African American Womens Clothing

Slave women preparing a meal

1645

[Slave girls oftentimes would go naked until they reached puberty. They would then be dressed as the adult women were, in coarse dresses and head wraps or hats.] The shoes that slaves wore were thin and were not able to withstand the hard work that they were forced to do. Domestic slaves were usually women and they were given more freedom with their clothing.
(https://blackthen.com/traditional-clothes-worn-by-slaves-on-plantations-in-the-south/)

George Washingtons Slaves

1793

[The female slaves working for George Washington, wore a jacket, petticoat, full skirt, stockings and a shift.] [Washington made sure that the slaves were given fall clothing and summer clothing so that the slaves would have more proper attire for the changing seasons.] While his slaves were taken care of better, they still were given minimum clothing.
(http://www.mountvernon.org/digital-encyclopedia/article/slave-clothing/)

Field workers in Virginia

1798

This picture shows the clothing of African American women who work in the fields, in Virginia. Virginia is a southern state and the slaves are often only given two pairs of clothes for the entire year, and usually do not receive shoes. Oftentimes, clothing given to slaves was made out of rough but strong material rather than softer more comfortable material. This was to make sure the clothing would last longer. (https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/media_player?mets_filename=evr1540mets.xml)

A woman slave in Georgia wearing gown and cap

1853

This woman is wearing a simple gown, and also wearing a cap on her head. The gown is probably homemade by herself or another female slave.This could be common for some women to wear caps in the South while working in the plantations. (https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/slave-women)

Massachusetts Woman

1865

This woman is wearing a typical homemade dress often wore by African American women in both the South and North. After the Civil War had passed, African Americans still were not able to wear nice clothing because they did not have enough money to buy nice clothes. This woman is wearing clothing nicer than the slaves wore, just a year ago. However, they still did not have access to comfortable clothing. (http://realhistoryww.com/world_history/ancient/Misc/Crests/Black_americans_1.htm)

African American Women Outside Home

1900

This picture shows how African American women would dress in the South when they were not going to church. These dresses are their "around the house" clothing. These outfits consisted of ruffles, full sleeves, long feather style skirts, brimmed hats and formal collars. They were able to buy clothing that was only worn by white women before 1900.

African American Women at Work

1940

African American women were able to work more since the men were at War. This means they now were seen in work uniforms and casual clothing during the week,and came to church on Sunday in their best clothing. The clothing wore in this time consisted of shorter skirts, more professional attire, bandanas and lighter colors.

Woman resisting white supremacy

1950

Black women in this time period were going back to their African roots and resisting the American look. They started using a hot comb to straighten their hair, and wearing head wraps. Women in this time period also wore African dresses to show that they were not ashamed of their culture.

African Americans Walking Down Streets in Harlem

1970

The African American women were starting to dress more like the American women in this time period. African Americans reached more equality by this time, which gave them more options in clothing. Their clothing consisted of bright colors, fun patterns, flared pants, boots and big Sunday church hats

African American Leaders of Fashion

1990

The leaders of fashion for African American women were famous celebrities that influenced the fashion trends. These included crop tops, fun colors, denim and unique hairstyles. This became part of the hip-hop culture and these fashion styles became mainstream for African American women.