Brunswick (clothing)

Summary

A Brunswick gown or Brunswick is a two-piece woman's gown of the mid-eighteenth century.

This grey silk Brunswick is trimmed with striped ribbons. Lady Mary Fox by Pompeo Batoni, 1767.
Self-Portrait at the Age of 56, 1776, oil on canvas, in the collection of the Uffizi

Description edit

The Brunswick comprises a hip-length (or three-quarter length) jacket with a high neckline and a hood, worn with a matching petticoat.[1] The jacket sleeves consist of an upper sleeve with flounces at the elbow and a tight, wrist-length lower sleeve.

The Brunswick is one of several informal jacket-and-petticoat costumes popular in the later 18th century, derived from working class costume but made up in fine fabrics (usually silk).[2]

Originating in France (based on a German fashion), the Brunswick was also popular in England and the United States as a traveling costume.

Today, the term is generically used to describe a hip-length, close-fitting padded coat with a neckline (and not necessarily with a hood).

Paintings depicting Brunswicks edit

References edit

  1. ^ "A Colonial Lady's Clothing: A Glossary of Terms". ouramericanrevolution.org. Retrieved 2020-08-21.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "18th Century Gowns: Round-Gown, Brunswick, and Sack-Back Gown • Paper Thin Personas". Paper Thin Personas. 2015-08-14. Retrieved 2020-08-21.
  3. ^ "Rate the Dress: an 18th century Hoodie". The Dreamstress. 2018-04-02. Retrieved 2020-08-21.

Bibliography edit

  • Baumgarten, Linda: What Clothes Reveal: The Language of Clothing in Colonial and Federal America, Yale University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-300-09580-5
  • Ribeiro, Aileen: The Art of Dress: Fashion in England and France 1750–1820, Yale University Press, 1995, ISBN 0-300-06287-7
  • Ribeiro, Aileen: Dress in Eighteenth Century Europe 1715–1789, Yale University Press, 2002, ISBN 0-300-09151-6