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 THE COSTUMES
Puritans Didn't All Dress in Black
In preparing for SALEM WITCH TRIALS, Costume Designer Martha Mann admits she had a slight advantage in that she has designed for stage productions of Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Yet, she still spent a great deal of time pouring over American portraits and paintings of the period, finding that most depicted the wealthy class. Images of Sir William Phips were in abundance, as one of his friends was a portrait painter in Boston. Per Mann, some drawings, woodcuts and pictorial references of the lower classes exist, but, regrettably, they are skimpy at best.
Countering the public perceptions of how the Puritans dressed, Mann states: "They didn't all wear funny black hats, black coats and big black collars." In fact, only the very wealthy had black clothes because black was a very difficult hue to achieve in dying, Mann said. Most people wore browns, which was much easier to achieve from most plant sources. Additionally, the settlers who came to North America quickly realized that the Indians' idea of making clothing out of leather was a good one. And, since the English were very skilled leather workers, they were soon producing very sophisticated leather clothing.
Because the hard core Puritans were against frivolity -- in all matters, including the way they dressed -- Mann's designs stressed the simplicity of the period, during which youngsters were dressed exactly the same as the adults. There were very few accessories, except for a wedding ring for the few who could afford one. However, Mann believes it is important to note that "these were not the poor and downtrodden of the earth." Most of the Puritans were solid middle-class citizens: successful farmers, merchants, trades people and craftsmen.
The Puritans' clothing was functional, comfortable and allowed for a degree of mobility while tending to farming and housework. But in the late 1600s, the shape of the clothing began to change as a result of the fashions arriving from Europe, Mann said. The billowing skirts, balloon sleeves and roomy britches were replaced with a straighter, sleeker silhouette, most apparent in the clothing worn by Sir William Phips and Lady Phips in the mini-series.
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