From the Archives: Everyday Clothing: A Rare Woman's Shortgown, c1780-1800

Susan reporting,

This post originally appeared in connection with a 2014 exhibition at Pottsgrove Manor, the 1752 mansion of prosperous colonial ironmaster, merchant, and judge John Potts (c1710-1768) in Pottstown, PA. While the exhibition has long since closed, I've always remembered this well-worn shortgown - the kind of clothing worn by everyday women in 18thc America, and now extremely rare.


As promised, here's one of the 18th c. garments from Pottsgrove Manor's current exhibition, To the Manor Worn: Clothing the 18th Century Household, that I featured  here. The exhibition included silk gowns, a magnificent embroidered waistcoat, silk breeches, and quilted silk petticoats.

The shortgown, above left, is considerably more humble, and because of that, it's much more rare, too. Like the 19th c. cotton dress I wrote about here, shortgowns were most commonly worn by working women, and they often turn up in the advertised descriptions of runaway indentured and enslaved servants. Shortgowns were t-shaped garments with a flared hem that were comfortable for physical labor. They had no fastenings, but closed with straight pins along the front opening. Made from cotton, linen, or wool, shortgowns were worn over a linen shift and a petticoat; they were early, easy separates.

An 18th c. working woman's wardrobe was limited, and each article received hard wear. Clothes were mended and refashioned until there was literally nothing left but rags, which in turn would then have had another life around the household. Unlike a wedding gown or baby cap, a shortgown like this would not be set aside and preserved for posterity. Even the few that have survived would not find a welcome in most modern costume collections, which tend to concentrate on the clothing of the elite classes, beautifully constructed clothing of rich fabrics.

This shortgown tells a different story. Its owner was neither wealthy nor famous, but she was thrifty and resourceful and skilled with a needle. The fabric is either corded linen or cotton, once off-white and now discolored with age. The simple style could have been made by the wearer herself.

As the exhibition catalogue notes, "In the 18th century, the material made up the biggest cost of a garment, so even the clothing of wealthy individuals often shows some level of patching to get as much use of the fabric as possible."

This shortgown has been patched, and patched again, with neatly squared patches and careful stitching. As you can see in the detail, right, some of the patches are scraps of the original fabric, and others are simply similar fabric. Most of the patches are in places that would have received the most stress and wear, under the arm and along the sleeves.

The name and history of the shortgown's owner are long forgotten, but she left her testimony in each of the tiny stitches across each frugal patch, making the most of what she had. She's as much a part of early American history as George Washington, and I'm glad to see her work preserved and presented as the treasure that it is.

Many thanks to Pottsgrove Manor's curator Amy Reis and the rest of the staff for their assistance with this post.

Above: Women's shortgown, linen or cotton, c.1780-1800. From the collection of the Chester County Historical Society. Photograph courtesy of Pottsgrove Manor.

Rare Everyday-Wear: A Woman's Shortgown, c.1780-1800

Isabella reporting,

As promised, here's one of the 18th c. garments from Pottsgrove Manor's current exhibition, To the Manor Worn: Clothing the 18th Century Household, that I featured last week here. The exhibition includes silk gowns, a magnificent embroidered waistcoat, silk breeches, and quilted silk petticoats.

The shortgown, left, is considerably more humble, and because of that, it's much more rare, too. Like the 19th c. cotton dress I wrote about here, shortgowns were most commonly worn by working women, and they often turn up in the advertised descriptions of runaway indentured servants and slaves. Shortgowns were t-shaped garments with a flared hem that were comfortable for physical labor. They had no fastenings, but closed with straight pins along the front opening. Made from cotton, linen, or wool, shortgowns were worn over a linen shift and a petticoat; they were early, easy separates.

An 18th c. working woman's wardrobe was limited, and each article received hard wear. Clothes were mended and refashioned until there was literally nothing left but rags, which in turn would then have had another life around the household. Unlike a wedding gown or baby cap, a shortgown like this would not be set aside and preserved for posterity. Even the few that have survived would not find a welcome in most modern costume collections, which tend to concentrate on the clothing of the elite classes, beautifully constructed clothing of rich fabrics.

This shortgown tells a different story. Its owner was neither wealthy nor famous, but she was thrifty and resourceful and skilled with a needle. The fabric is either corded linen or cotton, once off-white and now discolored with age. The simple style could have been made by the wearer herself.

As the exhibition catalogue notes, "In the 18th century, the material made up the biggest cost of a garment, so even the clothing of wealthy individuals often shows some level of patching to get as much use of the fabric as possible."

This shortgown has been patched, and patched again, with neatly squared patches and careful stitching. As you can see in the detail, right, some of the patches are scraps of the original fabric, and others are simply similar fabric. Most of the patches are in places that would have received the most stress and wear, under the arm and along the sleeves.

The name and history of the shortgown's owner are long forgotten, but she left her testimony in each of the tiny stitches across each frugal patch, making the most of what she had. She's as much a part of early American history as George Washington, and I'm glad to see her work preserved and presented as the treasure that it is.

To the Manor Born: Clothing the 18th Century Household runs through November 2, 2014. For more information, see Pottsgrove Manor's website, or their Facebook page. Many thanks to curator Amy Reis and the rest of the staff for their assistance with this post.

Above: Women's shortgown, linen or cotton, c.1780-1800. From the collection of the Chester County Historical Society. Photograph courtesy of Pottsgrove Manor.

"To the Manor Worn: Clothing the 18th c. Household" at Pottsgrove Manor

Isabella reporting,

Yesterday I took a break from my laptop and headed off to Pottsgrove Manor, the 1752 mansion of prosperous colonial ironmaster, merchant, and judge John Potts (c.1710-1768). A large, beautifully restored house museum, the Manor is also the site of an fascinating exhibition called To the Manor Worn: Clothing the 18th c. Household, which runs through November 2, 2014.

There are several ways of displaying historic clothing. The most obvious is on mannequins. Some historic clothing, however, is too fragile for anything other than being laid flat, carefully arranged to support the delicate textiles. In addition, all old clothes need to be protected from sunlight, insects, dust, humidity, and the too-eager hands of visitors, which means sealed display cases, or at best a static display safely out of reach, in dimmed light.

But while all this preserves irreplaceable garments, it doesn't show how the clothes were worn. No matter their age, clothes were never intended to be museum pieces, but were worn and used. Clothes reflect both the lives and bodies of the wearers. Eighteenth century clothing showed the wearers' economic status, their age, their gender (no unisex jeans and tees back then), their occupations, and even their relationship to their environment.

A servant who worked in the kitchen wore simple, inexpensive clothing that allowed for ease of movement, and was made of fibers like linen or wool that were safer around the hearth's open flames. The mistress of the house, however, wore costly clothing that would display her family's wealth and success. Her imported silk, lace, and ribbons showed that she was above menial work and had servants to dress her and look after her clothes. Even the wide-spreading petticoats, flounced sleeves, and tall hairstyles were designed to look there best in the candlelight of a well-proportioned Georgian drawing room, making the wearer one more beautiful, expensive object on display.

The Pottsgrove exhibition cleverly conveys this by dividing their displays. In light-controlled galleries on the upper floor of the house are the fragile, original 18th c. pieces, drawn from various collections and historic properties in the area. These include lovely baby and children's clothes, silk gowns, embroidered waistcoats, and even a few very rare working-class garments. I'll be writing about some of my favorite things in future blogs.

The rest of the house shows how 18th c. clothing was truly worn through an entire household of dressed mannequins, arranged in tableaux. The clothes are all careful, handsewn reproductions of actual 18th c. garments that could have been worn by the manor house's various inhabitants: a young slave boy in the kitchen, a middle-class clerk in the office, the mistress of the house making plans with the housekeeper, a daughter in a riding habit in the front hall, and a tea for elegant guests in the front parlor. Because the fabrics are new, there's a true sense of the original vibrant colors of the period, and how those colors are also an indication of class distinctions. Accessories like shoes, caps, jewelry, and kerchiefs complete each figure, and tableaux with mannequins dressing reveal the undergarments of the different classes as well.

For visitors who have to touch, there are swatches of each garment's fabric available in each room. In this day of apps for everything, this exhibition features an excellent free printed guidebook that not only gives extensive detail about both old and new garments, but also includes a glossary of 18th c. textile terms and a select bibliography. The exhibition is part of the house tour, and admission is a very modest suggested donation of two dollars. To the Manor Worn has been popular with local school-groups, and if you're looking for a "family outing,"  the tableaux are interesting enough to engage kids.

Pottsgrove Manor is located in Pottstown, PA, the town founded by John Potts. In the 18th c., Pottsgrove was a two-day journey from Philadelphia; now, however, it's less than an hour's drive, and if you are in the area, I wholeheartedly recommend a visit! For more information, here is the link to the Manor's website, and here is there Facebook page.

Many thanks to Pottsgrove Manor Curator Amy Reis and the rest of the staff for making my tour both educational and enjoyable.

UPDATE: Lynn Symborski, Museum Educator at Pottsgrove Manor, was responsible for creating many of the reproduction garments and accessories in the exhibition. Her Pinterest page here shows many more of the dressed mannequins, plus details and background for her inspiration. Thank you for sharing, Lynn!

Photographs ©2014 Susan Holloway Scott.