For years my
family members were historical re-enactors of the FurTrade Era. Which is basically
pre-1840 US history although we did some French and Indian War re-enactments as
well.
When doing
these we dressed and lived as in those times.
As a historical clothier I could write volumes on the various garments
on construction, the ease of making them and the multipurpose use of the
clothes. But today’s missive is about
the lowly pocket and its usage not only as a handy catch all in women’s
clothing but as a powerful silent language.
First of all
let’s start with the pocket itself. We are all familiar with the pockets in
modern clothing, but during the early years they were not sewn in as they are
now. Fabric was hard to come by and
expensive. Even the coarse homespun and
felted wools worn by the people were labor intensive to make. So pockets were transferable from one garment
to another.
Today I’m
only talking about the pockets used by the ladies. A bit of history here, during this time frame
the women could not own property, often were not allowed to handle money, and
were basically uneducated. Dowries were still the vogue. A woman’s skills were often her biggest
“selling value” as she became of age to marry.
There were
very few honorable ways a woman could earn money to turn over to her husband,
father, uncle or other male figure in her life.
The money she earned was not hers to keep. Sewing was one of those ways.
I tell you
this so you will understand more of the language of the pocket and in another
post I’ll talk about the chatelaine which
also figured into this silent language of a woman’s worth.
The pockets
were generally a tear drop shaped pouch that had a casing for a ribbon or sash
to go through the top of it to secure it around the waist of the wearer.
The pocket
was worn, except for two time periods in her life, under the woman’s skirt,
aka: petticoat, and was accessed through a slit in the side of the skirt.
For the most
part the pocket was generally plain and unadorned except during those two time
periods I previously mentioned. Then it
became very elaborate and well decorated because it was going to become a form
of advertisement of the wearer’s skills.
Remember me
saying a woman’s skills were how her worth as a future wife were
evaluated. Well one of those skills that
was much in demand was sewing. While the
sewing machine did come into existence in the mid
1700’s it did not start appearing in households until over a century later.
Even then it was often only the wealthy that could afford them and most
machines in the beginning did a chain stitch that unraveled with a single pull
of the thread. Much like what is on feed
sacks today. So they were used more for items that would not require a lot of
day to day wear and strain.
Therefore,
being a good seamstress was a valuable marketable skill for centuries. The pocket became a billboard of the woman’s
abilities and was often labored over for long periods of time to make them just
perfect before appearing on the outside of the skirt.
The first time
they appeared was when the head male of the household decided it was time the
young lady should be married off. She
would be told “Girl it is time to make your pocket.”
She would
then, if she was anxious to be married, work hard on designing her pocket and
sewing it with the tiniest of stitches and decorate it with elaborate
embroidery showing off all the decorative stitches she knew how to do.
Often she
had either grown and harvested the flax or cotton herself, or sheared the sheep
and then wove it into the fabric for the pocket and the sash to hold it to show
her additional house wife skills.
Once the
elaborate pocket was made it was saved for when suitable suitors would be
around. Perhaps at a church social.
They would
attend such gatherings carrying a food item the young woman had made to show
off her cooking skills and her pocket proudly displayed on the outside of her
petticoat.
The
petticoat and bodice would also be the best she had to show her “wealth” and
sewing skills. They would of course be a
clean as possible to show she was a good house keeper as well.
The pocket
basically told all suitors, young and old alike, that Papa said it was time she
be married.
The second
time in her life she might wear her pocket on the outside of her petticoats was
to advertise that she was a professional seamstress and was allowed by the
males in her life to take in sewing to earn money for the household.
There is an
old nursery rhyme from the 1700’s called Lucy Locket.
LUCY LOCKET
Lucy Locket
lost her pocket,
Kitty Fisher
found it.
Not a penny was there in it,
Just a
ribbon round it.
As a child I
could not figure out how in the world someone could lose a pocket, but after
making several myself for sale over the years it became very clear to me.
What I did
not know for the longest time was the poem actually referred to another, not so
honorable way women were often forced to earn a living.
According to
various web sites Lucy Locket was a barmaid at the Cock Public House in London
England during the early 1700’s , who did more than serve ale.
Kitty Fisher
was Catherine Maria Fisher (died 1757) who was an infamous courtesan who
stepped above the working class girl into society with servants of her own.
The
implication being that while both women plied the same trade, Kitty was far
wealthier than Lucy because of her great beauty.
Jan who
hopes you enjoyed this bit of history on one of many silent languages in OK
