When looking at it, I do see a gypsy. But I also see a work outfit from the early American period. Actually, I specifically associate it with outfits worn at Plimouth Plantation or Old Sturbridge Village. I have been to both places for school field trips.
Hence, we have given this old-fashioned outfit to Mary Royall so she can go play with the horses in the Royall family stables without getting her nicer frocks dirty. I sort of imagine it as a dress her mother used to play in as a girl and it was handed down to Mary.
I'm sure all those historians out there would argue with my loose interpretation of fashion- but let's just use our imagination...
