Buckskin Dresses and Pumpkin Breeches: Colonial Fashions from the 1580s to the 1760s

Kate Havelin

Aug 2011 · Twenty-First Century Books

About this eBook

What would you have worn if you lived during the Colonial era? It depends on who you were! For example, many Native American women made skirts or dresses out of deerskin, and they completed the look with jewelry crafted from metal, shells, stones, pearls, or animal bones. But in European settlements, women of fashion dressed in many layers. One of the first layers was a stay—a corset-like garment made of whalebone that tied or laced around the chest. On top of that, they put on a bodice, a waistcoat or a jacket, and several heavy petticoats. Read more about Colonial fashions—from wigs to beaver-pelt hats and linen caps—in this fascinating book!

About the author

Kate Havelin has written more than a dozen books for young people, including biographies of Queen Elizabeth I, Ulysses Grant, and Che Guevara. The Amelia Bloomer Project included her Victoria Woodhull: Fearless Feminist in its recommended list of books. Havelin has also written two trail guidebooks for adults, Minnesota Running Trails: Dirt, Gravel, Rocks & Roots and Best Hikes of the Twin Cities, both of which received awards from the Midwest Book Awards. When she's not writing, she likes to read, run, hike, kayak, ski, or snowshoe. Havelin lives in St. Paul with her husband and two teenage sons.