Would You Wear This? Women's Clothing During Hannah Penn's Time   Clothing constantly sends out messages.  In the Seventeenth Century, one could often discern the wearer's religious beliefs and social status from the clothes they wore.  The elegance or practicality of fabrics showed the wearer’s status; and the use of accessories could reflect their religious beliefs.  This was true for the women at Pennsbury Manor since Penn and his family were members of the Society of Friends, but interacted with the wealthy elite. The Penns also employed craftspeople, indentured servants, and slaves to perform much of the hard labor necessary for the estate to survive. The combination of social classes created a wide variety of clothing styles in one location.   The Basics: Underwear  A woman always wore her linen chemise, her basic undergarment, but covered most of the garment up with other layers of clothing.   Stays created the "ideal" shape of a woman's upper body by placing her shoulders back, her chest up, and her waist into an almost round shape.   The pocket played an important role in a woman's undergarments because it allowed her to carry money, handkerchiefs, and other items with her at all times without needing to carry a purse.   Stockings kept a woman warm during the winter while keeping the bugs from biting her during the warmer months.         The Lower Class  The petticoat (or skirt, as we would call it today) covered a working‑class woman's chemise from her waist to just above the ankle. The garment tended to be made of linen or wool and tied around the woman's waist using a drawstring.   The three‑quarter length gown concealed the woman's chemise on the upper part of her body. Usually made of linen or wool, this garment followed the style of the time with its wide, elbow length sleeves and pleats.   A stuffer covered the woman's chemise, or underwear, when it showed past the neckline of her gown.   A working‑class woman kept her hair covered using pieces of fabric to create a head wrap. This kept her hair out of her face and off her neck. It also maintained the idea that most working class women covered their head at all times.   The Middling Sort   A woman originally wore a mantua as a robe when resting at home, but by the late 17th century it became fitted at her waist. Because of this she now wore it as a formal garment outside of the house.   A woman's petticoat at this level began to show the slightly higher status of the woman wearing it. She may wear more expensive fabric and even some decoration placed in a horizontal pattern."   Quilted petticoats originally gained in popularity because they kept a woman warm, but soon became used as a decorative piece containing extravagantly quilted designs.   A woman of the middle class also covered her head, but usually chose a hood to do so. She typically made it out of fine black or white linen or silk.     Hannah Penn and Her Equals: The Upper Class "Of the best sort but plain ...Quaker plainness. The Society of Friends generally believed they should not wear a lot of extra trimming on their clothes but still use the finest materials and cuts popular during the time. Not until after the American Revolution did they begin making strict testimonies against the popular styles in an attempt to unite their members.   A wealthy woman wore a mantua and petticoat of the most expensive fabrics available at the time. Usually this consisted of the finest silks, wools, linens, or blends of these fibers naturally dyed to some very bright colors.   Stays worn by a woman of the upper class tended to have more boning in order to achieve the "perfect look" that society dictated her to have‑a conical waist with her shoulders sitting back just right.   The stomacher enhanced the whole outfit by drawing attention to the front opening of a woman's mantua with its decoration. Some mantuas however did not require the use of this particular garment because the front sides met and left no opening that required covering.