Sack back

This elegant gown of the late 1770s illustrates new developments in women’s fashion. Muslin, a very finely spun and woven cotton, began to rival silk in popularity as a dress fabric. This muslin has woven white stripes, alternating with tamboured (chain stitched with a hook instead of a needle) sprays of flowers in white silk thread. A pink silk lining added a delicate blush to the overall shade of the gown. The curvilinear arrangement of decoration seen in the 1760s was no longer fashionable when this gown was made, and the wide lengths of gathered net have been arranged in a straight line on either side of the gown opening.