Giveaway has ended. Winners are:
A copy of the book, The Turning of Anne Merrick--Lucinda Fountain
Winner of the 18th century stationery--Angela
Congrats! I will be notifying the winners by email.
Delving Underneath
“Sally wound the excess cording about her palm and issued a warning. “Brace yerself, now . . .”
Anne dug her heels into the earthen floor of their small tent. Knees locked, muscles clenched, she tried hard to present a counterforce as Sally gave her stay strings a series of good hard tugs. “I surely miss having my bedpost to cling to.”
“There!” Deftly fastened in a reliable knot, Sally tucked the loose ends behind the leather-bound edge of the stays. She then tied an embroidered pouch around Anne’s waist, settling it to hang over her left hip. “See t’ filling yer pocket, and I’ll ready my needle.”
The women jockeyed for position in the narrow aisle between the two cots—Sally gathering her sewing things, and Anne rifling through the confusion for the necessaries to equip her pocket for the evening—a folding fan, a scent bottle, a clean handkerchief, and the token Jack had given her before the Redcoats came to invade and occupy New York. She never went anywhere without her token, and the General’s table would be no exception.
from
THE TURNING OF ANNE MERRICK
18th century attire is intricate by any standard. Elegantly dressed women were supported by elaborate constructions of panniers, bumrolls and bustles all draped over with silk and taffeta “robes” or “mantuas” of varying styles. The attire of lower class women was no less elaborate in some respects – petticoats or simple dresses were protected by a variety of aprons and jackets. Add to that kerchiefs and fichus, mobcaps and bonnets… it was a complicated method of clothing oneself. But even more fascinating than the birdcage-like panniers, all the exotic flounces and furbelows are the items worn under it all – items basic to all women of the time.
When delving beneath, we need to understand a most fascinating fact – knickers, panties, underpants, pantaloons, drawers, bloomers – it doesn’t matter what you want to call them, they were NOT wearing them in the 18th century. Garments akin to our modern day underpants are a 19th century fashion innovation. Yes, young and old, rich or poor, our Founding Mothers were always “going commando”! It took me a while to wrap my mind around this concept – especially when I thought about what it must have been like to get dressed on a frigid morning and plow through kneedeep snow to fetch water from the creek or well. Or what it must have been like for an upper class woman out for a night on the town in NYC with the northeast wind and snow whipping up and under your skirts and petticoats… brrrrr! Shiver me timbers, indeed! Our 18th century sisters were definitely a hardy breed.
Casting the knickers aside :-) the basic undergarment for women of all shapes and stripes was the shift. Also called a chemise, this simple calf-length undergarment worn next to the skin was requisite attire. Depending on a woman’s status and economic means, a shift could be fashioned of homespun or fine Holland linen. The shift was quite serviceable plain, but often the parts that were visible to the eye such as the neckline or sleeve “cuffs” might be decorated with ruffles, lace or embroidery. The fineness of the weave and the brightness of the white color were more determinate of quality and status that any decoration. Being dressed in nothing but your shift was considered a state of “undress”. A woman in nothing but her shift was “naked”.
Stays are the next essential item, and are worn over the shift. This boned garment was not intended to create the hourglass figure desired by 19th century women, but instead created a conical shape and erect posture, flattening and pressing breasts upward and together into a position known as “rising moons.” By 18th century standards, exposing a good amount of bosom was very fashionable and feminine, and not at all as erotic as (gasp) showing a bare ankle or leg.
A woman’s stays were custom made to measure by a professional staymaker. Though the engineering was intricate, the stays themselves were usually quite plain. The term whale bone is often used in conjunction with stays, but it is actually baleen – a material derived from the bristle system whales used to filter food from the seawater they draw in – that give the stays their support. Parallel rows of very fine hand stitching formed narrow channels into which thin strips of baleen were inserted. Although the stays may appear very rigid, baleen is a very strong and higly flexible material. Stays appear to our modern sensibilities to be a very contricting garment, especially when one imagines being laced into a set while doing chores or working a farm, but the baleen boning has the ability soften from natural body heat, and the stays would mold and conform to a woman’s shape.
The third “every woman” item unseen to the eye, but yet oh so important was the pocket. Unlike men’s clothing of the time, pockets were never sewn onto or into women’s clothing during the 18th century. A separate pouch, a pocket was tied to the waist, worn over the hip, and accessed via a slit in the skirt of a dress or petticoat. Plain or colorfully embroidered, pockets contained a woman’s treasures and necessaries of life – keys to the locks harboring valuables like sugar and lace, a book, a handkerchief, a paper of pins, a fan, a bottle of scent, a tin of sugar comfits to freshen the breath, special keepsakes…
I expect two hundred years from now women of the future will be gawking in wonder at the tortuous underwire bras we wear, be amazed by the fact that Octavia Spencer wore three pairs of Spanx to the Oscars, and wonder what we could possibly be carrying about in the giant handbags we drag around. Things always change, but sometimes, not that much. (don’t even let me get started on shoes!)
Giveaway: A copy of
The Turning of Anne Merrick and 18th Century Stationery – just the sort of sundry Anne Merrick peddled to those bloodyback scoundrels in Burgoyne’s camp. Supplied with a quill pen and wrapped for convenient stowing amidst your gear, these sheets and envelopes are perfect for scrieving all manner of secret messages – invisible ink not included. There will be two winners. Open internationally.
To enter, leave me a comment telling me who is your favorite historical figure from the time of the Revolution, America's pursuit of independence from the British Empire. Giveaway ends on Tuesday, March 27 at 11:59pm CST. Good luck!
Author Christine Blevins writes what she loves to read – historical adventure stories.
The Turning of Anne Merrick is the second in a 3-book series set during the American Revolution, and the companion book to
The Tory Widow. A native Chicagoan, Christine lives in Elmhurst, Illinois, along with her husband Brian, and The Dude, a very silly golden-doodle. She is at work finishing the third novel inspired by a lifelong fascination with the foundations of American history and the revolutionary spirit.
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#TurningofAnneMerrickVirtualTour
Watch for my review of The Turning of Anne Merrick on Friday, March 16th.
