Dress Like a Pilgrim

At this year's Board of Assistants meeting in Denver, Colorado for the General Society of Mayflower Descendants many of the attendees chose to come "Dressed as a Pilgrim".  I was jealous, and wished I had brought my pilgrim outfit, too.  After spending a lot of time and money putting it together, I'm trying to find as many chances as possible to wear it, not just for the commemorative events happening next year.

The New Hampshire Mayflower Society has chosen to have a Pilgrim Book Project for the year 2020 (the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Mayflower in 1620) where volunteer members will read children's books at their local New Hampshire public libraries.  Many of these volunteers are enthusiastically dressing like Pilgrims.  We will be reading some of the 8 chosen books at story times, and if the local library doesn't own a copy of these books we will be donating them to the library. It is a fun and easy way to share our Mayflower heritage with the children of New Hampshire.  I look forward to reading books in the Manchester area, in my costume.

Anne Vadakin of New Hampshire

Last year our New Hampshire Mayflower Society deputy Governor Anne Vadakin spoke to our members about how to put together an authentic Pilgrim outfit.  She had many good ideas for cobbling together an outfit that looked authentic, without perpetuating the myth of Pilgrims wearing black or buckles on their hats.

This year, Jim Battles, from the re-enactment group "Mayflower Guard" (a ceremonial color guard for the GSMD) spoke to the GBOA about the importance of proper Pilgrim apparel.  He has put together the "Dress Like a Pilgrim" page at the GSMD website, and on video he has described what these 17th century settlers would have worn.  He is very specific about his Pilgrim attire, and you can choose how authentic you might want to be with your own costume for 2020.  Because of his specific instructions, he has also put together a procurement guide (see below) so you can find the materials, accessories, or put them together from other modern materials.

Several other state societies have put together guides or webpages for period correct clothing for Mayflower costumes.  One is California, who has an excellent guide (see below) because they were choosing only members with authentic costumes to ride or walk beside their entry in the 2020 Rose Bowl Parade.  No cartoon versions of the Pilgrims allowed!  The Mayflower Society wants to present an authentic look at what our ancestors probably looked like, which is not at all what you probably think!

Jim Battles and I at Denver, Colorado

At the GBOA meeting in Denver, Jim Battles said that when he Googled "Dress Like a Pilgrim" the first few hits were not websites with authentic pilgrim attire.  I'm happy to say that today when I Googled "Dress Like a Pilgrim" the first few hits on the list were from the GSMD, Caleb Johnson, and Plimoth Plantation museum.  However, the ads plastered across the top were for costumes from Amazon, Walmart and Target offering only cartoonish black and grey costumes with the stereotypical steepled hat with the big buckle. No Mayflower passenger ever dressed like this!

Use the links below for choosing colors (black is not authentic because it was too costly for the average 17th century person), fabrics (obviously not polyester), styles, hats and other accessories. If you are not handy with sewing, there are links to places to purchase authentic looking items from the 1600s, too.  A reader gave me a hint on Facebook to try searching the Etsy.com website for great costume pieces.  Thanks, Lisa Pennington!

If you would like a costume but are not interested in sewing your own, GSMD member Vicki Smith is making Pilgrim outfits as a fundraiser. She charges $400, with $100 for the supplies and fabric, and donating the other $300 to the General Society of Mayflower Descendant's project to restore the First Meetinghouse in Plymouth, Massachusetts.  She will make one outfit per month until September 2020, and currently has three costumes lined up for the rest of the year 2019.  If you are interested, please contact Vicki Smith at vicki.smith.1620@gmail.com

Costumes made by Vicki Smith as a fundraiser
for the Plymouth Meetinghouse restoration

For the Truly Curious:

Dress Like a Pilgrim, by the General Society of Mayflower Descendants:
https://www.themayflowersociety.org/blog/dress-like-a-pilgrim

The PDF for the Dress Like a Pilgrim procurement guide:
https://www.themayflowersociety.org/images/Dresss_Like_a_Pilgrim_Procurement_Guide_revised_1-2019.pdf

Dress Like a Pilgrim video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvUdakh67u0

Converting Chukka Shoes video (desert boots become 17th century latchet shoes):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVTaGeZN7rI&t=276s

California Mayflower Society Period Correct Costumes:
https://www.camayflower.org/costume-guidelines.html

The Pilgrim Clothing page from Caleb Johnson's Mayflower History website:
http://mayflowerhistory.com/clothing

Plimoth Plantation Museum's webpage for children:
https://plimoth.org/learn/just-kids/homework-help/what-wear#Pilgrim%20clothing

The Mayflower Guard at the Chicago GBOA meeting, Chicago, Illinois

2008 Plimoth Plantation was our chance to be very authentic

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Dress Like a Pilgrim", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 15, 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/10/dress-like-pilgrim.html: accessed [access date]).