by Michael Totten

Created on: November 03, 2009

The popular image of a Pilgrim includes all black clothing, with large buckles on the hat, belt, and shoes. However, this image comes from the urban English Puritans of the mid to late 1600s, especially during the Interregnum.

Most Pilgrims had been yeoman farmers back in England. When they came to New England, their clothing stayed that of the English yeoman farmer, although some clothing, such as the hat, showed Dutch influence. Most clothing was made of practical wool, linen, and leather in a variety of colors. Black was one color, but there were also others, from reds and russets all the way to greens and blues. They were not very bright because the cheap vegetable dyes used to color the cloth don't give bright colors and are not colorfast.

Men wore linen shirts with loose sleeves, padded doublets overtop, and knee-high trousers called breeches or drawers worn over wool or worsted stockings. Garters, which are special belts that go around the leg, held the stockings up. In cold weather, a jerkin could be worn over the doublet.

Women wore a long undergarment called a shift, over which would go petticoats, a long skirt down to the ankles, and a type of fitted jacket called a waistcoat. Some waistcoats were quilted for extra warmth. A jerkin could also be worn overtop. On holy days, women might wear a dress instead of the skirt and waistcoat. Usually a corset made with hard leather or whalebone would be worn under the shift.

Shoes for both men and women were made of durable leather. Men's leather boots went halfway to the knee. Winter mittens and gloves were made of leather or knitted wool or worsted. Heavy overcoats and cloaks were added in cold weather.

Men usually wore brimless caps. Only the most expensive hats, made of beaver felt, had a brim. Women wore their hair tucked under a coif, similar to a modern nun.

Instead of buttons, shirts, breeches, and waistcoats were fastened with hooks and eyes and with ties. Shirts also had bands at the neck and cuffs. Narrow belts did not hold the breeches up, but were used for holding items such as purses or knives.

Babies were dressed in swaddling cloth, which consists of long bands of cloth wrapped around the infant. Young boys and girls were both dressed in gown-type clothes. Unlike those of older women, girls' gowns closed at the back. Older children were dressed in miniature versions of the adult outfit.

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