Bedgown

File:Woman's Bed Gown and Petticoat LACMA M.67.8.74a-b (1 of 2).jpg

Woman's Bed Gown and Petticoat, France or England 1750–1775.

A bedgown (sometimes bed gown, bedjacket or shortgown) is an article of women's clothing for the upper body, usually thigh-length and wrapping or tying in front. Bedgowns of lightweight printed cotton fabric were fashionable at-home morning wear in the 18th century. Over time, bedgowns (also called in this context shortgowns) became the staple upper garment of British and American female working-class street wear from the 18th to early 19th centuries, worn over petticoats and often topped with an apron. Made of sturdy cotton, linen, wool or linsey-woolsey, these bedgowns were simply cut to a T-shaped pattern, and were worn overlapped in front or with the front skirts cutaway.Template:Sfn The term "bed gown" to describe this item of clothing was used as late as 1876.Template:Sfn

In the Welsh spelling betgwn, the bedgown is part of traditional Welsh costume.

Bedgowns lingered as fashion garments into the mid-20th century, usually under the newer name bedjackets, in the form of short robes or wrappers worn over a nightgown or negligee for warmth and modesty while sitting up in bed for breakfast, reading, or similar pursuits. They had mostly fallen out of fashion by the 1960s.

See also

• 1750–75 in Western fashion

References

• Ashelford, Jane: The Art of Dress: Clothes and Society 1500–1914, Abrams, 1996. (Template:ISBN)

External links

• Making an 18th-century bedgown
• Clothes for Work at the Manchester Galleries
• 18th century bedgowns