A tea gown or tea-gown is a woman's

dress A dress (also known as a frock or a gown) is a garment traditionally worn by women or girls consisting of a skirt with an attached bodice (or a matching bodice giving the effect of a one-piece garment). It consists of a top piece that co ...

for informal entertaining at home. These dresses, which became popular around the mid-19th century, are characterized by unstructured lines and light fabrics. Early tea

gowns A gown, from the Saxon word, ''gunna'', is a usually loose outer garment from knee-to-full-length worn by men and women in Europe from the Early Middle Ages to the 17th century, and continuing today in certain professions; later, the term ''gow ...

were a European development influenced by Asian clothing and historical approach from the 18th century which led to the renaissance time period of long and flowing sleeves. Part of this European sense of fashion came from the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

ese

kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...

. Tea gowns were intended to be worn without a corset or assistance from the maid; however, elegance always came first. During the 19th century, it was not appropriate for women to be seen in public wearing a tea gown. They were intended to be worn indoors with family and close friends during a dinner party. Although tea gowns were meant for midday wear, they could be worn into the evening. Women started wearing tea gowns in the evening for dinner or certain events at home with close friends and family by 1900. Tea gowns intended for day wear usually had high necks, while evening tea gowns had lower necks. "Emily Post’s book, ''Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home'', contains some fascinating information on tea gowns; in fact, her introduction on tea gowns reads like a 19th Century novel."

Notes

References

*Takeda, Sharon Sadako, and Kaye Durland Spilker, ''Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail, 1700 - 1915'', LACMA/Prestel USA (2010), {{Historical clothing, state=expanded History of clothing (Western fashion) 19th-century fashion 20th-century fashion Dresses