For help with clothing: The following list of websites is provided without guarantee or assurance of accuracy -- the webmistress finds them informative, useful, or at least pertinent.
http://www.marariley.net/index.htm Loaded with photos, step-by-step instructions, discussion of extant garments and helpful books and links. http://www.burnleyandtrowbridge.com/ Sutlers offering patterns, fabrics, notions, and reproduction 18th century shoes. Pleasant and generous with assistance. http://www.jpryan.com/ A line of patterns for both ladies and gentlemen of the Georgian era. Including unusually thorough helpful complete instructions enabling even the novice to achieve satisfying results. Includes a packet of basic garments for the common sort of woman. http://www.wmboothdraper.com/index.html Sutlers carrying an unusual number and variety of buckles as well as cotton and linen tapes and metallic laces. http://www.sillysisters.com/ Specializing in 18th century reproduction women'sclothing
What to Wear & When
How to Get Dressed Colonial garb is put on in a specific order:
Women’s’ Clothing Shift -- THIS IS AN UNDERGARMENT WORN BY ALL LEVELS OF SOCIETY. It has the appearance of a short dress and is worn against the skin and beneath all other garments.
Stockings -- Stockings will be made of different materials, depending upon class position. The gentry and middling classes often wore silk while the lower or working classes wore linen. Field hands often did not wear stockings as they were not able to afford them, particularly since most field hands were, in fact, slaves.
Stays -- These were they basic support garment for all women. They provided support for the back and aided in maintaining a proper posture. Stays differ from the 19th Century Corset in that they were not intended to create a smaller figure.
Shoes -- The type worn depended greatly upon what could be afforded. Typically the Gentry wore leather shoes with decorative, as well as functional, buckles. The poorer classes would wear a fabric made shoe equipped with ribbon to tie them closed. For servant classes, footwear depended upon the servant’s position and what the slave owner was willing to purchase.
Pockets -- Pockets were a single sewn pocket, separate from the clothing itself. They were tied around the waist and worn over the under petticoat. The Gentry often wore fine embroidered pockets while other classes were limited to plain fabric pockets. These functioned similarly to the pockets sewn into clothing today.
Hoops/Hip Roll/Rump Roll -- The occasion dictated which would be worn. For Balls and other parties, the gentry would were hoops. These served to provide a wideness to the hips, and did not surround the wearer like the antebellum hoop did. They also added nothing to the stomach or back. The hip or rump roll would be tied around the waist to add a minor accent to a woman’s hips and rear end. These were for more daily and common wear. Neither of these things would be worn by women of the working or slave classes.
Under-Petticoat -- This is a petticoat worn as a sort of undergarment. It is worn over the shift and suitable disguises lines made by the addition of hoops or rolls to the garment.
Cap -- During the 18th Century, it was most common for a woman to cover her head. This may have been for practical reasons as well as to show modesty. The cap may have been substituted for by a Pinner for more formal wear.
Petticoat -- This petticoat was visible and therefore more decorative than the under-petticoat. These were often made of printed material or bold colors and was intended to match the gown and stomacher giving a woman a complete outfit.
Stomacher -- This was a single piece pinned, invisible, to the top of one’s stays. This provided a covering beneath a laced gown.
Gown -- Gowns took various forms including the fitted jacket or caracao worn by Ladies, the short gown, and the bed gown. These where garments that had sleeves and laced up the front, in the case of jackets, or wrapped around a woman to cover her stays and complete the outfit.
Neck Kerchief -- For purposes of modesty, women wore a linen neck kerchief around the back o the neck and either tucked into the stays or closed in some manner at the top of the stays to conceal the cleavage. They were not worn by women with formal attire or to balls and parties.
Apron -- aprons were worn over the petticoat to protect it while a women went through here day doing whatever work she might have to do. They were not worn with ball gowns or party wear.
Hat -- During the day, a woman would wear a straw hat with a wide brim and low Crown to keep the sun from her face. Various types of bonnets might also be worn for different occasions. The working classes did not wear hats, they would simply wrap a covering over their hair to keep it out of the way.