The Web They Wove: Women & Their Wardrobes During New England's Revolution

Underpinning the sensationalism of battle reports and broadsides is the often-silent steadiness of women’s work with textiles. The choices they made every day about fashion and fabric consumption and creation drove the course of Revolution just as determinedly as any congress. In commemoration of our nation's 250th anniversary, we recall local lives dressed in fulled wool or spun silk that continue to inspire creativity, resilience, and empathy today. From the mythology of homespun to legends of midnight rides in red cloaks and calashes, the Dirty Blue Shirts share stories of women who waged war on multiple fronts and provide insights about what these revolutionary women wore during the era. The program is presented by costumed historians and includes reproduction clothing pieces and fabric samples as well as a PowerPoint presentation with images of extant originals.

Sponsored in partnership with the Simsbury 250th Celebration Committee.