Simply put, negro cloth was a blend of course cotton (sometimes mixed with wool) that was mass-produced in textile mills and bought in bulk by slave owners to clothe the enslaved for as cheap as possible.
One of the primary functions of this cornerstone product was to add another layer of delineation between the free and the enslaved, and on a larger scale Black and White.
Up until the invention of negro cloth, made-to-measure clothing still prevailed as the industry standard. As expected with made-to-measure clothing, one must stay up to date with their measurements and is expected to invest in worthwhile fabrics and wait for the said piece to be completed masterfully.
This was an investment the master class of the Antebellum South did not make into the enslaved populations which numbered in the millions. As Dr. Katie Knowles outlines in the opening chapter of Black Designers in American Fashion, this need to clothe the enslaved population in visibly poorer quality clothing helped usher in the boom of industrialization in America and foster the system of fast fashion in which many still partake.
Enslaved peoples of African descent were the first to suffer the negative effects of fast fashion as the system was designed to label them as a lower class with low-quality garments.
Enslaved peoples who regularly interacted with the master class or worked within the plantation house were often given better garments to wear, though in very limited quantities. However, these garments would often have a branding feature that labeled them as their owner’s property.
Negro cloth may also be referred to as Lowell cloth, a reference to the historic textile mills in Lowell, Massachusetts. But, as Myron Stachiw puts into perspective in ‘For the Sake of Commerce’: Slavery, Antislavery, and Northern Industry, the textile mills in Rhode Island were the largest producers of negro cloth in the nation.
Nearly every Northern state had mills dedicated to the production of negro cloth.
But still, the spirit of expression and the need to liberate oneself from the constraints of the oppressor prevailed. In response to the prescription of negro cloth to all enslaved peoples of African descent, they made themselves acquainted with the flora and fauna available to them in the region and made dyestuffs.
Soon enough, the enslaved wore rough cloths dyed in vibrant hues, especially blue.
The skill of enslaved seamstresses, dressmakers, and weavers cannot be understated when examining dress as an act of liberation. These workers spent their time that was not being held up by an overseer or master to hand weave, mend, dye and personalize the simple negro cloth frocks, underwear, and other garments meant to dehumanize and “other” them, a personal identity. An enduring culture.
The sense of pride many African Americans and Caribbeans take in their dress and style today can be traced back to the origins of negro cloth and the dress codes of the Reconstruction era.
Works Cited
Gruber, Katherine Egner. “Clothing and Adornment of Enslaved People in Virginia.” Encyclopedia Virginia, 6 Feb. 2023, encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/slave-clothing-and-adornment-in-virginia/.
Knowles, Katie. “The Fabric of Fast Fashion: Enslaved Wearers and Makers as Designers in the American Fashion System.” Black Designers in American Fashion, edited by Elizabeth Way, Bloomsbury Visual Arts, London, 2021, pp. 13–25.
Shaw, Madelyn. “Slave Cloth and Clothing Slaves: Craftsmanship, Commerce, and Industry: The MESDA Journal.” Mesda Journal Banner, www.mesdajournal.org/2012/slave-cloth-clothing-slaves-craftsmanship-commerce-industry/. Accessed 4 June 2024.
Stachiw, Myron O. “‘For the Sake of Commerce’: Slavery, Antislavery, and Northern Industry.” The Meaning of Slavery in the North, Garland Publishing INC., New York and London, 1999, pp. 33–40.
Thaggert, Miriam, and Rachel Farebrother, editors. African American Literature in Transition, 1920 – 1930: Volume 9. Cambridge University Press, 2022.
Wass, Ann Buermann, and Michelle Webb Fandrich. Clothing through American History: The Federal Era through Antebellum, 1786-1860. Greenwood Press, 2010. pp. 123 describes the coarse clothing worn by Southern ‘freedom seekers’ as detailed in runaway slave advertisements
Leave a Reply