18th Century Bedgowns for Women
The difference between a “bed gown” and “short gown” is unclear. While there seems to be some sort of distinction between the two, in terms of 18th century garment-names, the actual difference may be open to interpretation. It’s possible that, in many cases, a bedgown is a type of short gown with two distinct styles: a gown that fashionable women wore before getting dressed, and a gown that working-class women wore during the day. (I’ve posted information about shortgowns on a separate page.)
A bedgown can be a good choice for an 18th century historic interpreter portraying working-class woman — but who can’t wear stays (or just hasn’t made or acquired them yet).
Additional Resources
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Pattern diagrams in Costume Close Up and Fitting & Proper
Blogs about making 18th century bedgowns: catherinetheteacher, kittycalash, and thefatreenactress
Burnley & Trowbridge Bedgown Sew Along: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Q&A 1, Q&A 2, Q&A 3, Bedgown Cuff Hack, and pattern
“A Group of Embroidered 18th century Bedgowns ” in Costume #30
18th century bedgown patterns by Burnley & Trowbridge, JP Ryan, Larkin & Smith, Mill Farm, and Kannik’s Korner
“Child-Bed Linen For the Uſe of the Poor: Bedgowns” in Instructions for cutting out apparel for the poor (1789)
Le Manteau-de-lit.
Garsault’s diagram and instructions for a “manteau-de-lit” in Art du tailleur (1769). It produces a garment similar to what you’ll see in the French paintings below, but slightly different from the English paintings & extant garments.
See Alexa Bender’s annotated translation or Nora Waugh’s translation in The Cut of Women's Clothes, as well as interpretations by A Fashionable Frolick, Dustsceawung, What The Red Herring, A Stitch in Time & Space, Herzwerk Freiburg, Excels at Nothing, and Colleen Marble.
Quilted bedgowns
Well-to-do women sometimes wore this style of bedgown – often in a white quilted silk – when lying-in or otherwise en déshabillé in the bedchamber. While these bedgowns are often made in a similar T-shape as the working-class styles of daywear bedgowns, they don’t seem to be functionally interchangeable.
V&A 2115-1899, a bleached linen bedgown with corded quilting, made in Great Britain c. 1700-1750
Met 1986.179.1, a quilted silk bed jacket made in Britain c. 1700-1750
London Museum 2003.59, c. 1731-1740; “Bedgown of ivory silk satin, lined with silk taffeta. The garment is quilted in ivory silk thread in an all over diamond pattern with a scroll pattern border. It is hip length, constructed of a simple t-shape and opens down [center front].”
V&A 42-1908, quilted white silk sarcenet bedgown, made in Great Britain c. 1740-1760 (altered c. 1870-1900)
Chertsey Museum M.2005.02, “Woman's quilted undress jacket or bed gown of ivory silk satin with a wide, loose kimono-style construction and wide three quarter length sleeves. It flares out to an A-line shape and extends to hip level. It has a high round neck and is open at the centre front and is lined with cream coloured wool flannel. The quilting is hand-stitched in a simple diamond pattern. The sleeves have raw edges, and it may be unfinished; c.1750-1780.”
National Maritime Museum ZBA4677, a bedgown belonging to Sophia Maskelyne
Other extant bedgowns
Winterthur 1969.4671, made in England or France, block-printed mordant-style cotton, c. 1715-1725; made from textiles printed in England c. 1720
V&A 517-1877, a bedgown made in Great Britain c. 1720-1750, pieced from an embroidered textile (possibly a bedcover made c. 1690-1720)
Colonial Williamsburg 1985-242, a short gown or bed gown in block-printed cotton, c. 1775-1815
Met C.I.37.2, a coat in a printed linen, America, third quarter of the 18th century
Manchester 1972.110, c. 1760-1780; “Bedgown of white plain-weave linen, printed in indigo using China blue block printing. A formal pattern of dots and trailing flowers. Two weaves of white/dark blue checked linen used, one for lining back, one for lining gown fronts. Short gore at each side of sideseam for fitting over skirt (hence female garment). fronts not meeting by 4cm. Shoulder line slashed for 7cm at each side neck. Short sleeve sections extended by long unshaped rectangular piece, and lining stopping short by 12cms, allowing for turning up of cuffs.”
18th century depictions of women in bedgowns
Interior with a Mother Attending her Children by Willem van Mieris, 1728
Moll’s maid in A Harlot’s Progress by William Hogarth, 1732
Several women in Bouchardon’s Paris Street Cries, including Baked Apples
The Laundress by Jean Siméon Chardin, 1730s
Apprentice seamstress (1737) and oyster seller (1738), Études Prises dans le Bas Peuple où les Cris de Paris
The Kitchen Maid by Jean Siméon Chardin, 1738
The Scullery Maid by Jean Siméon Chardin, 1738
The Provider by Jean Siméon Chardin, 1739
The Prayer Before Meal by Jean Siméon Chardin, before 1740
The Attentive Nurse by Jean Siméon Chardin, 1747
Jersey Nanny by John Greenwood, 1748
Horse Fair on Bruntsfield Links, Edinburgh by Paul Sandby, 1750
The Kitchen at Sandpit Gate by Paul Sandby, c. 1752
John Clerk, William Adam and his nurse by Paul Sandby, c. 1752
A shellfish-seller in the Cries of London Playing Cards, 1754
In the Classroom by Jan Joseph Horemans
Two girls carrying a basket by Paul Sandby
Two women holding a basket by Paul Sandby, c. 1759
London Cries: A girl with a basket on her head (“Lights for the Cats, Liver for the Dogs”) by Paul Sandby, c. 1759
Woman at a raree show by Paul Sandby, 1759
Fun Upon Fun by Paul Sandby, 1759
All Sorts of Earthenware by Paul Sandby, 1760
The Laundress by Jean-Baptiste Greuze, 1761
The Village Bride by Jean-Baptiste Greuze, 1761
A laundress in High Life Below Stairs by John Collet, 1763
Detail from Modern Love: The Elopement by John Collet, 1764
The Female Orators by M. Rennoldson from a painting by John Collet, 1768
Scene in a London Street by John Collet, 1770
Einige Arten nützlicher Beschäftigungen: Frauenzimmerarbeiten illustration by Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki, 1770
The Abusive Fruitwoman, 1773
The Mutual Embrace, 1774
Maidservant by Anthonie van den Bos
Emblems of 1760 & 1780, 1780
View near the Ring in Hyde Park, looking towards Grosvenor Gate, during the Encampment by Paul Sandby, 1780
Part of Windsor from Datchet Lane by Paul Sandby, c. 1780
Lofty Riding, or Miss Folly’s Head Exalted by Carnigton Bowles after John Collet, 1781
Haymakers by George Stubbs, 1785
Edinburgh Milkmaid with Butter Churn by David Allan, c. 1785-1795
Haymakers by George Stubbs, 1794
The Benevolent Heir or the Tenant Restored to his Family by William Redmore Rigg, c. 1801
Runaway advertisements and other descriptions
These descriptions are useful for understanding how bed gowns would have looked, or the materials from which they were made. Many of these are excerpted from descriptions of runaway slaves and indentured servants, published in newspaper advertisements.
“a short Stuff bedgown, of a purple cast” (Pennsylvania Gazette, January 22, 1745)
“a quilted bed gown, val. 12 d.” (Old Bailey, September 11, 1745)
“a brown shalloon bedgown” (Pennsylvania Gazette, December 12, 1747)
“one dimitty bed-gown, val. 2 s.” (Old Bailey, July 5, 1749)
“one silk bed-gown, val. 1 s. 6 d.” (Old Bailey, July 5, 1749)
“I pursued her and found her in a pawnbroker's shop, with my shift, bed-gown, and cheque apron on” (Old Bailey, May 14, 1752)
“a strip'd Manchester Cotton Bed Gown” (Virginia Runaways, Virginia Gazette, September 29, 1752)
“a calicoe bedgown” (New York Mercury, February 5, 1753)
“one callicoe bed-gown, value 18 s.” (Old Bailey, April 24, 1754)
“Calicoe Bed Gown” (Pennsylvania Gazette, August 11, 1757)
“a stamped linen bedgown” (Pennsylvania Gazette, June 19, 1760)
“one red and white ſpotted Linen Bed Gown, lined with Linen of different Colours” (The Public Advertiser, May 18, 1761)
“Two Bed-gowns, the upper ſtriped with blue, red and white, the other with blue and white” (The Pennsylvania Gazette, June 4, 1761)
“a blue and white ſtrip’d flannel bed-gown” (The South-Carolina Gazette, February 13, 1762)
“a striped Linen Bed gown” (Pennsylvania Gazette, September 23, 1762)
“a black and white Calicoe Bed gown” (Pennsylvania Gazette, July 7, 1763)
“a ſtriped flannel Bed-gown” (The Gloucester Journal, November 28, 1763)
“a red and white checqu’d Holland Bed Gown … a Cotton long Bed Gown” (Maryland Gazette, January 12, 1764)
“a Calicoe Bedgown” (Pennsylvania Gazette, June 6, 1765)
“a flowered Bed-gown” (The Gloucester Journal, November 11, 1765)
“striped Linsey Petticoat and Bed Gown” (Pennsylvania Gazette, April 24, 1766)
“a Callicoe Bed-Gown” (Maryland Gazette, May 15, 1766)
“a long callicoe bedgown” (Pennsylvania Gazette, October 30, 1766)
“a striped linen bedgown” (Pennsylvania Gazette, November 20, 1766)
“a brown linsey bedgown” (Pennsylvania Gazette, January 28, 1768)
“an old check bedgown” (Virginia Runaways, Virginia Gazette, February 7, 1770)
“a ſhort white bed gown with needle wrought cuffs” (The Pennsylvania Journal, August 15, 1771)
The Public Advertiser, March 7, 1772: “a ſhort Callimanco Bed-gown,” a purple and white Bed Gown … a white quilted Bed Gown”
“a blue and white ſtriped linſey bed-gown” (The Pennsylvania Journal, May 28, 1772)
“a red baize bedgown” (We're rooted here and they can't pull us up, Nova Scotia Gazette and Weekly Chronicle, September 1, 1772)
“a white linen bedgown, one brown ditto” (The Pennsylvania Journal, October 21, 1772)
“a red and white printed cotton bed-gown” (The Newcastle Weekly Courant, January 9, 1773)
“a home made linſey bed gown, and two petticoats, one ſtriped, the other brown, the ſame of the bed gown” (The Pennsylvania Gazette, February 17, 1773)
“a dark ſtuff bed-gown … a red and white printed cotton bed-gown … a blue and white ſtript ſtuff bed-gown” (The Newcastle Weekly Courant, June 26, 1773)
“wears a dark ſtript blue and white linen bed-gown” (The Newcastle Weekly Courant, November 13, 1773)
“she had on, and took away with her, a Variety of Petticoats, and Bed Gowns of different Stripes and Colours.” (Virginia Runaways, Virginia Gazette, December 2, 1773)
“STOLEN, A Marſeilles quilted BED-GOWN, with long ſleeves, and cambrick ruffles at the hands and neck.” (The Pennsylvania Journal, December 22, 1773)
“new striped Country made Linsey Bed Gown and Petticoat, and sundry other Clothes.” (Virginia Runaways, Virginia Gazette, May 26, 1774)
“a callico bed gown, value five shillings” (Old Bailey, April 26, 1775)
“one white bed gown” (The Salisbury and Winchester Journal, August 21, 1775)
“a ſhort ſtriped linſey bed gown” (Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser, June 3, 1777)
“a new bed-gown, juſt made up, of a chocolate ground cotton with ſmall white ſpots” (The Public Register, December 22, 1778)
“a linen bedgown, value 5 s.” (Old Bailey, December 8, 1779)
“a number of Women&rsquo's coloured Bed Gowns … a coarſe white corded Bed Gown” (The Newcastle Weekly Courant, October 7, 1780)
“a short red callico bed gown” (Pretends to Be Free / The Royal Gazette, October 10, 1781)
“The prisoner came in under pretence of looking at some cotton for a bedgown.” (Old Bailey, February 22, 1781)
“one linen bed gown, value 1 s.” (Old Bailey, September 11, 1782)
“a cotton bed-gown, value 2 s.” (Old Bailey, January 14, 1784)
“one flannel bedgown, value 1 s. … one striped linen bedgown, one flannel bed-gown” (Old Bailey, February 25, 1784)
“one cotton bedgown, value 1 s.” (Old Bailey, May 26, 1784)
“I was informed that a young woman came out of my garden in a green petticoat, flowered bedgown, and a black hat … she had an old hat on, and a green petticoat, and a light linen bedgown.” (Old Bailey, July 7, 1784)
“a stuff bedgown, value 6 s.” (Old Bailey, October 20, 1784)
“one cotton bedgown, value 1 s. one callico bedgown, value 4 s.” (Old Bailey, February 23, 1785)
“they came into our shop, and wanted to buy a little printed cotton for a bedgown; I shewed them two pieces, and they did not approve of them; I then shewed them four pieces more, and we soon bargained for three yards; that is a pattern for a bed-gown; they paid for that, and went away … I told her I was going to buy a bit of cotton for a bedgown, I knew the prisoners before, as we all deal at market; they both went in with me, and I bought this for a bedgown.” (Old Bailey, April 6, 1785)
“a callico bedgown value 12 d.” (Old Bailey, May 11, 1785)
“one linen bedgown, value 3 s.” (Old Bailey, September 14, 1785)
“I came into that place to buy a yard and three quarters for a bedgown” (Old Bailey, October 19, 1785)
“one callico bedgown, value 9 d.” (Old Bailey, October 19, 1785)
“a dark calico bed gown” (The Carlisle Gazette, November 23, 1785)
“one dark cotton bed gown … one ſtriped callico bed gown” (The Gloucester Journal, November 28, 1785)
“calico bed gown … a dark calico bed gown” (The Carlisle Gazette, November 30, 1785)
“three white dimity bedgowns” (The Newcastle Weekly Courant, December 17, 1785)
“two bedgowns, one a darkiſh-coloured cotton, the other a ſriped unbleached linen … a ſtriped linen bedgown” (The Newcastle Weekly Courant, September 23, 1786)
“a blue and white check bed-gown” (The Bath Journal, March 12, 1787)
“one Bedgown, blue and white ſtriped; one Corduroy Bedgown” (The Newcastle Weekly Courant, June 13, 1789)
“a cotton bedgown, value 2s.” (Old Bailey, September 9, 1789)
“one linen bedgown, value 6 d. … she had a bed-gown on that is remarkable, and I can and will swear to it … this white bed gown she had on her back” (Old Bailey, January 13, 1790)
“one callico bedgown, value 2 s.” (Old Bailey, March 29, 1792)
“olive ground flowered bed gown and petticoat” (The Caledonian Mercury, November 22, 1792)
“callico bed gown” (Pennsylvania Weekly Telegraph, June 17, 1793)
From a letter on “the expences for the maintenance of the poor of Wales” printed in the Bath Weekly Chronicle and Herald, March 31, 1796: “The materials for the clothing for the houſe at Shrewſbury, on an average of three preceding years, have coſt 250l. prime coſt; but the clothing for the family would have coſt much more, had they not been made up and manufactured in the houſe. The following is their apparel: — Men’s and boys’ dreſs conſiſts of coat, waiſtcoat, leather breeches, ſhoes, 2 ſhirts, and 2 pair of ſtockings; women’s and girls’ dreſs is compoſed of a bed-gown, 2 petticoats, lindſey apron, ſhoes, 2 ſhifts, 2 pair of ſtockings, and a handkerchief. The cloth of which the men’s and boys’ coats and waiſtcoats are made, lies in 18d. per yard, the women’s bed-gowns and upper lindſey petticoats in nearly the ſame, the under flannel petticoat in 10d. per yard.”
“two cotton bed gowns, value 3s. … they have made the [petti]coat into a bed gown, and here is a piece to match it … Do you know the bed gown? - It is the [petti]coat of the gown, I am perfectly sure of the pattern … They were not bed gowns when they were lost, she has made them into bed gowns; this bed gown in the indictment was made up out of one of the cotton [petti]coats. … The white cotton bed-gown was pawned the 15th of February last, the other cotton bed gown was pledged the 4th of April. … that white bed gown was not in the indictment, but it is mine pawned by the same person. … The bed gown was pawned in my name, the flowered one, it was made out of a petticoat … I bought them of Mary Bromwell, two bed gowns, and this cotton bed gown.” (Old Bailey, April 30, 1794)
“a white corded dimity bed-gown” (The Worcester Herald, March 17, 1797)