Nightgown

In the 17th and 18th centuries a nightgown was not a garment worn to bed but a version of the modern dressing gown. Donned over breeches and a shirt, the night gown was worn upon arising in the morning and before dressing in the formal clothes required for public activities. At the end of the day, many men removed their coats and waistcoats, and put on a night gown for relaxing in private at home.

The style of this example is inspired by the Japanese kimono, which first appeared in western Europe in the 1650s. Japanese shoguns gave kimonos to members of the Dutch East India Company as gifts. They became popular garments in Europe and the demand for kimonos soon outstripped the supply from Japan. By the 1670s English tailors were making kimono-style night gowns from fashionable European silks.

The design of this particular silk is known has become known as ‘bizarre’, a style fashionable between 1700 and 1710. Its characteristic combination of a variety of unrelated architectural and floral motifs of illogical sizes, in very large pattern repeats. In this design, a balustrade and half an arch are joined with exotic flowers.