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The Pilgrims are often depicted in
"popular culture" as wearing only black and white clothing, with large
golden buckles on their shoes and hats and long white collars.
This stereotypical Pilgrim, however, is not historically accurate.
The Pilgrims, in fact, wore a wide variety of colors. This is
known because when a person died, an inventory was made of their estate
for the purpose of probate: and often the color of various clothing
items were mentioned. For example, long-time church member, Mary
Ring, died in Plymouth in 1633, and her estate included a
"mingled-color" waistcoat, two violet waistcoats, three blue aprons, a
red petticoat, a violet petticoat, blue stockings, and white stockings.
In addition, she owned gray cloth, blue cloth and red cloth, ready to
make additional clothing. Plymouth's Church Elder William
Brewster, who died in 1644, owned green drawers, a red cap, a violet
coat, and a blue suit. And Governor William Bradford, when he died
in 1657, owned a green gown, violet cloak, and a red waistcoat.
 Women's clothing
A
woman's undergarment was a long off-white short-sleeved, linen shirt,
called a shift, which somewhat resembled a modern-day woman's nightshirt except that it was
ribbon-tied at the collar and cuffs and fastened in the front. One
or more ankle-length, waist-fastened petticoats were worn. The dress, or
gown, consisted of two parts, a bodice and a skirt--sometimes the
sleeves were a separate part as well, being tied to the bodice. The
bodice or the skirt could be the same or different colors, and were made
of wool. The bodice buttoned all the way down the front. The skirt was
ankle-length and gathered at the waist. A long-sleeve fitted waistcoat
was often worn over the top, and an apron was worn if the woman was
doing any kind of work. Women occasionally wore lace collar and cuffs,
and a cloak. Women's hair was always worn pulled tightly back, and
gathered under a coif or hat.
 Men's clothing
For the upper body, men usually wore a long, short-sleeved, off-white
linen shirt, with collar. On top of that he wore a doublet, which was
relatively close-fitting, with long sleeves, broad padded shoulders, and
buttoned down the front with tabs at waist. A cloak was often draped
over the shoulders. A lace collar and cuffs were worn, as was a felt or
knit cap. Older or more revered men often wore over the top of
everything a full-length wool gown. For the lower body, breeches
or drawers were usually worn. These were front-buttoning, rather baggy
pants which extended to the knee level. Stockings were knee-length,
often made of wool; they were held up with tied ribbons referred to as
garters. Shoes were either low cut leather shoes, or higher-cut
leather boots.
Children's clothing
Until about the age of eight, children--both boys and girls--wore gowns.
These gowns were similar to a woman's dress, with a full-length skirt,
high neckline, and long sleeves, but were laced up and fastened in the
back. Older boys simply wore smaller versions of men's clothing,
and older girls wore smaller versions of women's clothing.
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Photographs on this page were taken on site at the Plimoth
Plantation Museum and Mayflower II by Caleb Johnson, © 2003. They are used with
permission of the Plimoth Plantation Museum.
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