GLORY Roberts, retired Jamaican librarian, gives us a bird's eye view of Jamaican fashion between 1800 and 1914 from her vast collection of prints of that period.Prints from the artists Kidd and Duperly show that rural people in the new times of Emancipation continued to wear what they had worn before, with women in skirts right down to the ground and sleeves of elbow length, featuring ruffles. Men wore knee britches and shirts.
Townspeople, many of whom might have been free persons before 1834, became more stylish.
Duperly's townspeople were definitely better dressed than agricultural workers. The masses began to dress almost like middle-class and the skirt reached floor length as the century wore on. Yet, it was not always sweeping the ground.
To do manual labour, a length of material was tied around the waist and the outer skirt pulled over in a roll. At the end of the task, it would be pulled back down.
Such a practice distinguished members of the working class from their 'betters'. On the other hand middle-class women thought it indecent to pull up their skirts, as the style dictated at that time that only the shoes should be seen.
The less privileged women of that time mimicked the fashions of those better off, but were forced to used cheaper materials. In addition, they could not afford the bustles or as many crinolines. The more elaborate designs required more than 18 yards of fabric.
Even during slavery, the rough cotton osnaburg was sometimes styled to imitate Great House wear. The working class women made money from selling produce from the gardens planted on lands near the Great House in Sunday markets and to other estates.
Worn with pride
Clothes was little priority and the theory is this was so because clothing was one of the few things slaves could take with them when sent to other estates. There were also 'hand-me-downs' from the mistresses which was worn with pride by those who felt honoured to get them.
Beads and corals were made into earrings, chokers, bracelets and chains. Later, gold made its appearance.
The workers' love of finery was noted and some employers thought it encouraged industry, as they had to work hard to buy the outfits.
Knee britches
Men of all classes wore close-fitting knee britches with splits at the knees and roomy shirts which only opened to the chest, with long, bellowing sleeves.
Among the best dressed were footmen and other attendants who were clothed in the traditional fashions of England such as uniformed livery, great coats and hats and even Turkish turbans.
An 1802 print of a nurse-maid shows her dressed in a hat on top of an English maid's cap, complementing a dress in the high-waisted style of that era. She was dressed in shoes and stockings (quite unusual for slaves).
According to a number of sources, Africans did not like the close-fitting European shoes. However, emancipated Jamaicans were to list shoes among the must haves for Sunday dress, and would walk barefooted all week to save their shoes for that special day.
The wearing of 'tie heads' (scarves on the head), plus hats was a peculiarity of the Africans and their descendants.
The middle-class women wore bonnets and other head coverings.
An 1861-2 print shows a young woman of about 18 years in an outfit fitted at the waistline with crinoline, gloves and handkerchief to match, draped with a decorative shawl.
Aprons were an affectation among all classes, which appeared to have fulfilled a more weightier role than that of keeping clothes clean. The richest of women would wear a light gauzy apron in the morning to indicate that she was in charge of domestic affairs.
By the end of the century, necklines climbed for women, sleeves narrowed, but the crinoline still prevailed. By the early 1900s the skirt and blouse made its debut.
