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Gown

1740 - 1760 (cording), 1780 - 1785 (sewing)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

A woman's gown of white linen, corded and quilted in a floral design. The gown is open at the front, with a fitted, pointed back and elbow-length sleeves with plain pleated cuffs. The bodice fronts meet and fasten with linen tape ties. Three fabric-covered buttons decorate each side of the bodice fronts. The gown is unlined and the bodice cut separate from the skirts, the latter pleated and joined at the waist seam. Wide linen tape faces the hem, reinforces the waist seam and forms a casing for a narrow drawstring at the top of each front.

The gown has been made from a 1750s bed cover. One of the edges of the cover has been been used with its deep corded border at the hem of the skirts. Isolated corded motifs from the centre of the cover have been carefully placed on the sleeves, back and front of the bodice.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Linen, linen thread, cotton cord; hand-woven. hand-corded, hand-quilted and hand sewn
Brief description
A woman's gown, 1775-85, British; made of a white corded & quilted linen bed cover, 1740-60, British
Physical description
A woman's gown of white linen, corded and quilted in a floral design. The gown is open at the front, with a fitted, pointed back and elbow-length sleeves with plain pleated cuffs. The bodice fronts meet and fasten with linen tape ties. Three fabric-covered buttons decorate each side of the bodice fronts. The gown is unlined and the bodice cut separate from the skirts, the latter pleated and joined at the waist seam. Wide linen tape faces the hem, reinforces the waist seam and forms a casing for a narrow drawstring at the top of each front.

The gown has been made from a 1750s bed cover. One of the edges of the cover has been been used with its deep corded border at the hem of the skirts. Isolated corded motifs from the centre of the cover have been carefully placed on the sleeves, back and front of the bodice.
Dimensions
  • Shoulder to hem at centre back length: 133.0cm (approx)
  • Bust under armholes circumference: 91.0cm (approx)
Production typeUnique
Subjects depicted
Bibliographic reference
Hart, Avril and Susan North, Historical Fashion in Detail: The 17th and 18th Centuries, London: V&A Publications, 1998, p.30
Collection
Accession number
759-1907

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Record createdAugust 15, 2006
Record URL
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