Clothing as an Expression of Patriotism
References
Writer Bio

Content: For everything except formal wear, the apron -- practical or decorative -- was an essential part of a woman's attire, worn even to church. Accessories: Cap and Hat to Hose and Shoes
Eighteenth-century women wore caps to keep their hair clean, because they rarely washed it. For going out, hairstyles required elaborate coiffures or wigs, sometimes powdered. Hats were worn atop the caps or wigs; between 1784 and 1786 alone, hat styles changed 17 times in Paris -- though with wartime shortages, that likely wasn't the case during the Revolution. Women's shoes were leather for everyday wear, trimmed with metal buckles, laces or "paste" -- costume -- jewels. Heel styles varied from flat to higher, though chunky. Instead of coats, men and women alike wore woolen capes called cloaks, hooded or not, short or long, and tied at the chin. While wealthy women often wore jewels, even a working woman might wear a miniature on a silk necklace.