The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1884-02-15
For Tie H2giS and Inteliigencer.
RecOllectiOns of Fifty Years Ago.

| Dress,
There has been much greater change il
dress since the days of my childhood than il
food, and to attempt to describe fully til,
mode and manner of dress in those days
would require a much longer article than
can give here. The every day wear of boil
sexes was mostly home made. In summer
cotton alone, or cotton warp and flaX.fillng
or vice versa, was used-white for all pur
| poses that muslin is now used for, and strip
| ed or plain colorcd for dresses for ladies OF
children, and q heavier grade for pantaloons
for gentlemen and boys. In winter home
made cloth, fulled linsey, flannel and plain
| linsey, colOred to suit the fancy ofthe wearers
| was universally used for home dress, aud
even for church going. Domestic clotL ola
good quality was mostly worn by the men
| and boys. Calico had at that time made its
| appearance and quickly took the place OF
| domestic cotton for summer dresses for the
house for women and girls, and was also
much worn (the better qualities as n church
and visiting dress.) 1t was much higher
priced than now, often selling for 90 cents
per yard, the same kind that can be bought
now for 8. A finer quality, known as chin,z
sold for so cents. AT the time / speak of
fine dress goods were all imported, and many
of the fabrics were exceedingly beautiful and
good. can recollect not only seeing pieces
ofbut the dresses themselves, ofCanton Grape.
Laventeen and plain silks, black and colorcd,
and even rich brocades, embroidered muls
and fine Bingham, with robes made in pat.
terms, and hand-worked white dresses, fully
equal in quality to any | see now.
The form of the garments in those days
would be likely to attract attention if they
were seen at this day. Gentlemen at that time
had mostly quit wearing short clothes or
breeches, but many of them wore their long
pantaloons, buttoned from the knee down,
with brass or gold washed buttons, to cor
respond with those worn on the swallow
forked coat, blue, drab, or brown that was
then in common use A gentlemans over
| coat was long, straight, and almost covered
with q number of capes, each one becoming
smaller, until they were all finished up at the
neck with large standing collar. The plug
hat was worn almost by every man, at home
and abroad. Boots were not much worn,
Pumps in summer and laced shoes in winter
were the usual dress for the feet of both sexes.
The ladies' dresses were mostly very plain,
the skirts long, narrow, and gored; the
waists short and the sleeves long and plain.
Silk and Grape dresses and cloth riding
habits were often trimmed with silk velvet
of the same color The skirts of both dress.
es and habits were sometimes made with
Il tram That could DC worn long or fastened
up by buttons when walking.
The clothing of children very much resem-
blcd in its form that ofg grown persons, long
and plain, but it was customary to use for
them the very brightest colors. A baby was
dressed when it wore red 4 chintZ dress and q
dainty little embroidered cap. Little girls
wore bonnets Hats for them were unknown
at that time.
The hair of girls was never cut short, as
now, but let grow, long and confined ina net
until they were about ten years of age, when
it was sometimes plated and suffered TO hang
down, or twisted and fastened up with n
comb A little boy, as soon as he was put
in pants wore the same kind of dress, in
miniature, as q grown man, except the hat,
which, in his case was mostly round crowned
and flat
I'm another article will try to explain how,
some of the domestic goods mentioned were
prepared and give some further description
of articles of dress. MEMORY.