Title: Farmer's Wife's Clothes in the 1800s | Our Everyday Life
Headings: Farmer's Wife's Clothes in the 1800s
Farmer's Wife's Clothes in the 1800s
Dresses
Accessories
Headwear
Undergarments

Content: Farmer's Wife's Clothes in the 1800s | Our Everyday Life
Farmer's Wife's Clothes in the 1800s
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During the 19th century, women were expected to dress and behave according to certain social standards. Though dresses were generally fashioned with high necks, long sleeves and long skirts to maintain a woman’s modesty, the types of dresses worn depended on class. A woman’s wealth was apparent from the clothes she wore, and farmers’ wives generally donned simple dresses practical for the work demanded of them. Dresses
Unlike their urban contemporaries, women in rural areas -- including farmers’ wives -- wore simple dresses made from wool or linen. A white collar was usually the only adornment, over patterns of gingham checks and small flowers known as calico. City ladies, by contrast, predominantly wore paisleys, florals and wide stripes. Moreover, farm wives usually owned just one work dress and one better dress, both of which featured straighter skirts than those worn by upper-class women. These dresses composed a country woman’s wardrobe until they fell apart, at which point they were converted into children’s clothes or household rags. Accessories
Affluent women often accessorized with gloves, jewelry, muffs and parasols, but farmers’ wives wore only cloaks or shawls with their dresses. Cloaks, prominently worn in England, were often red and sometimes had a hood of cloth or wool.