A woman's gown,1785-90, English; Pink satin figured in white 1758-1760, English, altered 1790-95

A woman's gown of pink satin figured in white in a pattern of meandering vertical feathered trails with alternating sprayes of flowers. It is open at the front with long, curved, two-piece sleeves, fastened at the wrist with 3 silk-covered buttons and buttonholes. The bodice and skirt are cut separately and seamed at the waist. The back is cut in 4 shaped pieces, the centre two tapering to the waist. The bodice meets at centre front. There is a pointed collar at the back, made of 2 pieces of silk. The bodice fronts and side back are lined with linen, as are the two centre back pieces, and stitched together. The sleeves are also lined with linen. The skirt is made of 5 widths of silk, flat-pleated into the waist seam. The hem is faced with a band of white silk taffeta. The front edges of the skirt are trimmed with a length of box-pleated white silk grosgrain ribbon. The same ribbon edges the neckline and a narrower ribbon trims the wrists of the sleeves.

There is little in the way of piecing or previous folds to indicate the first version of the gown. It was remade in the late 1780s with a longer bodice and a deep point at centre back. In the early 1790s the waist was unpicked and raised about 2 cm, with the waistline straight at the back waist.

Purchased. Registered File number 1962/226

The silk of this gown was made about 1760, but it has been restyled to adopt the changing fashions of the 1790s. Under the influence of the Neo-classical style of French dress, the waistline began to rise above the natural level. Because fabrics were expensive, clothes were frequently altered and remade to keep them in fashionable styles.

T.83-1963