![]() That instinct to protect the remains of the beloved, and to make the body easier to transport for disposition, has many cultural and historical expressions. I have learned many words for shrouds since my first personal shrouding experience in childhood, when I wrapped a dead bird in leaves tied securely with long grass before burying it in the meadow. We also call them winding sheets, grave clothes, cerecloth, Tahara, Kaffan. They resemble vintage garments from the 18th-19th century in style, material, and decoration.A burial shroud is a wrapping for a deceased being's body. There are even designers who specialize in creating burial clothing. So, modern funeral clothes are often made from natural instead of synthetic materials. A lot of people want the outfits they are laid to rest in to decompose quickly and be eco-friendly so that they didn’t pollute the soil. The recent burial tendencies are becoming greener and greener every decade. And it sort of makes sense – why buy expensive clothing and put it to rot under the ground?! But also, such sham burial clothing was easier to put on the dead body, which made life easier for the family of the deceased. And they were only partially intact – the part of the suit visible to the mourners was made perfectly, the rest (covered under the shroud or the back of the outfit) was either nonexistent or poorly-made. Those were costumes made specifically for the corpses. All the garments were of the same size and practically the same design – loose and open at the back from top to bottom.Īnother curious funeral fashion trend that appeared around that period were sham burial suits. They could be made from various materials (linen, cotton, wool, cashmere, etc), be available in different colors (though, black, brown, and white were the most common), and sported various embellishments (lace, bows, pleats, quilling, etc). These outfits usually resembled loose dresses or tunics. And they were usually industrially-made or sewn by seamstresses who specialized in funeral clothes. In the late 19th century – early 20th century, burial shrouds became very popular. And they were often buried in garments sewn decades before the actual death. In that period of time, people stored their future burial outfits under their bed, both men and women. The costumes are dated from the late 17th to the early 19th century. These are outfits of peasants, poor people. Over 20 mummified bodies were found in the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta in Italy in 2003. Today, this outfit is stored in Bayerische Nationalmuseum in Germany.Īlso, here’s an outstanding collection of clothing recovered from the grave. The style of this dress is typically Spanish. Here are just a few examples.ĭress that belonged to Dorothea Sabina von Neuburg, she was buried in it in 1598. Especially interesting are garments of the royals and wealthy noble people. A lot of such recovered outfits are stored and studied in museums all over the world. Thanks to such finds, we can learn more about the accurate fashion trends and traditions of a certain period. These costumes sometimes survive under the ground for a long time (because even natural fabrics decompose at their own pace – wool survives longer than linen, and so on) and are recovered by archaeologists. We even know for a fact that some 17th-18th-century women laid out the dress they wanted to be buried in before going into labor – if they died, their family would know exactly how to dress them to the grave. Why spend more money on clothing if you can reuse your bridal gown?! And also, at the time, a lot of women died in childbirth, so marriage could mean early death for them. In most cases, a wedding dress served as burial attire as well. In the 17th century, women often made their own burial clothing. If we studied each and every funeral fashion tendency in the world, it would take us days to tell about it and miles and miles of text to write, so let’s concentrate on the Western-style funeral clothing this time. People laid their relatives and friends to rest dressed in various garments, from simple shrouds (rectangular piece of fabric to wrap the body in) to elaborate costumes made purposely for this occasion. In different eras and different corners of the world, there were specific burial fashion trends. What did people want to wear to the grave? Where did they get burial clothing? How did funeral fashion change throughout our history? By the way, if you knew you’d become a zombie, would you choose specific attire to be buried in or it doesn’t matter for you?)) On All Hallows' Eve, let’s talk about burial attire used by people during the last several centuries. During human history, burial ceremonies changed again and again.
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