The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1874-06-26
Clothing of g serentr-six.Y

The people of those times were res
! pectfully clad. Their store of clothing
! was abundant, many of the fabrics used
were elegant, and the fashion of their
| dress was frequently very stately. Pan
falcons were not yet in vogue, but in
stead there were breeches of leather,
buckskin, worsted, homespan, stocki-
net, black and brown broadcloth, plush,
and velvet for winter and for summer
of linen, cotton, nankeen, white dimity,
| and drilling. Dress-coats, surtouts, and
great-coats were made of bear-skin,
buckskin, hOmespun, denim, wilton,
broadcloth, velvet, and sagathy Ga kind
of serge) and cloaks of camlet, broad
cloth, and kersey. Their vests were of
linen, twilled cotton, diaper, white dim
ity, serge, broadcloth, and velvet their
gloves of leather and yarn their hats
of felt, castor, and velvet; their shirts
of linen, cotton, homespun, and tow !;
their stockings of wooden, cotton, and
linen. For boots and shoes almost ev-
cry householder had in his house whole
dressed calf-skins and sides of sole and
other leather. Such were the materials
of which the garments of the men of
Seventy-six" were made and they
bespeak comfort in every case, and dig
nified respectability in most.
The apparel of the ladies' was still
more varied, and exhibits their charac-
teristic love of gay colors and delicate
fabrics. The assortment presented in
these old inventories is fairly bewilder-
ing. Judging by them, the ladies of
those days must all have considered
caps and aprons indispensable to their
toilets, the humblest among them hav-
ing been the possessors of an indefinite
number of each, the former, having
been made for the most part of cam
brio, taffets, millinet, gauze, and linen,
and the latter of lawn, holland-linen,
taffeta, muslin, millinet, down through
the gamut to check, homespun, and
tow. Their, hats, bonnets, and hoods
were of beaver, satin, aud bright col
ored silks and velvets; their cloaks of
worsted, broadcloth, camlet, gay-col-
ored silks, white and black satin, pur-
pie and black and blue velvet, and es-
pecially of brilliant scarlet flannel or
cloth. Their dresses were formed of an
endless variety of materials. The COM
mon short gown, which seems to have
been generally affected when they were
not in full toilet, was of kersey, hol-
land linen, worsted, wilton, calamancO
Ga stuff resembling prunella), check,
homespun, and linsey-woolsey. Their
long gowns were OF Cn6Ck, SITlp6O COG-
ton, worsted, striped homespun, calico,
bOughten" calico, muslin, chintz, out
side chintz lined with calico, white hol-
land, blue and striped holland, black
and blue durant (the fabric known as
g everlasting''), groset, bombazine, blue
and black russell "a species of hnsey-
woOlsey), moreen, Poplin, French tabby,
velvet, and of lustestring, white, Grim
son, and other colored silks and satins.
For the hands they wore gloves of
| thread, knit stuffs, silk, and leather
| their stockings were of thread, cotton,
muslin, yarn, linen, worsted, and
silk; and their shoes were of cloth,
| prunella, culamanco, leather, and silk.
! Shawls were of cloth, cashmere, and
taffeta handkerchiefs and kerchiefs
/ abounded in their wardrobes, and were
| Of linen, cambria, taffeta, muslin,
/ guaze, and Barcelona and other thin
silks. OF shifts and petticoats their
supply was nearly inezhaustible, some
ladies recounting the loss of twelve, ff-
teen, and twenty of each, the former
| having been constructed of homespun
and muslin, bat chiefly of fine five and
/ six hundred linen, and the latter OF
linsey, tow, flannel, kersey, dimity,
! bOmbazine, and Harper's
! MdOQziRe,