Nightgown

This man's blue wool damask nightgown dates from around 1740. It was made in Britain and would have been worn indoors, on informal occasions, over a shirt and breeches.

The gown is woven with a large foliage design. It is lined with a slightly darker shade of blue twilled wool. The cut is based on the kimono and replaced the earlier style which was rather like a modern university gown. The stripes on the front of the nightgown are calender marks - a calender machine used rollers to smooth out cloth.

Eighteenth-century life was divided more rigidly than today into formal and informal occasions. Clothes had to suit these occasions. Men's formal coats were of expensive cloth, tight-fitting and restrictive. At home they wore warm, comfortable dressing gowns known as nightgowns. They were made of wool or silk and were the equivalent of today's tracksuit.

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