Existing comment:
Short Gown, around 1790
A woman's housedress of the 1700s was a short gown, a simple garment. It allowed enough freedom of movement to accommodate everything from stirring a pot to carrying firewood to picking up children.
All kinds of women wore this garment, from free women of middling status to enslaved women.
Notice that this is an easy on-and-off garment that could be pined closed or held closed by an apron. Its flexible size allowed it to be enlarged as a woman's body changed with pregnancy. |