Fashion Of The Aristocrats in
Colonial New York 1789
The luxury and ostentatious
display of riches in the city,
according to Brissot de Warville,
were great and the inhabitants were
followers of the English fashions.
He considered the ladies to be
especially extravagant in their
dress. French fashions also were
followed to some extent and were
described from time to time in the
newspapers for the benefit of New
York society. Thus, in the N.Y.
Gazette of may 15th 1789 several
French costumes were described which
may have been adopted by the ladies
of the city. One was a plain
celestial blue satin gown with a
white satin petticoat. There was
worn with it, on the neck, a very
large Italian gauze handkerchief
with satin border stripes. The
head-dress with this costume was a
pouf of gauze in the form of a
globe, the creneaux or headpiece of
which was made of white satin having
a double wing, in large plaits, and
trimmed with a large wreath of
artificial roses which fell from the
left a the top to the right at the
bottom in front, and the reverse
behind.
The hair was dressed all over in
detached curls, four of which fell
on each side of the neck and were
relieved behind by a floating
chignon. Another costume was a
perriot made of gray Indian taffeta
with dark stripes of the same color,
having two collars, one yellow and
the other white, both trimmed with
blue silk fringe, and having a
reverse trimmed in the same manner.
Under the perriot there was worn a
yellow corset, or shapes, as it was
then called, with large blue cross
stripes. Around the bosom of the
perriot there was pinned a frill of
ribbon or gauze cut in points around
the edge. The hat worn with this
costume was of white satin, with a
broad band and two cockades. The
newest costume consisted of a
perriot and petticoat of gray
striped silk trimmed with gauze cut
in points.
A large gauze handkerchief bordered
with four satin stripes was worn
with it on the neck, and the
headdress was a plain gauze cap such
as was worn by nuns. Shoes were made
of celestial blue satin with
rose-colored rosettes. Ladies' muffs
were of Siberian wolfskin adorned
with a large knot of scarlet ribbon.
The French gentlemen, far undress,
wore very long blue riding-coats
with plain steel buttons, scarlet
waistcoats, and yellow kerseymere
breeches without embroidery. Their
shoes were tied with strings, and
above them were worn gaiters of
black polished leather reaching
nearly to the thigh. They wore very
full muslin cravats with the ends
tied in a large knot in front, and
their muffs were made of bearskin
with scarlet knots fastened upon
them. The muff was probably not used
by gentlemen in New York and they
adopted English rather than French
fashions. The New York ladies' hats
were of such huge dimensions that a
newspaper writer in 1789 suggested
that a larger size of umbrella
should be imported to protect them
from the rain.Another writer also ridiculed the
fashion of appearing to be
dim-sighted and of using what he
called a spy-glass at the theatre.
The materials used for clothing
included wildbores, cordurets,
camblets, moreens, taboreens,
callimancoes, durants, tammies,
shalloons, rattinetts, florentines,
denins, velverets, romalls,
lutestrings, duffils, fearnaughts,
hairbines, osnaburgs, ticklenburgs,
ribdelures, honeycomb thicksetts,
dowlas, amens, casserillias, and
plattillas. The men were more simple
in their habits and still despised
gewgaws, but at table made up for
this simplicity by the use of the
most expensive wines. One class of
men seemed to be particularly
obnoxious to Brissot.
He writes: "Luxury is already
forming in this city a very
dangerous class of men, namely, the
bachelors; the extravagance of the
women makes them dread marriage." He
also mentions with disapproval the
universal habit of smoking; strong
Spanish cigars six inches long being
the material used in this revolting
habit. He had the good grace to say,
however, that it had the advantage
of accustoming its votaries to
practice the virtues of meditation
and silence. His statement that an
American traveled with only a comb,
razor, two shirts and two cravats,
was manifestly a libel, as a
newspaper advertisement of a trunk
lost in May 1789 describes its
contents as consisting of a dark
green coat with plain silver
buttons, a green striped waistcoat,
one pair of nankeen and one pair of
black satin breeches a pair of
silver shoe and knee buckles, seven
shirts, seven neck cloths, three
pairs of white silk hose and sundry
pairs of thread hose.
But in spite of this supposed
simplicity of men's dress the dandy
of 1789 was sufficiently gorgeous in
his apparel. John Ramage, the
miniature painter, a handsome man of
middle age, wore a scarlet coat with
mother-of-pearl buttons, a white
silk waistcoat embroidered with
colored flowers, black satin
breeches with paste knee-buckles,
white silk stockings, large silver
buckles on his shoes, and a small
cocked-hat on the upper part of his
powdered hair, leaving the curls at
his ears displayed. His costume was
completed by a gold-headed cane and
a gold snuff box. Artificial
enhancement of the beauty of men's
figures was also widely adopted, one
means of which excited the wrath of
a newspaper writer in November 1789.
In an article denouncing what he was
pleased to call a "bishop," this
writer says: "The young ladies have
totally laid aside all manner of
deception; cork and wool are no more
necessary in the dress of a fine
woman, and, to the immortal honor of
the ladies of New York, let it be
here recorded that they have adopted
the most natural and becoming
fashions, this winter, that we have
ever seen; whilst the young bucks
and petitmaitres are metamorphosing
themselves into lusus naturae and
their tailors into upholsterers."
John Shepherd, a tailor at No. 23
Hanover Square, advertised cloths of
nearly one hundred different colors
at 38s. a yard, with the exception
of some high colors which were more
expensive. Among these colors were
bottle-green, batswing, navy blue,
parson's gray, changeable pearl,
scarlet, light blue, light green,
London smoke, purple, mulberry,
garnet, sea green, mouse's ear, pea
green, and drake's head. Waistcoats
were made of muslinet, dimity,
cotton, silk, satin, gold and silver
tambour muslin,satinet, and Princess
stuff; the buttons used were gilt,
silver, basket-brocaded and
spangled. The cloths used were
chiefly of English, French and
Spanish manufacture, the latter
being the most expensive, costing
45s. a yard. Casimirs were worth
18s. and rattinetts four shillings.
Nathaniel Hazard, No. 51 Water
Street, also advertised "American
Woolens from the flourishing
Manufactory at Hartford." Edward
Moran, a tailor at No. 24 Smith
(William) street, was a modest man
and advertised that. "As
self-applause is commonly the
unerring mark of ignorance and
consequently disgusting, he declines
it and only offers the following
most reasonable terms:
Making
Plain coat, 15s.
Fashionable do. 16s.
Lapelled do. 17s.
Waistcoats made fashionable, 6s.
Silk and velvet breeches, 8s.
Jean, Nankeen, Corduroy, &c. do. 7s.
Double breasted surtout, 16s.
Great coat, 14s.
Ladie's Habit, fashionable, 16s.
Black satin breeches and striped
silk vests could be bought
ready-made for three dollars each. A
beaver hat cost eight dollars and a
castor hat six dollars. Boots and
shoes could be obtained of Thomas
Garnis, No. 72 Queen (Pearl) Street
between Peck Slip and Cherry Street,
who flattered himself that, having
been used to work for the first
nobility in England, he would be
able to give satisfaction to those
employing him. Men's boots cost six
dollars, and ladies shoes one dollar
and a half. Hair dressing, in the
day of wigs and powdered hair, was a
most important art, and one of those
engaged in it was Charles McCann, at
No. 40 Queen (Pearl) Street, who
sold ladies' dress cushions at 16s.,
braids at from ten shillings to
three dollars each, and ringlets at
seven shillings a pair. For dressing
a lady's hair every day he charged
£15 a year or five shillings a time,
while gentlemen were charged £8 a
year if their hair were dressed
every day, £5 10s. for four times a
week, and £4, 10s. for three times a
week. The chief perfumery store in
the city was that of Nathaniel Smith
at the Sign of the Rose, No. 187
Queen (Pearl) Street, where there
could be obtained pomade de grasse
for thickening the hair, vegetable
face powder, almond paste for the
hands, essences of bergamot,
lavender, orange, and thyme, and
nervous essence for the toothache.
The best dentist in the city was
John Greenwood who in 1789 removed
from No. 19 to No. 56 William
Street.
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