Vigo County Historical Society

White collars and cuffs were important part of a woman’s wardrobe

Something that is taken for granted in the 21st century is washing clothes. In the 19th century this was a difficult chore that didn’t get done nearly as often as it is done today (sometimes only once a year). The clothing was bulky and difficult to wash, dry and iron. The washing process took about three days to accomplish.

To get around the problem, women wore white collars and white cuffs with their clothing. Even women’s work dresses had collars and cuffs!

The virtue of a woman was considered by looking at her collar and cuffs. If she couldn’t keep them pristine white, then what did that say about her home and her character? Only when a woman was in full mourning were her collar and cuffs made out of black fabric.

The collars and cuffs were basted on before donning the garment. At the end of the day they could be removed and laundered. Poorer women might only have had one set of collars and cuffs for everyday and one set that was reserved for church.

Crocheted collars were not widely worn by women under age 60. Many under sleeves were crocheted but they were white in color. Once again, easy to "bleach" and keep white.

"What are under sleeves?" Under sleeves were worn with dresses that had larger sleeve openings around the wrist, and it was much simpler to make "sleeves" that only tucked up under the larger sleeve to just above the elbow. To keep them from falling down, the women used elastic or a ribbon drawstring. These also would be washed out at the end of the day and made ready for the next.

In today’s throw-away society such things as wearing white collars and cuffs seem silly and trivial but for the women of the 19th century, this practice save time and money--one commonality important to today’s woman.

The museum’s clothing collection includes several sets of collars and cuffs. Those pictured are of fine cotton trimmed with cutwork.

The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Previous articles are available on the society Web site at web.indstate.edu/community/vchs.