This 1830s dress features sophisticated gold embroidery on a white ground. I’m not entirely sure if the satin underdress is original, or if it’s a museum recreation meant to represent the type of dress that might have been worn under the sheer muslin overdress.
Banyans (or dresssing gown, robe de chambre, or the many other names which they were called in fashion articles of the time) were to menswear in the 1830s what tea gowns were to womenswear in the 1890s: elegant, informal, at-home-only attire for showing off your wealth, taste, and knowledge to your closest friends.
The 1830s was such an inventive period in textile design, with new technology contributing to a profusion of interesting and experimental textiles. Today’s dress features one of those fabrics: a cotton print with geometric and floral patterns in fawn and green.
