Women's Fashion During The Civil War

The women's fashion during the civil war is a lot different than it is today. So here are what the women's fashion was like back in the civil war time. Women word about seven layers of clothes under their dresses. The first layer is the drawers, bloomers/pantalettes (underpants) these were made of cotton or linen it would come down to the ankle or knee and an the ends it. Would have lace. The second layer would be the chemise (long undershirt), it was made out of cotton or linen it would be worn under the corset to prevent from pinching the woman and to keep it from becoming soiled by the women’s bodily oils. Also in the second layer they would wear stockings which were held up with garters (garters were bands worn around the leg). The third …show more content…
The fourth layer was the camisole (corset cover) it is made out of cotton. The camisole had prevented the color from getting on the corset because the corset was hard to wash. The fifth layer is the under petticoat, it was made of cotton, it was worn under the hoop skirt, to keep it from getting mud and dirt under it, and the drawers were split and if the hoop skirt would tilt it could reveal more than the woman was comfortable with revealing that's why the under petticoat was there. The sixth layer was the hoop skirt, it was made up of steel covered by cotton, but sometimes it would be whalebone instead of steel, and this would make a caged crinoline.The purpose of a hoop skirt was to hold the skirt into a fashionable shape. The seventh layer is the over petticoat usually a woman would wear only wear two of them during summer and spring. But during the fall and winter the women would only wear them about four or five times. The purpose of the over petticoats was to cover the hoop skirt so that the steel or whalebone wouldn't show through. The outside layer is the blouse or bodice and the actual …show more content…
The first civil war soldiers were the Confederate soldiers. The soldiers uniforms that they wore were grey or a mix of shades of brown and khaki. Since they wore the color brown they earned the name butternuts. The uniforms were short waisted jackets and pants made of heavy cotton and last the undergarments that they brought from their home. The shoe that they wore would quickly be worn out because of the hundred miles of marching and the shoes were really hard to replace this was a disadvantage in the war. The Confederate soldiers would only carry blanket rolls of their belongings and tie it over their shoulder. Since the Confederate carried less equipment they would take the Unions soldiers equipment when dead. The second civil war soldier were the Union soldiers. The union soldiers uniforms were made of wool but this wool was itchy so they wore cotton shirts and cotton underwear from home under their uniforms. The shirt was dark blue and had four brass buttons on the front of it. Their pants were lighter blue and were held up by suspenders. The shoes they wore were called brogans which laced up over the ankle. The cap they wore was a forage cap it was made of stiff wool and it had a symbol on the front of the cap. The union soldiers would carry a rifle, a belt with cartridge box, bayonet, and scabbard, haversack, canteen, and their own