Gown
1610-1620 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This type of loose gown made of silk plush (long-piled velvet) would have been worn in the early 17th century by middle-class women as part of a formal day ensemble and by aristocratic women as informal dress. A bodice and petticoat of equally luxurious, although not necessarily matching materials would have been worn underneath.
The short length of the gown suggests that it was probably worn by a young girl. Once walking, toddlers abandoned their linen baby clothes and wore miniature versions of adult fashions.
Clothing of this period rarely survives as the materials it was made of remained valuable even after the garment went out of fashion. Clothes were sold to second-hand markets, given to servants, passed on to relatives and remade into other objects. Missing fabric at the back of this gown shows that this recycling process had already begun. Fortunately for dress history, the rest of the gown was preserved.
The short length of the gown suggests that it was probably worn by a young girl. Once walking, toddlers abandoned their linen baby clothes and wore miniature versions of adult fashions.
Clothing of this period rarely survives as the materials it was made of remained valuable even after the garment went out of fashion. Clothes were sold to second-hand markets, given to servants, passed on to relatives and remade into other objects. Missing fabric at the back of this gown shows that this recycling process had already begun. Fortunately for dress history, the rest of the gown was preserved.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silk, wool, linen, linen thread; hand-sewn |
| Brief description | Gown of silk plush for a girl, 1610-20, British; Loose and open at front |
| Physical description | A gown made of olive-green silk plush (long-piled velvet) comprising 4 widths of silk, selvedge to selvedge, with 2 triangular gores at the right side seam. The silk is roughly pleated at the back, onto a foundation yoke of 2 layers of brown linen, interlined with layers of linen buckram. The front edges are stiffened with linen and faced with pale yellow-green silk. The hem and side vents are interlined with linen and faced with olive-green wool. The gown was once trimmed with silver metal lace along the front edges and around the armhole. This has been removed and only threads and a few fragments remain. The gown has shoulder wings and probably once had long, hanging sleeves. Overseeing of the armholes suggests that the gown was worn after the sleeves removed. Half of the left back and two side gores have been cut away and removed. The gown is unlined apart from the shoulder yoke. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Summary | This type of loose gown made of silk plush (long-piled velvet) would have been worn in the early 17th century by middle-class women as part of a formal day ensemble and by aristocratic women as informal dress. A bodice and petticoat of equally luxurious, although not necessarily matching materials would have been worn underneath. The short length of the gown suggests that it was probably worn by a young girl. Once walking, toddlers abandoned their linen baby clothes and wore miniature versions of adult fashions. Clothing of this period rarely survives as the materials it was made of remained valuable even after the garment went out of fashion. Clothes were sold to second-hand markets, given to servants, passed on to relatives and remade into other objects. Missing fabric at the back of this gown shows that this recycling process had already begun. Fortunately for dress history, the rest of the gown was preserved. |
| Bibliographic reference | Janet Arnold, Patterns of Fashion 3: The cut and construction of clothes for men and women c1560-1620, Macmillan, 1985, po.120-121 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 174-1900 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
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