‘Let Prudence Plain-Dress be your companion’: Dress of female preachers during the Second Great Awakening (1790–1865)

Abstract

Abstract The Second Great Awakening (1790–1865) created large numbers of new Christian congregants. In order for churches to effectively minister their burgeoning populations, they enlisted the help of women to serve as itinerant preachers. This research analysed the autobiographies of female preachers, period newspaper articles and imagery to better understand the relationship between the sartorial choices and public personas of female preachers. Most did not align themselves with feminist ideologies of the time but rather claimed the will of God as justification. However, these women were highly criticized and therefore sought a balance between their gender and their faith. This was achieved in part through the adoption of a plain style of dress that stood in stark contrast to superfluous fashions of the time. The style of plain dress was modelled after the attire of the Quakers with neutral colours, no embellishments and simple fabrications. Women were told by male preachers, such as John Wesley, that they should dress plainly. Many congregants, as well as female preachers, told stories of extreme conversions where they immediately eschewed their fashionable clothing.