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| Pretty new teacup from Sacramento. |
There is a tea coming up, to which my Lady Mother and I have been invited, and we're quibbling over what to wear. In our modern-American-brains we both thought "tea gowns, of course," garments neither of us possess. So I went off looking for references, just out of curiosity, and got a bit of an education on what a tea gown actually is.
I had thought a tea gown was a frothy-ish dress worn indoors, late in the day (teatime, of course). What I learned is that tea gowns were actually a garment worn as "undress," in one's own home only, in order to receive visitors. They were never worn *out* of the home, never worn for visiting, and were typically worn without corsets. Tea gowns were literally really fancy, slightly fitted bathrobes.
Here is a selection of late Victorian tea gowns I collected from
The Met online collections:
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| 1891 - not my favorite design, but I like the tie around the waist, and the loose fit. |
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| 1875. Beautiful, frothy, and not worn with a corset, but with a snug-fitting bodice. |
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| 1880. Gorgeous. |
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| 1880 - the back. Love the train, and the jacket-like fit to the back. |
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| 1885 - my absolute favorite. It has a Chemise a la Reine feel to it. |
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| 1890 - beautiful color and a lovely train out the back. It almost looks 1870s, yeah? |
My conclusion is that I will need to wear a visiting dress (a day dress) to this tea up in Virginia City, not a tea gown. Do I have a Victorian day dress? Yes, yes I do...tea hee!
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Ooh how interesting, but it makes sense it would be the late afternoon equivalent to a morning gown. I like it, you dress "down" in your own home to receive your guests- seems a gracious custom.
ReplyDeleteYour favorite is my favorite too. Gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteI love the gold 1880's number - thank you for showing the exquisite tucking and tailoring in the back- any guesstimate on the waist size?
ReplyDeleteGosh, I don't know WHAT that waist measurement could be - if this was supposed to be worn without a corset, then do you suppose this lady was deformed by a lifetime of tight-lacing? It's pretty tiny...depending on the height of the person, looks like it might be, what, a 20" for a tall lady, or an 18" for someone 5'6" maybe? Yikes!
ReplyDeleteLOVE the first one - I love rich warm colours and paisley fabrics. Even I could rock that look :)
ReplyDeleteLovely - thanks for defining the tea dress.
ReplyDeleteAren't they wonderful, gowns to relax in, while entertaining friends over a cup of tea. And your favourite is my favourite too.
ReplyDeleteVery cool. I had always pitied the poor women who were forced to wear corsets at all hours of the day. What a relief it must have been to ditch the whalebone and put one of these on.
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