Dressed for the West: Then & Now

Fashion has never been my thing.  But, my fashion-forward friend, Julie Burns, urged me to write about the clothing worn on the trail.  So, here goes....

My pile of clothes...

Everything has to be super comfortable, stretch pants, cotton knit tops, a cozy sweatshirt for warmth, a gauzy floral top with camisole from Target for fancy evening dinners... ha, ha, ha.  LOTS of underwear -- I hate doing laundry.  Comfy PJs from Costco.  My favorite Keen sandals plus a pair of walking shoes.  A wide brimmed hat & sunglasses.  This kit ought to do me....

Oh!  And my fake pearl earrings and my real gold necklace featuring my great grandfather Walter Sharkey's saloon token, good for one drink.  His grandfather was Pleasant Gray, the one who died of cholera on the overland trail in 1849 at the western edge of Nebraska.  

The fanciest saloon in town, The Senate, was located in Oroville, California
 -- which means Gold Town in Spanish....

In 1849....

"You will scarcely know us if you should see us in our camp...with our California rig on: our woolen and striped shirts and broad-brimmed hats....In several camps mustachios are becoming quite fashionable and everyone who can turn out the hair on his face makes a parade of it."  Wm Searles, May 10, 1849

"Imagine to yourself of biped 5'4" high, with big whiskers, red mustachios, a steeple-crowned hat, buckskin coat done up with hedgehog quills, belt, hatchet, bullet pouch, Bowie knife 20 inches long, shirt and 5 inch spurs. It seems to me that the boys take pains to make themselves ridiculous."  Dr. Israel Shipman Pelton Lord  

Women frequently started on the trail in their Sunday finest clothes....

"These were soon discarded.  Fortunately I had with me some short wash dresses which I immediately donned...and put on a big Shaker sun-bonnet and my heavy buckskin gloves." Lavania Porter

"Embarrassed at the start by the follies of fashion, they soon rose to the occasion and cast false modesty aside.  Long dresses were quickly discarded and the bloomer donned.  Elderly matrons dressed almost like little girls...The younger women were rather shy in accepting the inevitable but finally fell into the procession, and soon we had a community of women wearing bloomers.  Some of them went barefoot, partly from choice and in some cases from necessity. 

The same could be said of the men, as shoe leather began to grind out from the sand and dry heat. Of all the fantastic costumes, it is safe to say the like was never seen before.  The scene beggars description.  Patches became visible upon the clothing of preachers as well as laymen.  The situation brooked no respect of persons.  The grandmother's hat was soon displaced by a handkerchief or perhaps a bit of cloth.  Grandfather's high crowned hat disappeared as if by magic.  Hapless and bootless men became a common sight.   Bonnet-less women were to be seen on all sides.  They wore what they had left or could get, without question as to the fitness of things.  Rich dresses were worn by some ladies because they had no others; the gentleman drew upon their wardrobes until scarcely a fine unsoiled suit was left."  Ezra Meeker

Drawings by J. Goldsborough Bruff, 1849