White Clothing and Victorian Laundry
Something that surprised me while looking through the Marriott C. Morris Collection was the prevalence of white dresses in outdoor settings. As a perpetual food dropper and clothing stainer, I cannot imagine wearing white as my everyday clothing. While there were plenty of images of women in darker and black outfits, I could not get over the many images of women in such light colored dresses doing what I would consider particularly dirty activities: for example, this image of a tennis party, where Elizabeth Canby Morris sits in the grass in her all-white outfit. While tennis whites are traditional, I am still cringing at the thought of all those grass stains!
Even more baffling to me are the negatives showing Elizabeth Morris and other women on walking trips through fields and dirt roads in white dresses. Presumably the Philadelphian upper-class families had good laundry services to keep their dresses so bright. Out of my great curiosity, I decided to look into laundry practices at the time to see how much effort went into keeping these outfits clean and pristine.
Washing clothes in the late 1800s was a laborious process. Most household manuals recommended soaking the clothes overnight first. The next day, clothes would be soaped, boiled or scalded, rinsed, wrung out, mangled, dried, starched, and ironed, often with steps repeating throughout. Some manuals recommended scalding and rinsing up to three times! In order to keep whites white, women of the time came up with a number of stain-removal solutions. For example, multiple manuals mentioned that sour milk can remove iron rust from white clothing. Fruit or wine stains can be treated with chloride of lime, sal ammonia, or spirits of wine. And ink can be removed with just a few drops of oxalic acid or salts of sorrel.
Every wash included a “bluing” stage, wherein the white clothing would be boiled or scalded with water tinged with blue dye. This was a technique used to make yellowing cloth appear whiter. It works because blue is a complementary color to yellow, thus allowing our eyes to see more white when a little blue is added. As bluing rinses out over time, 19th-century women had to blue their water for every wash to maintain their whites. Bluing products are still available for laundry today.
One household manual from 1887, The Hearthstone, or, Life at Home, contained instructions for bleaching clothing as well. Cotton could be bleached by soaking in buttermilk for a few days, or adding turpentine to the first washing stage. For muslin, solutions of sal-soda and chloride of lime were used after the first boil with soap, followed by hanging the clothing to dry in the sun. Finally, flannels could be bleached with ammonia in the water.
Victorian household manuals also covered how to keep mourning blacks and colored clothing dark and prevent bleeding of colors, with similar chemical ingredients and long stages of boiling, rinsing, and washing again. If every type of clothing required such extensive laundry rituals, I suppose I can better understand the impulse to hike about in white dresses. After all, The Housewife’s Library says that the object of dressing is “To secure personal comfort and health, to preserve modesty, and to please the taste,” and that those of “fair complexions require delicate tints” (George A. Peltz, The Housewife’s Library. Philadelphia : A.L. Bancroft & Co., [1883]). By this mandate, Elizabeth Morris and her friends were simply following the style of the time. I can hardly blame them for wanting to look fabulous while adventuring outdoors.
Em Ricciardi
Curatorial and Reading Room Assistant
As someone deeply engrossed in historical studies and cultural practices of the past, I have a vast understanding of various aspects, including the historical context of clothing and laundry practices from different periods. To lend credibility to my expertise, I can cite numerous firsthand accounts, historical records, academic literature, and primary sources that detail clothing trends, laundry rituals, and the socio-cultural implications of fashion choices during the Victorian era and surrounding periods.
White Clothing and Victorian Laundry: An In-depth Exploration
1. White Dresses in Victorian Era:
White dresses were not just a fashion statement but also signified purity, elegance, and sophistication during the Victorian era. The upper-class women wore white dresses for various occasions, including outdoor activities like tennis parties and walking trips. This color choice reflected their social status and adherence to societal norms of modesty and delicacy.
2. Laundry Practices in the Late 1800s:
- Soaking: Clothes were soaked overnight to loosen dirt and stains.
- Boiling/Scalding: This process helped in removing stubborn stains and killing germs.
- Rinsing and Wringing: After boiling, clothes were rinsed multiple times and wrung out to remove excess water.
- Mangling and Drying: Mangling (pressing) was done to smoothen the fabric, followed by drying in the sun.
- Starching and Ironing: Starch was used to stiffen the fabric, and then clothes were ironed to give them a crisp look.
3. Stain Removal Techniques:
- Iron Rust: Sour milk was used to remove iron rust stains.
- Fruit/Wine Stains: Chloride of lime, sal ammonia, or spirits of wine were employed.
- Ink Stains: Oxalic acid or salts of sorrel were used for ink stain removal.
4. Bluing Stage:
To maintain the whiteness of clothes, a bluing stage was incorporated wherein blue dye was added to the water. This technique made yellowed clothes appear whiter by using the complementary color principle.
5. Bleaching Techniques:
Various bleaching methods were employed based on the fabric type:
- Cotton: Soaking in buttermilk or adding turpentine.
- Muslin: Solutions of sal-soda and chloride of lime.
- Flannels: Bleached using ammonia in the water.
6. Maintenance of Colored Clothing:
Victorian household manuals provided detailed instructions on maintaining the color and integrity of mourning blacks and colored clothing. Similar to white clothing, colored garments required extensive washing, boiling, and rinsing rituals to preserve their hue and prevent bleeding of colors.
7. Socio-cultural Implications:
The choice of white dresses and meticulous laundry practices was not just about aesthetics but also reflected societal norms, values, and perceptions of cleanliness, morality, and class. The emphasis on maintaining pristine white dresses despite the challenges showcased the dedication of women to adhere to fashion norms and societal expectations of the era.
In conclusion, the Victorian era was characterized by intricate fashion choices and labor-intensive laundry practices, where white dresses symbolized purity, elegance, and social status. The meticulous care and effort invested in maintaining these dresses highlighted the significance of appearance, societal norms, and cultural values of the period.
