She hates me nor saying that. During the symposium i find it to face a topic close to home here in alexandria. Katherine gruber is from the jamestown georgetown from the university of Mary Washington and from the college of william and mary. Shes contributed to the valley of permanent garleries in yorktown including liberty fever, a special exhibitusion careator including early virginia which i highly encourage you to go see before it closed in january and forgotten soldier, open now through march 22nd, 2020. Kate will present her topic. So please welcome my good friend kate gruber. Well good afternoon. So you have to get through me before we can get to happy hour so ill try to make that happen with as much alack ritity of possible. Mark twain said it best. Clothes make the man. Little men little to no influence onsite. And the more i like about people, the more i like my dog. Also, he dressed like this. [ laughter ] so why dont we go to the british author Robert Campbell who wrote in 1747 no man is ignore about that a tailor makes our clothes and some makes their dress and said to make themselves. So, yes, in short, clothes make the man. And in 18th century people really had a relationship with their clothing. A relationship or a knowledge of the tradesmen, women, merchants and seamstresses and others who are a role in producing clothing, importing or selling that clothing. So this is very true for alexandria, virginia, right here on the eve of the revolution. The residents of 18th century alexandria were part of a world that defined by adherence to strict social hierarchy and clothing and textile consumption presented a unique dichotomy which we shall see was based on choice and the nature of the trade. So today i want you to take you a journey through 18th century alexander, a city on the eve of revolution. The time machine is the only known surviving account book from a virginia tailor in the prerevolutionary period. Can everyone hear me okay . I will try better. So utilizing this account book as our guy. My goal this afternoon is to give you just a glimpse of prerevolutionary alexandria through the lense of how they acquired clothing and importantly the lives they lived in their clothes. Hopefully what will immerge is a more complete picture of a city on the eve of revolution and how the simple every day act of dressing had revolutionary consequences. Or at the very least eliminate some of what alexandrias society wore to the revolution. So well get started right away. William carlin served the residents of alexandria as a tailor from 1763 to 1782 as the only known surviving account book from a tailor, carlins records offer a very rare and unique insight into consumerism material culture, a world in which alexandrians were really deeply entrenched. Carlins account book provides the names of 130 customers who entered his shop to be measured and fit for clothing. Well carlins tailoring business flourished right here in alexandria shortly after the founding in 1749 when the Virginia House met in williamsburg, yes, william and mary, i invite Public Participation so any time just go for it. Thank you. So the house of burgees proposed an act at hunting week warehouse in the county of fairfax. So as a port town and you realize im speaking, preaching to the choir here, you know the history of this town, alexandria thrived on imports and exports. Prominent planters exported tobacco. Tobacco and wheat across the atlantic in exchange for other goods like rum, sug and fashionable luxuries. Factors that we have heard about today offers stores and warehouses for scottish and others that imported goods across the atlantic. Eventually those goods made their way to alexandria and by 1776 the population was under 2,000. That population would glrow to 5,000 by 1800. The residents of alexandria then were ship builders, carpenters, merchants, silver and blacksmiths and enslaved africanamericans, tavern keepers and whiten dentured servants were found here. Many were immigrants from england and scotland and one was a tailor of William Carlin. In my mind this is how i imagined him for a really long time. Ill let that sink in for a moment. Sort of middleaged and a round figure perhaps on a bald spot or excessive worry that his seams werent quite right but given the handmade goods and things sources from local materials, and now of course ive realized that carlin was roughly the same age as i am now. Im starting to pickture him a little bit more like this. All right. To be fair, how about that. So unfortunately i havent been able to uncover too much about carlins life before he began his account book here. According to family histories, carlin was born in 17 near a place called paintly bridge in yorkshire and lived in london before immigrating to england. He was 31 years old when he made his first notations in a new account book in 1763. So by then alexandria was a power base for emerging gentry who owns vast plantations and including George Washington and george mason who lived within a few miles of the city center. Scottish and english merchants set up shop in alexandria and they made up most of the population and carlin is part of that. A Family History states that carlins shop was located on the corner of king and royal streets. Guess what, guys, we get to walk right by it when we go to happy hour. Here is a handy directional map for you. Spent some time there last night saying hello. It is a la serla now. I told my husband is that why he was young and redskiny because he was on the jared diet. So you could see that carlins shop was very prominently located in the citys developing downtown. It must have been a visible feature on the landscape and kru customers didnt have to travel to for to visit the shop from the places where they worked or lived. So of the customers in the account book, where ive identified where theyve lived and that is a lot, no one was more than one mile away from carlins tailor shop and that includes george mason who owned a townhouse about 200 feet from carlins shop and George Washingtons townhouse is less than half a mile away at 508 cameron street. Which is i guess that is north, which is not on the map but it would be just off this map here. So merchants and tradesman like carlin were crucial links to gently planters like mason and washington who needed the wares, silks, linen and wool and cotton to provide props for their social performance of dominance. As a tailor, carlin supplied the men of alexandria with many props. That they needed to perform this act. But the account book reveals that the customers who patronized carlins shop were a city of the demographics of the city as a whole which is fascinating but ill get into that later. But we need to talk about the relationship of the tail lor to his clientele in the form of the apply coined art and mystery of the tailors trade. This is important. So when George Washington, we talked about George Washington today, when he ordered suits, and livery from his london tailor, he included the language, the livery suits must be made by measures of men taken nearest their size to they could judge and intended for 59 and 54 height and proportionally made. So these were essential communications to a tailor if you are expecting him to construct a handsewn fitted garment. It is not a luxury item as we associate as today. It is a simple fact of clothing construction. Until the mid 19th century hand sewn was for any garment whether it is a wealthy member of the gentry or a enslaved. So men and women in the 18th century were familiar with the needle and thread and could make some simple repairs, maybe some Household Items but fuller garments required the knowledge and skills of men and women who learned their trades with the master tailor. So articles such as breaches, coats and others require a tailor. The skill is in the ability to fit, to measure and cut garments for a man. This is just men here. I wanted to make a quick point. Im talking about men being customers because women would go to a completely different garment maker but these are just men in mens garments here. With rare exceptions. Stays. So it is the 18th century corset. Carl lynn made Martha Washingtons stays. So somewhere along the line they needed to utilize the skills of a tailor at some point. Even the Virginia Company included a tailor in the First Expedition to jamestown and sent six more in 1608 making tailors one of the most represented trades in colonial virginia second only to carpenters and if you know anything about what happened to the Virginia Company in james toutown of 1607, but t need more tailors, that says a lot. Theyre not eating, but got to look good. All right. So that trend actually holds up throughout the 18th century. In the virginia gazette tailors advertise makes up 6 of advertisement from copies of the gazette from 1736 to 1780. Only third behind tutors and doctors. In alexandria, where carlin is, a distribute of the citys occupation from 1764 to 1800 reveals that 20 of local artisans were involved in the clothing craft and just like in 17th century jamestown it is second to those employed in the construction trade. So again this is an important part of our everyday life and in society. And this overwhelming number of tailors on the landscape speaks to their necessity in a society where individuals did not routinely make their own clothing. So why were tailors and their skills so important to communities like alexandria. A source said a tailor must bestow a good shape where nature has not designed it. Well to accomplish this, a tailor needed to take systematic measurements across a mans body, very detailed measurements so may i have a voluntarily from the audience who knows french. Please, there has to be somebody. Because i dont want to butcher this on cspan. Please, maam. If you could read the title of this book for me, please. [ inaudible ]. Thank you very much. [ applause ] you see why i didnt want to tackle that. I took latin. Im useless. So thank you for saving me from that embarrassment. So this is the 1769 treat is on the art of tailoring and it chronicles 20 different measurements neededond a mans body to construct a well cut and wellfitted suit. A tail lor must take the measurements for a person of whom the clothes are going to be made. A strip of paper one inch wide is used. It is called a measure. It is placed on the body wherever the sizes require and reach measurement is marked by a snip of the scissors so they ensures it would fit the customer properly and the way it fit his body was as important as the fabric choice. To George Washington provides a fun lens to explore the importance of cut and fit even further. When washington sent orders for clothes to london tailors he noted his large size and lanky stature. He was the tallest in Continental Congress. We learned that today. So he knew that these details were necessary in the construction of fitted clothing. So in order for a suit, washington wrote to charles lawrence, let it be fit for a man full six feet high and proportionately made. Further correspondence from washington to his london factory reveals that washington was just not satisfied with the quality of the garments that he received from his london tailor. I have hitherto have many clothes made on fish street but whether it is the fault of tailor or the measure sent, i cant say but certainly it is my close have never fit me very well. So his frustration from poorly fit clothing from london, he turned to carlin. He brought coats that needed mending and breaches and suits and washington could lengthen the breadth of coats and restore it to the proportionately made gentleman. One day to altering your clothes to your great coat and so on and so on. So as a gentlemen in a prominent city, excuse me, ill have to look at washington for a while. As a prominent city, George Washington was at the top of alexandrias social ladder. So he did warn that warned his friends not to conceive that fine clothes make fine men any more than Fine Feathers make fine clothes. So he knew how to dress the part. So he turned to carlin and came to the local tailor for making new clothes itself. He ordered a variety of garments including coats, waist coats and leggings and even more formal attire. Breeches were the most common garment made for George Washington and though he continued to place orders for suits and coats from his tailor in london, it seemed washington may have given up on charles lawrences ability to judge the height and breadth of his clients for the purpose of making comfortable and satisfactory breeches. By june of 1768 he wrote that you have sent my clothes too short and sometimes too tight so i think it is necessary again to mention that i am full six feet high. I love how he just blames it on everybody else. No, im not gaining weight at all. So, again, carlin to the rescue. He provided washington with the fitted and very fashionable clothing that he needed in order to maintain his place in alexandria complex invisible social order. So revered within the region, washingtons taste set the bar for the remainder of society seeking to emulate National Dress of the local gentry. So far weve exposed washingtons account with carlin but artisans and merchants and enslaved men passed through the door of the shop illustrating that the clothing could certainly uphold social hierarchy and inequality and the act of entering the tailor shop ensures that social mixing could be explored and experienced in this pre revolutionary space. And the active being measure for clothing was something that all members of the social strata could experience in 18th century virginia. So were going to washington a temporary adieu. How is my pronounciation . Horrible. And weve explore the other community who stepped inside of the walls of carlins shop and account the for the over 2,000 transactions by washington. So though carlin constructed for the fairfax family, 38 members of alexandrias merchant class sought his talents as well. Among the men is james kirk, hopefully someone that you have heard of. Hes noted for hosting the british nicholas crestal when he stayed in alexander in 1774. John carlyle also was a frequent customer in carlins shop. And in addition to the planner gentry and merchants of alexandria, William Carlin had a work with the trades men of the city so there was a wide cross of men who worked with their hands in shops and on wet wharves such as blacksmith joel cooper and ship builder Thomas Fleming and silver Smith Charles turner. Carlin produced clothes for one arc tech, one cooper, one hatter, five joiners, two silver smith and no partridges and a pear tree but he produced 205 garments for the artisans including 38 waist coats and 17 suits with fabric choices that ranged from a velvet suit to a country cloth suit for silver Smith Charles with breeches and drabs in between. So he served others of alexandrias society, the enslaved africanamericans and white servants and in the workshops of the citys artisans in taverns as well. Carlin made clothing for apprentices of some of the alexandrias art isons. They made provisions for the clothing and their accounts when they came to carlin themselves. So builder James Parsons purchased clothes for two of his apprentices who were samuel rowe and george barns and they would later train to become bricklayers. And the free citizens also utilized a workforce of both white and enslaved africanamericans and many krufts in carlins have not been identified. I havent been able to figure out who they are and i just have a name. And that is because at this time alexandria relied heavily on whiten dentured endentured servitude. He made purchases for himself and 12 other individuals that are only identified by first name. So it is possible that some of them were enslaved or otherwise somehow part of adams working household. So further to this point, carl lynns accounts provide an interesting view of how the enslaved Community Acquired clothing as well as what they wore. The livery for enslaved men and the tailor constructed garments for members of enslaved Community Working for and owned by alexandrias artisan and merchant population too. So clothing made specifically for the enslaved members of Alexandria Community account for 10 of the total transactions in the account book as a whole and 37 of the customers also purchased clothing for enslaved men. At the same time they purchased clothing for themselves. Sh should have mentioned im a quanta tative historian and you dont think i included that in my biography. I think that is the most math youll hear from today. And this is typical of what any man would receive from his tailor, free or enslaved. And all he produced 0i90 coats, great coats and 14 frocks. For enslaved men owned by either alexandria citizens. So id like to do a bit of a deep dive here further into the clothing that carlin made for the enslaved members of alexandrias society because we know precious little about this very, very prominent part of the citys population and through the account book we gain so much more insight into their material lives on the eve of revolution. So carlins accounts could help us understand the varieties, the quantity and life cycle of clothing within the broader lens of the material life of the enslaved. So here we go. So joe, who is an enslaved man owned by silver Smith Charles jones appears to receive clothing from carlin twice between 1772 and 1775. Charles jones was a very infrequent customer. But in 1772 he received a coat and in 1775 carlin mended his leather breeches, which are the jeans of the time. So this is interesting to me. Given the fact that joes next appearance in any document of any kind in the history orric record is in the virginia gazette and it is a runaway advertisement. The ad reeds run away from the subscriber in Fairfax County near alexandria, a young negro man named joe about 20 years of age. 58 and well made and had on when he ran away a shirt and trouser but may probably change his clothes so we all too often, how many have read advertisements like this and we all too often read the advertisements and we assume that runaways like joe stole clothing that didnt belong to them to change into or maybe we never paid attention to the statement of changing his clothes anyway. But given the presence in the carlin account book we might assume that joe had a small wardrobe to aid in his escape. I also find it interesting that working backwards, from his age in 1777, we know something we didnt about joe. That he was about 16 years old when he entered carlins shop with his owner and received a new coat. By the time he was 19 he had a pair of leather breeches that needed mending and these are small details but every little bit pieces together a live of sunshine like joe. Without the little details, we wouldnt know that this man ever existed at all and i think that is powerful. Further to this point, Charles Jones points out that joe may attempt to enlist as a free man. Remember it is 1777. Perhaps joes wardrobe enabled him to better play the part of a free man. Instead of his actual runaway status that he was. So perhaps clothes from carlins hands, a coat and breeches, aided to the escape of a freedom to a country. The majority of clothing that carlin produced for enslaved men was in the form of livery. The formal custom made uniforms by grooms and valets and the staff in the households of the gentry elite. Well return to washington because he was a frequent client of carlin. When he needed the construction of livery, for many of his domestic staff, including william lee or billy lee, his enslaved valet and longtime companion. So william or billy lee came to mt. Vernon after washington purchased him from another state in 1768. In 1769 he needed livery from carlin the tailor. So that is right when he arrived at mt. Vernon. Carlin charged washingtons account for making will livery as well as putting pocket news and repairing the claret suit. Possible also for william because washingtons household livery, theyre always colors, right, so the livery of the washington household was red and white and when we say claret that could be for livery. So william lee arrived in 1768 when he was 18 years old. He received livery from carlin the tailor after a year of service and this is surely not his first suit of livery and it wouldnt be his last. So william makes another appearance in the accounts. In june of 1771 and again carlin charged washington for making will livery coat and breeches but this time will was not alone in the accounts. Carlin also, quote, made frank a suit, making a waist coat and breeches. Who are these people . Frank is williams younger brother who came to the estate in 1768 and served as a butler and was also furnished with washingtons signature red and white livery. There are four nats, men by the name of nat in the data base. This could have been a groom. And he was charged for altering a a pair of breeches for jiles and a recipient of two waist coats that carlin constructed in 1771. Evidence as well by the charge for scarlet or claret silk. Carlins account with washington is one of many accounts that could tell us much about the material life of alexandrias enslaved population. So consider this a pause in a much longer and needed conversation that should continue and i have more if you want to know more. So weve explored the when, the where and the who but lets get back to the clothes themselves and explore what does it all mean. For most of the 18th century colonists were striving to emulate british styles and we thought of ourselves as british subjects and wanted to look and dress like them. We utilized the same textiles and colors and cuts prevalent across the atlantic but however dedicated to fashion, virginias climate forced change. Not hafrd to believe, right. Well william hugh grove remarks that virginians, quote, affected london dress in ways in all times accept in the summer months. So virginians constantly adapted to what passed for fashionable in response to the regions climate. Members of the gentry designed houses with central passage ways to provide the home with social sorting but also that cool air flow throughout spaces. So when john harrow arrived in august of 1774, how awful in august. It is just now hitting me how terrible that must have been. He may not have expected to experience such a sweltering climate. He said i suppose you would scarce not know me now. This is a letter that he wrote home. There being nothing brown, blue or black about me but the head and feet. I being dressed in a short cloth coat and a vest coat and breeches made of white cotton without any lining and thread stockings and wearing my own hair curls around like a wig. So it is painting a picture, right, of the characteristics perceived of normal clothing while also providing clues as to how virginians adapt the their fashion to accommodate for the regions intense temperatures. Which, again, is nothing new to us. So further to this point, a young traveller received advice from his brother that before embarking to virginia in 1765, quote, your clothing in the summer must be as thin as possible for the heat is beyond your conception. You must carry a stock of linen waist coats made very large and loose so that they may not stick to your hide when you perspire. So carlin knew how to clothe alexandrians for the heat and he specified the color white 44 times and that makes it the third most popular color of any garment to come out of a shop. Carlin dressed alexandery ans in white country cloth and white drill and hollan and these are all fabrics and breathable fabrics that would allow team to survive in this sweltering heat. But carlin also produced clothing but in the descriptions that were for wear during the hot summer months so hes making things that hes calling as summer coats, summer suits, summer waist coats. So all of the things indicating that were dressing for the climate. So it is unbearable as virginias summer heat could be, i. E. Today, virginias winters could be extremely bitter believe it or not. In december of 1774 nicholas crestal, that englishman living with james kirk, he wrote that virginias weather was, quote, exceeding cold and frosty and that the colonies winter was more severe than i have ever felt it in england. So perhaps crestal acquired winter garments similar to those that carlin would make. Carlin produced clothing that was specifically for wear during the coldest months including great coats, winter suits and winter coats and one great winter waist coat, whatever that means. But he constructed flannel drawers for george macys during a particularly cold november. So im sorry if there is anyone here from all right. So absorb that. So were going to stick with masons accounts toer a few months. So thank you for the flannel onesie. He is present from 1764 to 1775. The transactions provide a interesting window in the ways the clothing marks lives passage. It further illustrates point that clothing could mark could celebrate lifes milestones and acknowledge mortality and grief as well. So beginning in 1767 mason began making purchases for his sons at the time he made purchases for himself. So theyre all going in together as a family and making these orders. So his oldest son george was 14. William was 10. And thomas as 8, or thompson was 8. So before they were breech, they had gowns and allowing free range and move. And accompanied the stays. Its the undergarment that taught boys and girls proper upright posture that none of us are displaying today. So boys stop or excuse me, stopped wearing their stays at the time of transition from gowns to breeches which occurred between the age of 4 and 8. Again, ive mentioned the textile historian lena bumberg that has the quote the change from petty coats to breeches was a big event, it symbolized growing up and moving out of the female domain into the male. Leaving the mother and leaving the nursery and moving into what is going to become an adult male life. So march 18th, 1772, may have been that big day for masons youngest son john. Who entered carlins tailor shop for a coat and breeches. He writes hair bine but it is probably hair bone. It is a silk fabric typical for mens clothing. So born on april 4th, 1766, this event occurred before johns sixth birthday. So together with the age at which john first appears in the account book, and taken that into consideration with his familys long patronage in carl lynns shop it is likely that this first transaction significant nyed johns entrance into manhood. This is the moment where hes being breached. So he would grow up to become a successful merchant and in france and alexandria. His adult life begins around the corner William Carlins tailor shop. As a young child john learned that his adult life could begin in a tailor shop but just one year later he learned that clothing could signify death as well. When his mother ann died of child birth in march of 1773, the masons went into a period of mourning, similar to other social customs this necessity ated mourning suits. On april 2nd, 1773, carl lynn charged masons account for making your suit of mourning. Making your son george a suit. And making son william and thompson a suit and john a suit of crepe, making man james a suit. So only one year after john received his first suit of clothes from carlins hands he received more attire as well. He learned the role that clothing would play in life and in death. Thankfully the mourning is not the only life event for which carlin produced clothing. Mis accounts note that he produced two wedding suits. One for Charles Alexander and another for attorney Robert Hanson harrison. There are no clues in the account book to tell us what the suits may have looked like. Dont you hate that. Carlins account book illustrates that clothing functioned beyond a basis necessity and as a medium to protect o protect one self from the climate, it could signify lifes right of passage. So while the majority of the clothing in this paper has focused on the clothing that carlin produced for alexandrias elite gentry, i do want to point out that the account book is evidence that members of all of alexandrias social strata found themselves in the carlin tailor shop. The colonies were well entrenched, not in the American Revolution but in the consumer revolution. So though society was heavily strat is fied, the revolution in production and marketing and credit made it possible for more people to purchase goods than ever before. So beyond that credit crisis that faced london banks, credit was widely available and easily assessable to people who asked for it. And in alexandria, one did not need to be a member to gentry elite to shop like one. So the tastes for finery also extend into their wardrobes. Nowhere is there more evident than in the carlin account book. The orders on credit reflects the needs of people who were dressing for success and dressing to impress. Though colonial virginia was deeply strat fied, they desired to obtain a Higher Quality of life and many yearned to emulate their social betters. On the impact of fashion, a strong emulation in all of the several stations sparked a perpetual ambition to raise to the level of those immediately amove them. I think she would have said that and has said that in downtown abbey. So in addition to that consumer revolution, customers had another revolution on their mind. The reason why were here today, the American Revolution. Though the course of only a few years through the course of only a few years, carlins desire to maintain the britishness by consuming what one historian called the bobbles of britain had given way to be politically proactive showing discontent with parliament and this is not the king, with parliament resulted in various measures not least of which involved the nonimportation of british gr goods including the yard goods and readymade clothing needed to perform those social acts. So this desire to enact patriotism via consumptionar lack thereof fervent in alexandria. In the nonimportation agreement written in 1770, carlin stitched together fabrics imported from Great Britain but from around the world funled through the british ports. They stood to impact the tailoring business. That makes sense, right. Because that didnt happen. By comparing the years in which William Carlin received the most business, the activities of his customers and those that signed the importation agreement it is clear to see that they did not have a negative impact on carlin. As a matter of fact 1770 is this guys busiest year. It is unbelievable, right. So of the members of planter and merchant elite to signed that nonimportation agreement, at least eight were active customers of William Carlin, including john dalton, peter wagner, george mason, william ramsey, george carlyle, robert adam and john west, jr. These are prominent alexandria and Fairfax County names. As a fairfax agreement renounced all importation of commodity yz from britain including fabric and textiles one would assume that there could be symptoms of a population cutting back on consumption but carlins business almost doubles from 1769 to 1770. So what accounts for this . Carlins business may have doubled because colonists were eager to use the textiles already in the colonies before supplies came to a shortage. So maybe this is a simple matter of supply and demand. That kind of makes sensech it is also possible that clever merchants took after merchant William Allison who purchased an abundance of textiles in 1769 and 1770 in anticipation of just this sort of thing. So hes trying to stock his shelves waiting for someone to say were not going to import that any more so he could say, uhhuh, i already have it right here for you. By bringing fabrics to William Carlin or carlin selling it himself, they were not in violation of the import ailtsation agreement. And it is possible that washington who did receive clothes from london tailors made the choice to shop locally then and to patronize the local tailor for clothes in 1770 instead of going abroad. So it may be a chicken or the egg, a couple of factors contributing to this hike or spike in consumerism. But regardless of the reasons that may be behind carlins spike in business in 1770, it is clear to see that even when alexandrias citizens desire to curb their enthusiasm for british goods, they still wanted to look good doing it. There is no harm in that, right. So in 1765, a writer in the connecticut current newspaper noted no age could come up to the present when by their dress the clerk, at present is or the shopmen are not distinguishable from the master nor the servant made, even the cook wench from his mistress. The analysis of the account book verify this is proclamation made by this connecticut writer. From 1763 to 1782 carlin produced clothes for all of the alexandria site, from servants to slaves to artisan and merchants and the gentry wore clothing from the hands of carlin the tailor and passed through the walls of that shop. William carlin measured and fit gentry for clothing alongside their domestic staff and measured coopers, blacksmiths, tavern keepers in side the walls of hi shop. And produced clothes worn they oversaw workers on their plantations. He often made the clothes of the men and the women who were doing that work. Carlin offered these services acquired through years of an apprenticeship to measure and fit men for their clothing and providing them with clothing they needed to cope with virginias climate, to facili facilitate ushering in lifes milestones and changes. Entrance into adulthood. Mourning loss of family members. Entering into a marriage. With the help of the consumer revolution and merchants, card with any textile. He continued to facilitate citizens fashionable desires through the years of the American Revolution as well. Desires that not even nonimportation agreements could stifle. Dont take me wrong here. Im not accusing carlin facilitating open rebellion by trying to get people to not emulate the british or purchase british goods. I think of him as a middleman. He did his part to see them realize their revolutionary leanings and literally put on the formal uniform of revolutionary rebellion. In july of 1775, after Patrick Henry delivered his words, give me liberty or give me death, after the send Continental Congress convened in philadelphia, they published george masons declaration. For the price of one point seven schillings and six pence, James Parsons donned a revolution suit. The revolution had begun. Thank you so much. [ applause ] the account book, does it also say where he purchased his materials, where he purchased his cloth . Is that in that account book . Theres one transaction to tell me anything about where he is about where he is purchasing what factor. Its a man named. Theres one account its the earliest transaction in the account book. It says i think its james todd of york in england. That is the only thing that i can find. Its possible that this is just one of carlin account keeping books. He may have others that are for that end of his business, importing raw materials. Maybe he is getting them locally. But this is mostly incoming and outgoing based on customer. Thank you. I would love to know the answer to that question. If you find it, let me know. I was thinking of the recent very large remnants of boats that have been found in alexandria. If perhaps the cloth was coming in on some of those, it would be nice to get an account of where certainly, inevitably it was. But i dont know who his factor is in england or elsewhere. Thank you for your presentation. It was really fascinating. Just a couple of questions to sort of round out my whole picture about purchasing of clothes. Would somebody like george mason or even one of the workers in town, would they have more than one outfit . Would they have several . Then the second question is, what about hygiene at this time of history . So thats actually hygiene is a fun one to answer. The best way that i can answer that question is the past is a foreign country. They do things differently there. Theres a great book, if you want to do a deep dive, its beby kathy brown. Its called foul bodies. She talks about bathing, hygiene, all of these Fun Questions in that book. Its very virginia centric. I encourage you to get that book. Laundry is a thing. Bleaching things out in the sun is a thing. People are taking care of their clothing and people do bathe in this time period, contrary to popular mythology. There are a lot of things we could do to keep ourselves as fresh as we can be and keep our clothing as fresh as can be as well. Back to your question about multiple garments. I think its clear to see in the account book particularly that one receipt for some of the enslaved men in washingtons records, you can its also the fairfax records as well. You can see when people are acquiring new sets of clothes. A lot of it revolves around seasonality, which makes sense. So at least for enslaved members of society, you are obligated to clothe slaves. People Like Washington and may sore do that in a variety of different ways. I think its very plain to see in the account book that you can follow what happens to garments, what garments are repaired versus replaced, when that happens, when they get new suits of clothes, things like that. For other members of society as well, again, i think thats a value of going straight to an cou account where you can see people are getting a lot of clothes. People have multiple suits of clothes. That might be because changing clothes probably not like we do today but its an option for you. We have a lot of Different Things to dress for in the 18th century than we do in the 21st. Im wearing a wool skirt right now. Its like 90 degrees outside. Im glad im wearing the wool skirt because we have central air in here and its freezing. I dont have to think so much about what the climate is when i dress myself in the morning. These people did. Again, the past is a different country. They do things differently i think holds up for this as well. I feel like theres 400 other ways i could answer that question. Maybe thats a start. [ inaudible ] in terms of even the size of the wardrobe and what was popular fashion . Size of the wardrobe, same thing. I should mention here that probate inventory is a fun way to gauge what people had. It sucks for lu s for looking a clothing. Probate inventory are meant to get a glimpse of the work of your estate for resale or paying off debts. Compared to other stuff in your house, clothing isnt going to fetch that much. Used clothing is not going to fetch that much. A lot of times we dont see clothes in probate inventories which is a real bummer. That could have been a great way to answer that question. Really cant do it that way because people werent thinking that way in the 18th century. Women were more often getting their clothing from someone called a manswa maker. The way that clothing is constructed is different than how men were having their clothes constructed. Drew, stand up. You can stay there. This is my husband. Thank you. So if he is going to a tailor and have clothing made, he is his own dress form. The way suit form. The way the tailor will work out his garment is he will take measurements. He will measure arms, and everything. Sit down. A woman the way a woman is going to stand as a certain dress form. The way the Construction Works is that instead of a strip of paper being placed across areas of measurement, they are going to drape they are going to drape fabric on a womans body. If you think about it, womens clothes were very, very form fitting in some places and extremely elaborate and huge in other places. The way that you are measured for that clothing is totally different. The two reasons why a woman might go to a tailor might be for stays. Male tailors were making stays next are making ridie ining hab. They are constructed to look like mens suits only its a skirt and not pants. A taylilor would do riding habi as well. That was so informative and fun. Thanks for those. I try to be fun. You talked about the variances in style necessitated by climate. Im wondering if as the revolution wore on and the sense of a new being a new nation emerged, did that affect clothing styles at all . Would you be able to distinguish patriot from loyalist at some point . Then we have this idea of country cloth, of the homespun movement. Thats something im trying to do a deep dive into. I think the homespun movement, trying to show patriotism by wearing clothing by wearing clothing made is that your question . Separate question. Happy to come back to that. I think there is a very short kind of Spark Movement to Wear Clothing constructed from fabric made in the colonies to stick it to britain. Not everyone is able to do that. So i think that we have in our minds eye everyone was running around in country cloth or homespun. Im not sure it happened to the magnitude that we want to believe that it did. In terms of dressing for the season, thats still a factor. We have until we have central air, thats a factor. Theres so many ways to answer these questions. We are always, i think, k colonists are looking to england first and to france for fashionable inspiration. A fun thing happens in fashion after the creation of the united states. In 1800, you have this prevalence towards the classics and being inspired by the classics. We see women in beautifully draped gowns. You know what im talking about . There are other parts of fashionable life that also take that into account. This is where you see neocla neoclasicism. The way shes wearing that fashion, how it says something about the new republic. In a way, fashion does change after the revolution and there might be a way to put that in a nice little box thats longer than this conversation. The beginning of lets say the end of the french and indian war, beginning of the American Revolution, we have the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. I think this idea of domestic manufacturing is really going to start kicking off in the 19th century when we have more industry, we are choosing to support ourselves more as a nation. The clothing trade becomes more industrialized. The 19th century, we have more technology in terms of the sewing machine. Thats not as fun. Then everything is ready made. Theres a book that talks about this. More geared towards mens clothing. Its really more with the Industrial Revolution that we see more of a domestic i think more of a domestic movement for clothing. I hope that answers your question. [ inaudible ] another problem that i just want to point out with the idea of homespun is that you have to have not only the technology to create cloth in your home, whether it be linen or wool or whatever, you have to have the leisure time. Its an incredible amount of work. Theres Something Like 13 steps between sowing that flak flaxseed and sewing. I think thats another factor that gets lost in the conversation. Sure you might know how to do it. Do you have the leisure time . You might want to wear homespun to show your patriotic leanings, but who is doing it . Where can you get when the british soldiers, they had wool. They were wearing woollen wrought fits. Do you know the uniform that was made or what was being made for the Continental Army . They are wearing wool. Wool is hot but wool is also a great wool breathes. I would rather wear wool than polyester, even on a day like this. Washington orders its later in the war where he is ordering everybody to wear hunting shirts. This is linen. Its more of what you might see in your minds eye when you think of when you think of the war in the south, you think of men wearing hunting shirts. Those are large linen, almost smo smocklike garments. Thats availability of materials, how to make the shirts and washington just wants everybody to look the same. Everyone is running around in different colors of wool. There are wool uniforms. Continental army is wearing wool just like the british army. They are starting to employ this idea of linen hunting shirts later in the war. [ applause ] tonight on American History tv, a look at the American Revolution beginning at 8 00 p. M. Eastern. Military historian Gregory Irwin talks about the challenges that the british army faced in adapting to north american terrain and battle tactics during the revolutionary war. His remarks were at an International Conference cohosted by the museum of the American Revolution. Watch American History tv tonight and over the weekend on cspan3. Now from alexandria, virginia, the closing session from the emerging revolutionary war symposium. A panel of historians summarized their thoughts from the day and discuss the causes of the American Revolution. Cool. Thank you all for co o