Joanne Major

Strange as it may seem, the best idea we can get of Kitty’s famous bonnet is from a painting of two girls dressing a kitten by candlelight.

They were an item of clothing that transcended any notions of class or status and worn throughout most of the eighteenth century by all women, from nobility down to fishwives. These petticoats had a variety of uses. Usually tied at either side of the waistband, they had a gap in the side seams which allowed access to a pair of pockets worn underneath.