Clothing In The 1800's

Most of the time only the rich could afford to have their clothes tailored. This is because it could take “several fittings a month” (Source 2. 6) just to get a coat made. This was not the case when tailoring first started out however. When tailoring first started out people often had to be sewn into their clothes making getting dressed difficult.

Social class heavily dictated what a man could wear because even the most wealthy males could only wear certain materials and clothing items due to their social standing. On the other hand, men of royalty could wear whatever item of clothing they wished, but they were only seen in the most complex, grand garments. Kings often wore “Deep collars of ermine covering the upper arm and sometimes cut out with a scalloped edge were worn by both kings and queens” (Brooke 99). Ermine was a rare material that only royalty could afford and wear, so it was a distinctive material among upper classes. Men of royalty also often wore long cloaks lined with other expensive materials as well as embroidered gloves, jewels, and intricate pins.

People of the Middle Ages would wear tunics “made of a long rectangle [piece] of wool with a hole in the center for the head and crude stitching at the sides” accompanied by an under-tunic and a heavier over-tunic (Pendergast). But then, in the early 1300s, clothing became "straightforward and practical, appropriate to rank, adding distinction through color and fabric quality rather than cut and tailoring." But then around the late 1330s, the clothing started to change. Everything soon depended on how the sleeves of the fabric are cut. People would have certain restrictions depending on their status.

The differences between a Continental Army leader and a British Army leader go farther than just what side they’re on. They’re born in different places, and they take different paths to get where they end up. They’re not completely different from each other, however, having some consistencies. Nathanael Greene and Thomas Gage were born under different circumstances and had dissimilar experiences, but had some similarities too. Nathanael Greene and Thomas Gage were on different paths from the beginning.

Cloth of gold or gold tissue could be worn, only by Queen Elizabeth, her mom, her sisters, her aunts, also with duchesses, marquises, and countesses. The upper class Elizabethans got to wear a lot of velvets, satins, furs, silks, lace, cotton, and taffeta. By wearing these types of clothing, it was known that they were upper class. Upper class women wore: gowns, hats, corsets, underwear, collars, ruffs, and shoes. The upper class men wore: doublets, breeches, underwear, collars, ruffs, hats, and shoes.

In 1830-1835, Evening dresses were the same silhouette as the day dress, however necklines were brought down and off the shoulder, the chemisette was surrendered, and sleeves and skirts shortened. Finer fabrics, for example, silk or gauze was utilized for evening outfits joined by a bigger number of rich mantle or mantles

On some occasions, monasteries also maintained bards to serve them as genealogists and historians as early medieval literature were not yet written. Bards were generally considered as repository of stories, songs, poetry of the people, legends and songs. They were honored and often awarded certain diplomatic freedom. During the middle ages, bards travelled to places to bring news from the king’s court. Because of their education and oral tradition, and because it was very expensive to acquire the services of scribes, most bards were commonly relied upon.

Creativity was given up for elegance. For both events one had to wear a white undershirt and gloves. An Edwardian event would require a black tailcoat and trousers, a black or white waistcoat, and a white tie (Scott 160). Whereas for a Regency event one could wear a tailcoat in any dark color, a waistcoat in any color, breeches, pantaloons, or trousers in black, white, or any other light color (Condra 42). Even undershirts lost their flair by the early 1900s becoming plain fronted when a century ago they might have had rakishly lopsided ruffles (“Edwardian

These were decorated with hair, ermine tails, and great quillwork and beadwork. In some tribes, Indian clothing for men was a short skirt like item or fur shorts. Native American clothing for women was usually skirts and leggings. Things such as the length, design, and material of the skirts varied for each tribe. In some tribes, Native American women's shirts were optional.

In contrast to India, artisans who manufactured the goods that would be traded or sold in China, were only members of the middle class. The treatment of women was very similar in Han China and Gupta India, but the roles of women differed in each civilization. Women in Han China and Gupta India were treated as subordinates to men. Both societies assigned certain roles to women. In China, women could gain small amounts power through sons or in-laws brought into the family with marriage.

Before the war, ready-made clothing existed, but was limited in variety and made in predetermined sizes, which would not fit every person. Either a tailor or family still made the clothing as well. At the start of the Civil War, workers under government contract would make uniforms in their homes. Later on in the war, this method was replaced with factories, which could quickly create uniforms for soldiers at a fraction of the cost. The mass production of these garments is what led to the notice of a pattern within the body measurements taken, leading to the invention of the first commercial sizing scale for men, which is still used today.