Here is a staymaker announcing that he makes childrens stays, coats (a child's boned gown), Sullteens (another child's article?), Holhipt Stays in the newest fashion (are these also for children?). Two terms that need more research, but to the customers of Mr. Clarke, terms needing no explanation.
July 7, 1760 New York Mercury
I've a slightly literal turn of mind ... if spelling wasn't fixed until dictionaries became commonplace, could he have meant whole-hipped. Not that it helps determine what that would be.
ReplyDeleteI read "Holhipt" as "Hollie point" which is acutally a form of embroidery. It is white-on-white work, and commonly know to be used on baby clothes. What little information I have on it says it's a very durable form of embroidery, known to stand up to a great deal of laundering, so perhaps it could have been used to embelish a set of stays.
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