Hoopskirts, Union Blues, and Confederate Grays: Civil War Fashions from 1861 to 1865

What would you have worn if you lived during the Civil War era? It depends on who you were: -Upper-class women wore tight corsets, bustles, and wide hoop skirts to fancy balls. The layers weighed almost 30 pounds (14 kilograms)! -For everyday, whether at home or nursing soldiers, women put on multiple layers of simple fabrics. Some daredevils sported women's trousers--called Bloomers--to make a statement on women's rights. -Civil War soldiers wore flannel and wool uniforms--blue in the North and gray in the South. -Men of fashion donned suits with velvet collar and silk lapels during the day and coats with fancy tails for parties. -Underneath their everyday clothing--a shirt, tie, vest, coat and trousers--men wore "drawers," baggy long undergarments that buttoned in front and tied in back. -Slaves wore whatever their owners gave them--usually only two sets of rough linen clothing, one for winter and one for summer. -Girls had loose garments called pantalets and pinafores, while sailor suits were popular for boys. Read more about wartime fashions of the 1860s--from ankle boots to parasols and tiaras--in this fascinating book!