• Facets (new session)
• Description
• Metadata
• Settings
  • owl:sameAs
  • Inference Rule: asEquivalentb3sb3sifpfacetshttp://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#ldpoplwebskos-transvirtrdf-labelvirtrdf-urlNone
    

Given by Harriett and Charlotte Gibson Historical significance: Teagowns appeared in the early 1870s as a 'robe de chambre' in the Princess form. They were an important development as being loose, they allowed corsets to be omitted. They arose from the habit of ladies having tea in the hostess's boudoir and donning smart dressing-gowns. By the 1870s gentlemen were admitted so the dressing gowns were replaced with elegant garments of satin and silk. At first only married women were allowed to wear them as moralists were afraid that they were 'a sign of the degeneracy of the age and that this easy comfortable dress points to free and easy morals. Each season they become less like dressing gowns and more like fancy dress'. (1879). Teagowns became increasingly elaborate and by the 1880s they were made of rich deeply-coloured velvets, cashmere and satin with lavish trimmings in 'silver tinsel', muslin, moiré and white lace. By 1888 some were made as open robes or as Directoire redingote over an underdress. The 'Empire' teagown' with rounded yoke and sash, the sleeves hanging in points nearly to the hem appeared in 1889. It was now permissible for young ladies, whether married or not, to wear this garment. The teagown also represents the fashions for aesthetic styles of dress and dress reform in the late 19th century. By the late 19th century fashionable dressmakers such as Liberty were producing clothes which gave the appearance of a looser-fitting gowns. Gradually this type of dress became popular as a more healthy alternative to the tight-waisted and corseted fashions. Many, like this example of a teagown, have features of more conventional fashion such as the built-in bustle and waist tie, but they were made to look as if they could be worn without a corset.