Historical Clothing - Colonial American Women

Ancient American women's clothing was designed with great care, mostly by women on their own. Just like today's American women, clothes worn by early American women depending entirely on what they could afford. Wardrobes of colonial American women predominantly featured petticoats, stomachers, stays and silk shoes.

Commonly worn everyday clothes, baby clothes, underclothes and any other garment that did not require expert stitching were tailored at home. Women, who were expert tailors stitched, sewed and embellished their garments with precision to look elegant and charming at all times. Others took the help of professionals such as seamstresses, milliners and tailors for their exclusive clothing requirements.

Affluent women purchased imported clothing sold in bigger towns or got their costumes custom made with expert tailors. American women were kept duly informed and updated on the latest prevalent fashion trends around Europe, especially in Paris through dolls dresses that were made in latest designs and displayed in stores.

Interestingly, most women in colonial America did not believe in owning more than three or four outfits. An average woman during the 1700s hand sewed their clothes that were made mostly of linen or wool. Clothing styles during those times dictated that their knees and elbows are well covered.

Women those days were also not too fussy about infection, dirt and germs and there was no awareness among them that related lack of cleanliness to diseases. Clothes were therefore not washed very frequently. Certain pieces of garments like gowns that did not come into contact with the skin were, in fact, never washed.

Bed gowns worn by colonial American women were large and loose fitting focusing more on comfort. These gowns did not have a waist seam and opened in the front. From the bodice, the skirts extended full length. Women who went out for work wore woolen or linen clothes. Many also opted for the low grade silk clothes and onsnaburg, a type of linen that was unbleached and inexpensive.

Affluent women who dressed in the latest fashion wore good quality silk gowns. These gowns came with stomachers that could be removed. Stomachers are triangular panels that came with tabs. These were attached to the stays or bodice with the help of pins. Stomachers were enhanced with attractive designs such as a ship, dove or a house and were positioned between the breasts and below the waist.

Silk gowns were usually complemented with a silk petticoat. Colonial American women also wore two under-petticoats under the petticoat apart from bone stay pairs and pockets.

Pockets which were nothing but big bags that were tied around the waist were usually sewn to the right of the bottom petticoat. Women could reach the pocket with ease through the slits provided in the petticoats that covered the pockets.

White linen shift was the garment worn closest to the body. These shifts were knee length, had a scooped neckline and featured sleeves that extended to the elbows. Colonial American women loved to wear elegant and attractive silk shoes that were heavily brocaded over their knit stockings.

Stays were worn on an everyday basis by the affluent as well as the middle class working women. Interestingly, even small children and babies were found to wear stays that were thought to improve posture. Stays were usually made of affordable leather or the more expensive bone.

Model Promoting Salwar Kameez Trend

Tips For Buying Kids Summer Clothing

With the summer season arriving, children need cozy and comfortable clothes to beat the heat. So there arise questions on what to buy and how to buy? There are a few tips to be kept in mind while purchasing kid's clothing to make shopping much simpler and easier. Amongst all, the most crucial thing to think about is what fabric they are made out of. With summer being the hottest season, children get exhausted of excessive sweating and heat. Therefore it is important to select the best clothes for your children. Apparels made from cotton are quick drying and easy to maintain. The next important thing while buying summer clothes is the weight of the fabric. Lightweight material clothes are soothing for children during summer as they are thin and will not cling to your kid's body. Fabric that is lightweight can dry quicker and helps your child stay cooler during the day. Also selection of color is needed while purchasing summer clothes. It is recommended to buy light color dresses for your child as we know that light color reflects the heat away from your body and dark color brings the heat to your body. Colors like pink, grey, white, yellow are comparatively much preferable than navy, black, brown, blue etc. Help your children stay cool in the blazing heat of the sun by buying clothes that reflect the rays of the sun.

As you read on the article we shall have a glimpse of some tidbits that you need to know while shopping summer caparison for your little ones:

Always choose clothes that are loose fitting for toddlers. They are airy and help the skin of the kid breathe freely. Also, tight fitting clothes hinder the free-ness of the child. Large size clothing is an added advantage as a child grows fast, and perfect fitting apparel proves to be useless in very little time.

What better ways would you find than grabbing short pants and Bermudas with chic tee shirts for tiny tots? While the darling damsels love capri's and gauchos, the teen lads prefer tees with styles like raglan, yoke muscle and elegant plain tees. Juvenile dudes love graphic images that are cool and give them a superman look. It's also fashionable to wear shorts and cropped pants and look hip.

All the cute little school-going-kids are more fashion conscious than anyone else. Parents often feel it a nuisance, but it is a sense of healthy competition in your kid. The aspiring fashionable kid yearns to stay chic and hip. So move with the trends of latest summer clothes. Keep yourself updated with the latest news in fashion for kids.

It is always best to spend little more time than usual to select the best clothing for children especially during summer. To summarize, the fabric, the weight of the dress, the color, the kind of outfit, are key points to remember before stepping into your favorite mall for shopping. Happy shopping!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christopher_DiCicco

Fashion Clothing Tips for Short Women

Petite curvaceous women definitely need to elongate their body using their clothing style for minimizing the volume. This is the general rule for the women owning this type of figure. In order to cover the faults of a figure not belonging to a tall, skinny 'giraffe' type model, you need to follow some essential tricks.

- Your aim is to elongate your body. The most frequent mistake petite women making in terms of clothing is cutting their bodies by using pieces of clothes as jackets and belts in the wrong proportions. Wearing large belts on top of pants or skirts together with blouses of different color is not the best choice as it cuts the body in two parts, drawing attention to the shortness of the figure.

- You should also avoid wearing extra fabric around the waist. You already possess a good amount of volume in this area and the last thing you need adding some more.

- A false myth is the idea that very long skirts make your legs look long. Very long, baggy skirts make your legs look shorter. Long skirts may make you look taller if they go down to the ankle level and if they are straight.

- A good trick to elongate your legs is to wear straight pants that cover your shoes. This will definitely add some extra inches to your legs.

- Mixing colors is permitted for petite women but remember that it is the monochromatic clothing that makes you look taller and slimmer.

- Avoid wearing thick fabric clothing as it adds extra weight to your figure.

- The best trick to elongate your body is to wear vertical lines patterned clothing. But keep in mind not to exaggerate as you will end up looking like a zebra. It is enough to wear a pair of jeans that have a vertical line in the seams and you will create the illusion of a taller person. Just one or two lines are enough to create this illusion. Try to avoid wearing clothing items with multiple vertical lines or mixing two garments with lines pattern.

- If you also have some extra pounds, the best way to hide them is to fit properly the clothing items. Remember that oversize t-shirts don't hide extra pounds, they make people look baggy, without any shape.

- Too tight means too bad. However very tight clothes are risky too.Properly fitted clothes help you show the best of your body. Never wear clothes that show an open view of your tummy. It will only call attention to this wrong part of your figure.

- And the 'must do' rule for petite women is to always wear high heels. Matching stilettos to long, straight pants is the combination that will make you look taller and slimmer in any situation.

And keep in mind: any figure fault can be covered by using the right piece of clothing.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ispas_Marin

Clothing

Daily life during the middle Ages is sometimes hard to fathom. From the 11th through the 13th centuries, medieval clothing varied according to the social standing of the people. The clothing worn by nobility and upper classes was clearly different than that of the lower class. As with today, medieval clothing styles of men and women changed periodically. At the end of the 13th century, the clothing styles of both men and women got changed.

Pirate Costume

Creating a pirate costume is not an ordinary act. Many things have to be kept in mind from head to toe to design a pirate costume. Generally this kind of dress consists of pants of Asian silk and shirts of African cotton. Jewels and trinkets from every corner of the known world are spotted for the clothing. Other accessories also play an important role and without all those heavy accessories you will not be able to completely involve yourself into a real pirate.

Medieval Clothing

Daily life during the middle Ages is sometimes hard to fathom. From the 11th through the 13th centuries, medieval clothing varied according to the social standing of the people. The clothing worn by nobility and upper classes was clearly different than that of the lower class. As with today, medieval clothing styles of men and women changed periodically. At the end of the 13th century, the clothing styles of both men and women got changed.