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Southern Colonies Clothing Essay

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The Southern Colonies were the first to imitate Europe in their fashion sense, this especially was true in the Virginia Colonies. The Southerners chose silk over the cotton that they could have grown and wove in the plantation farms. They imported the silk from Europe and Britain. Silk can either be a really cool or hot fabric. A women had a lot to wear on top of her undergarments, these could add up to at least 3-4 layers. The main thing that women wore then were hoop skirts. These skirts could reach up to 4 feet away from the woman's legs. One of the main purposes for hoop skirts was to accentuate the woman's hips or sides. No lady could go barefoot because of the diseases that existed in the dirt and the worms that could be stepped on. On top …show more content…

Women, much like today, wore gold earrings, silver hairpins and pearl necklaces. Special chairs with no arms were necessary for most women to sit down. Men had a clear taste for wigs and periwigs. Most plantation owners wore periwigs. Periwigs resembled long natural curly hair. The affix peri means encircling or surrounding, and this is exactly what the wigs do. Periwigs eventually got switched out for regular wigs. A man had to powder their wigs with white chalk. This could cause quite an embarrassment when chalk would cover a man's shoulders. A sudden dust/chalk storm could also start up a breeze passed by. They would style most of these wigs with a ponytail. At the end, they are tied at the end with colorful bands. Slaves usually powdered the chalk on the hair. A slave could have easily gotten irritated by the impromptu dust storm taking place. The men finished their look by wearing satin knee breeches and an embroidered velvet or satin waistcoat. Their shirts featured plenty of laces and ruffles to gawk at. When out a man usually wore a full-coat or a cloak. Children wore the were shrunken versions of their mothers or fathers

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