In the Middle Ages you had what was called “the sumptuary laws” which defined who can wear what depending on your status and wealth. It was during this time that garments became more fitting to the body with the invention of the button/ buttonhole. Back then only royalty and nobility could use buttons and button holes and actually the number of buttons were a distinguished mark of your status well up to the early 18th century. However It was only in the middle ages and up to the renaissance that it was actually really enforced by law. Things started to shift and by the 18th century everyone had the same cut essentially, the only thing that would differentiate class would be the materials used in clothing as well as the embellishments. But Even a working class man/ woman could have a huge amount of buttons and button holes on their garments without repercussions. It did of course take more money and time. With women’s clothing however even the Queen of France would pin close her bodice’s to her stays for practicality, the stomacher would be pined as well sometimes. This was done as to not include buttons that disrupt the overall design of the gown. So pins weren’t just used by one class. It depends on the garment. Like Redingotes were fastened with buttons at the front while a robe a la francaise might be pined close. Remember that even monarchs wore the same cut of chemise or undershirt as peasants. Theirs was cleaned with blueing dye to keep it white and was probably very well sewn with the best fabrics and lots of ruffles….more than the common man could afford.

@neolexington Thanks! Hope you’re able to visit Colonial Michilimackinac for the tricentennial!

Katherine Broberg working women would untie their corset, at the front, rich women never breastfed. they hired wet nurses

Some stays had laces in the front so they could be opened to nurse.

@Mackinac State Historic Parks THATS AMAZING! I try stuff like holding the ends, but you can’t do that with a 3/4 sleeve dress! great tip!

: Since the sleeves on this style of jacket are well-fitted, I use the string to keep my shift sleeve from getting bunched up. It works like a dream. I loop the string through my shift sleeve, hold the string in my hand and then put on the jacket. No bunches. Pro tip.

it helped when you were used to pinning your clothing. as a comparison, zippers can get stuck, and if they’re on a jacket you have to feed them in and line them up properly — a woman from the 18th century would probably struggle with zippered clothing, but we can handle them because we’ve been doing them from the age of 3 or 4. likewise, women were wearing long skirts and pinned jackets from the age of 3 or 4, so they were good at placement and didn’t need to lift skirts to walk most of the time. it would be very uncommon to prick yourself with jacket pins, since you tucked the point in toward the stays, which were too thick to be jabbed through.

Interesting! Thank you for the reply! 🙂 So it does actually happen, that the pins sometimes move, bend, fall out or prick you. I was really wondering, because I can’t imagine them all staying in place, when someone, for exapmle, has to work really hard in their clothes, no matter how careful the pins might be placed (though I’m sure that helps). Now I imagine all the maids or farmers wives of old yelling: “Darn, it happened again!” throughout the day. XD

I volunteer in clothing like this. I sometimes pin my shortgown or jacket closed and often wear an apron with a bib that is pinned to my clothing. I have occasionally lost or bent pins. I’ve only rarely jabbed myself when one moved out of place. You learn to place the pins carefully.

Lea Zoeph
Plenty of historical reanacters say it isn’t to bad.Keep in mind all of this was made of natural fabrics thar breathed well.

buttons are in evidence from at least the mid-middle ages! but the problem is your clothes needed to cope with pregnancy and the return of your figure without you needing new clothes — you could only afford one or two sets to begin with unless you were very wealthy. so buttons aren’t really good for that the way pins are.

When you’re texting a naughty Amish girl who’s not supposed to have Internet…

Him: Heey. Show me a pic of you in your underwear.

Her:

@AND ANDREY ISN’T HERE Thank you. That was bugging me! I try not to be petty but DANG people need to read or something! Today I saw Illinois spelled :Illinoise”….and just had to SMH.

spacelove 13 Even more scandalous when you consider that by the standards of the day she would be considered “naked”! LOL

spacelove 13 *chemise