The Mayflower Pilgrims did not wear black with buckled hats.

1620

Black was for Sundays; everyday clothes were coloured, and buckles came into fashion only in the late 17th century; the image was invented by 19th-century artists.

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The event

• The Mayflower and Plymouth Colony1620 · Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA. In November 1620 the Mayflower brought 102 passengers, among them English Puritan Separatists, to the shores of New England. While still aboard, the men signed the Mayflower Compact on self-government. Half the colonists died in the first winter; the Wampanoag helped the rest survive. Their shared harvest feast of 1621 is traditionally seen as the first Thanksgiving.

17th century

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• 1624 · 1643 The wig craze began with a bald patch.

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