Wigs in Colonial Williamsburg

Wigs became a large trend for men during the 18th century. Most think that the wigs that were worn were really large and tall but during the end of the century the size of the wigs had decreased. Wigs were largely worn by tradesmen, clergy, military, merchants and ship captains. In Virginia only 5% of the population could afford wigs, so along with looking fashionable wearers were also declaring their wealth. Also, certain wig styles tended to be associated with certain jobs. They could be made of human, horse, yak or goat hair. Which ever one it was determined on preference and how much money someone had. Towards the beginning of the 19th century they became much less common amid the younger men and the only people left wearing them were mainly conservatives. Edward Charlton was one of the most important wigmakers in Virginia during the 18th century. He made wigs for Thomas Jefferson, George Wythe and Patrick Henry. Edward Charlton’s shop size is unknown but it is thought to be no larger than one room. He had 4 apprentices which was normal for a master barber so that their trade could live on. Most barbers solely worked on wigs for men but Charlton made his customers’ wives wigs (or “curls”) occasionally.




"Wigmaker : The official site of Colonial Williamsburg." Colonial Williamsburg Official Site. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2010. .

Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. The Wigmaker in 18th Century Williamsburg. United States: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1959. Print.

Amelia Bloomer

Amelia Bloomer was born May 27, 1818 in Homer, New York and she never received much schooling, only two years. Her husband, Dexter Bloomer, wanted her to write for his newspaper, Seneca Falls County Courier. She finally did and doing so wrote about women’s rights. Even though she was at the Seneca Falls Convention she never signed the Declaration of Sentiments, but there she met Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. With them she started a newspaper by herself, The Lily, where she wrote about, temperance, marriage law reform, women’s suffrage and higher education for women. She started writing about women’s clothing in 1851, after her newspaper had great success. She wrote that instead of the tight laced corsets with layers of petticoats and long dresses women should wear loose tops with shorter dresses and pantaloons. This clothing was inspired by the women who lived in the New Harmony community in the 1820s. Some people believed that what she wore was very unladylike and inappropriate. She gave the bloomers their name though, she wasn’t the first to wear them but because she wore them so much they became associated with her. Most feminists had dropped the idea of wearing bloomers because they thought that fighting for women’s rights they wouldn’t be taken seriously in this so called “inappropriate” clothing.

Amelia Bloomer. Jessica Paige Kerley, 2001. Web. 11 Feb. 2010. http://www2.kenyon.edu/Khistory/frontier/ameliabloomer.htm.

"Amelia Bloomer." Spartacus Educational - Home Page. Web. 12 Feb. 2010. .

Types of Dresses

Women needed to be dressed for the occasion in this period of time, and there were many different dresses for different occasions. The house dress was worn by women at their own home and it was very simple and sensible. It was a made for comfort and sometimes was even shapeless. The visiting dress was made for women to wear when visiting people during the day. It was seasonal and they were worn with a bonnet usually. These dresses were made as to not outdo the hostess. The walking dress is for exactly what the name states. It’s like the carriage dress which was made for traveling in coaches and trains. They were made easy to clean and in colors that didn’t show dust very bluntly. A riding dress was worn for riding horses and was only worn up until the late 19th century; it was very similar to a male’s outfit. A dinner dress was worn to show off the woman’s great taste and was very elegant. An evening dress was worn for formal dinners, concerts, parties or theatre shows. These were worn to show off and emphasize a woman’s beauty, wealth, and elegance. Unlike some of the other dresses these were more colorful and more decorated. A ball dress, it was very similar looking to an evening dress. It was a lady’s best dress that was worn for dancing and courtship. It showed off beauty and wealth to attract a man. Finally a wedding dress became popular when women realized it was fashionable to wear white to be married if it was affordable. Women were to be married in their best dress (but not a ball dress), and they could be worn for dinner dresses afterwards because of their sensibility.

"The Parts of a Late 19th Century Lady's Dress." La Couturi. Web. 04 Feb. 2010. http://www.marquise.de/en/1800/glossar.shtml.

The Romantic Style

Before the Romantic Style women wore dresses with empire waists which were very high waistlines right underneath the bust. During the mid-1820s when the Romantic Style brought the empire waist down to a more natural height. Corsets were brought into popularity again as well to create the small waist over their new very full bell shaped skirts. Women began showing their ankles and wearing highly decorated stockings. During this style’s highpoint the most defining trend was the gigot which means “leg of mutton” sleeve. It was a sleeve for dresses that were very big at the shoulder and then narrowed in at the wrist; they were the largest during 1835. New over garments like shawls and capes were used regularly, even in the summer. Because everyone had such voluminous sleeves and skirts they had to enlarge other things as well. It became popular to have very large hairstyles decorated with feathers, flowers and jewels. It was influenced by Romanticism which demanded the idea that women should be very delicate. During this period it was considered vulgar to look healthy, in order to be admired women should be pale. Much inspiration for the Romantic Style came from the fifteenth and sixteenth century which was a time of very theatrical drama.



Fukai Akiko, Tamami Suoh, and Miki Iwagami. The Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute FASHION A history from the 18th to the 20th Century. Vol. 1. TASCHEN, 2005. Print.