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Sack

1770 - 1780 (weaving), 1775 - 1780 (sewing)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

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.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Cotton, silk, linen, cotton thread, silk thread, linen thread; hand-woven, hand-embroidered, hand-sewn, hand-made bobbin lace
Brief description
A woman's sack or robe à la française, 1775-1780, French; striped and embroidered white Indian muslin, 1770s, pink silk lining
Physical description
A woman's robe à la française or sack of striped white muslin, lined with pink silk taffeta. The muslin is tamboured in white cotton thread in a pattern of floral trails and srpigs. The sack is open at the front, with elbow-length sleeves. The bodice meets at centre front. The sleeves and back of the bodice are lined with linen, and the armhole seams bound with pink silk. The bodice lining is open at the centre back with five pairs of linen tape for adjustment. There are two double, box pleats, stitched at the neckline. The sack appears to be made from 2 widths of muslin and a partial panel and triangular gore of muslin on each side of the front, and 3 widths of pink silk with a partial width and triangular gore on each side of the front. The two layers are sewn as one, and the hem bound and faced with wide linen tape. There is no waist seam. The fronts are shaped with 2 pleat running to the waist, in front of the bodice side seams. The skirts extend over a square hoop; the pocket openings are bound to form a casing through which runs a drawstring. A band of gathered silk bobbin lace, increasing in width, is applied along the front edges of the skirts from waist to hem. Another band of the gathered lace forms the cuffs on the sleeves. A narrower band of silk bobbin lace decorates the bodice fronts and neckline.

Alterations have been made to the bodice lining, which originally extended into the armhole seams. All that remains are two strips of linen folded in half and sewn to the first bodice pleat. This does not appear to be fancy dress alteration.
Dimensions
  • Shoulder to hem at centre back length: 172.0cm (approx)
  • Bust under armholes circumference: 83.5cm (approx)
  • Muslin, selvedge to selvedge width: 109.0cm (approx) (Note: selvedges not visible - widest piece of muslin)
  • Silk, selvedge to selvedge width: 73.0cm (approx) (Note: selvedges not visible, widest panel of silk)
Production typeUnique
Subjects depicted
Summary
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.
Bibliographic reference
Hart, Avril and Susan North. Historical Fashion in Detail: The 17th and 18th Centuries. London: V&A Publications, 1998, p.36
Collection
Accession number
T.332-1985

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Record createdAugust 15, 2006
Record URL
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