"Canadian Habitants" by J. Crawford Young c. 1825-1830.
Written descriptions confirm that the dress depicted here was typical of the French regime. Note the pigtails, often sheathed in an eel-skin, which were the customary male hair style. The upper class wore wigs on social occasions. The headgear, moccasins, sashes, and the embroidery on one hat indicate the Indian influence on Canadian dress. It would have been rare to see an early settler without a clay pipe in his mouth.
Women, too, modified their dress after the native attire. In summertime they wore short skirts that barely reached the knee, an adaptation of the Indian women's dress which astonished visitors from France. The mini-skirt has a longer history in Canada than is generally realized.
