03/23/07

The first settlers in South Africa were mainly from the Netherlands; they came to South Africa in the 1650’s. The clothing that these colonists wore was the clothing that was popular in the Netherlands around the 1600’s. The colonists clothing consisted of very formal clothes that covered most of the body. There were lots of layers and ruffles, as well as very different patterns. Women wore very fancy clothes, mainly dresses. Men wore linen shirts with full sleeves as well as breeches and tall boots.

Women’s Clothing

The women’s colonial clothing changed constantly in the 1600’s. When some clothes came in fashion, they could go out in a year and came back again. In the early 1600’s they wore low round necklines and a lot of ruffles. After a couple of years though, fashion went in the other direction and high-necklines were worn as well.  Later, ruffles were not so popular and flat collars came into fashion. Ruffles were much more in fashion in the Netherlands than in other places in Europe, like France and England. The women usually matched their pieces of clothing as their kerchief and collar would be decorated the same. Women wore bodices, which is like a corset. The bodices were very tight and hard for women to put on, as they had to tie it together around their body at the back. Because of this women usually needed someone else to help them put it on. The purpose of the bodice was to give the women more shape.

       In the early 1600’s the women’s sleeves were very tight fitting. Later it came into fashion to wear larger, shorter sleeves. This is when very puffy sleeves were worn. When women did not wear dresses, they almost certainly would wear skirts. The styles of the skirts were continuously changing. Both large and round skirts, as well as long and straight skirts came in and out of fashion. At formal events women would dress up even more and usually wore black gowns. The gown was a large piece of clothing that was wore over the bodice and skirt.

There were not a large variety of shoes for the women, though they usually wore low-heeled boots or flats. To keep the clothes matching, the women would usually decorate their shoes with lace and ribbons.  An important addition to fashion was how women did their hair. In early 1600’s it was very popular to have high hair, usually decorated with a linen cap. They were able to get the hair high by using wax. Some women would wear feathers and even pearls in their hair. For jewelry, it was very fashionable to wear pearl necklaces. In the mid 1600’s, women usually put their hair in loose curls to the shoulders and gathered the rest in a bun at the back of their head. Women who were married, and those who were very fashionable would have their hair uncovered or with a hat. The colonial clothing for women was always changing, though whatever they wore, they always had a great sense of elegance.

Men’s Clothing

            In the beginning of the 1600’s, men wore linen shirts and cuffs. Cuffs were at the bottom of the sleeve and were turned over to add a decoration to the outfit. Later in the 1600’s larger sleeves came into fashion. There were many different ways the men would wear their collars, as the fashion was always changing. Men usually wore doublets, which is a tight fitting button down jacket. They later became loose fitting, and it came into fashion to have it open at the front to show the shirt beneath. For a short period men wore sleeveless jackets called jerkins that were worn over the doublet.

For pants, men wore breeches, which were tight around the waist and, larger and loose fitting around the legs, which were usually tucked into their stockings. The stockings were tight pieces of linen that covered the foot and bottom part of the leg. The stockings were worn just below the knee and underneath their boots. When men wore shoes they were decorated with ribbon and lace. For a short time coats were worn that were usually hip-length and were fashionable for higher-class men. In the mid 1600’s longer hair came into fashion, usually in loose curls inspiring the creation of the wig. The men’s facial hair was usually a pointed beard with mustaches. When the Dutch came to South Africa they brought all these various types of fashions with them.