Women's Gown with Tailored Back "English Dress"

Gowns with fitted backs were typical of 18th century English women’s fashion. These gowns, called “morninggowns” or “nightgowns,” could be one-piece with a skirt closed in front or two-pieces with an open front and additional skirt. They were worn in the domestic sphere, for non-official occasions, or going for a stroll. The splendid silk of this gown shows parrot tulips and chrysanthemums with sparse, bracken-like foliage upon a dark green background and a naturalistic flower pattern as was fashionable between 1730 and 1740. This gown has a closed skirt. The rear yardage is laid in outward facing knife pleats and flow over into the skirt without waist seam. Wing cuffs adorn the three-quarter-length sleeves.