The Fashion Statement of Revolutionary Newport
Common Clothes Along with Designer Dresses and Gowns
Sep 29, 2009
War entered Newport, Rhode Island, when ships deposited British and French soldiers and even George Washington onto the wharves of this port town during the 1770s. Fortifications surrounded the town and officers occupied many of the more and less prominent houses that still stand near today’s waterfront.
As armies came and went during the Revolutionary War, social life continued uninterrupted and the local women dressed according to the fashion rules of the day. Quakers and many others of modest means wore homespun fabric that they personally weaved, while society ladies spent their money on high-end designer dresses and gowns. The latter even openly displayed cleavage.
Revolutionary-Era Dresses and Gowns
The Newport Historical Society has a significant collection of Newport-linked Revolutionary era dresses and gowns that includes homespun garments and those that made significant fashion statements.
Even in the midst of a war for independence, some of the local ladies knew how to look hot. Beautiful full-length and high-fashion gowns in the collection were worn by the wealthier women and date from 1765 to 1785.
These high styled gowns displayed economic stability during the early days of the war as the fashion of the well-to-do eschewed homespun cloth in favor of imported (specifically British) textiles and garments. While tea and other items were on the non-import list of patriots, quality fabrics did make their way into the colonies during the war, especially for those with wealth, with connections and for those who were loyal to the crown.
Fashion Tastes
Wealthy Newport women had their dressmakers use fine British silk to create sophisticated gowns that would have been just as fashionable in Europe. These dresses were created in the open-gown, or open-robe, style. The front was separated to reveal an outer petticoat that often matched the dress. Such dresses could be mixed with different colors or textured petticoats.
Older gowns of the time featured stomachers, decorative panels that filled a gap in the gown’s bodice (an upper garment either without sleeves or with removable sleeves that sometimes was low cut). Stomachers became a fashion faux pas during the late 1780s and later gowns needed pins to close the middle of the bodice. Layers of clothing underneath the dress protected wearers from the sharp pins.
Revolutionary era women didn’t tightly pull their garments to uncomfortable levels just to display small waists. Instead, they relied on undergarments to improve their postures and flatter the upper body. Modesty was important during the day. A woman wore a fichu, or handkerchief, around her neck that she tucked into the top of the bodice to cover her bosom. However, the fichu often was discarded for evening affairs.
Under a skirt, women wore padding in a hoop structure that tied around the waist. Layers of petticoats accented their hips and backsides. Underwear as we know it did not exist. Instead, women wore layers of cotton petticoats.
The society’s collection contains a multi-colored floral gown from about 1765 that may have been worn by a woman who was a member of the prominent Robinson family of Newport. A pair of silk embroidered dancing shoes from the same family also is part of the collection.
Another gown from about 1775 contains ivory and taupe stripes along with a lavender petticoat. It is believed that this gown was worn by Catherine Malbone, a member of a wealthy Newport merchant family.
Representing the plainer side of the street, a coffee-colored dress from the mid 1770s is in the style that Newport Quaker women would have worn. The society’s collection also contains a man’s post-Revolutionary era fashion statement—a waistcoat embroidered with silver thread from the early 1800s.
Due to the age and delicate condition of the various fabrics, the society keeps its Revolutionary period fashions in protective storage. However, the garments occasionally see the light of the 21st century during special Newport exhibits.
To learn more about the colonial clothing collection at the Newport Historical Society, contact Megan Delany at 401-846-0813.
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