18th Century Round Gowns
A round gown tends to have the fitted back of the robe a l’Anglaise. As American Duchess notes, “The skirt and petticoat are as one - it is not an open robe. Popular in the 1770s through the end of the 18th century, the round gown featured a front-closing bodice with no stomacher, and a drop-front skirt.”
Round gowns continue to appear into the later 18th century, even as the waistlines shift higher to keep up with fashion trends in the 1790s. The round gown doesn’t go away, but it’s a fairly different garment at the end of the 18th century than it was in around 1775; it continues into the 19th century (as seen in V&A T.355-1980 and Colonial Williamsburg 2009-43,3 for example).
For additional styles of gowns with fitted backs, see the 18th century women’s long gowns. For a related style, see the dresses for small children as well as the girls' clothing linked from the 18th century children's clothing linkspage.
Additional Resources
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Koshka the Cat: A Round Gown, c. 1760-1780
Atelier Nostalgia: 1780s Silver round gown
Mode de Lis: Pink 1770s Round Gown
Before the Automobile: c. 1790 Mourning Round Gown
Démodé: 1787ish Round Gown
Age of Antiquity: Round Gown (“Pink Thing”)
Fitting and Proper: 18th Century Clothing from the Collection of the Chester County Historical Society
Fashion: A History from the 18th to the 20th Century
Fig Leaf Patterns 112: Italian Gown c. 1780s (sizes 8-18 and 18-28)
(One of the blogs above recommends finding a Clinton Pleat Maker on eBay to make even pleats around the waist of a round gown.)
Met C.I.64.14, a Spitalfields silk dress, British, c. 1725
LACMA M.67.8.72, a round gown made c. 1735 of Spitalfields silk woven c. 1720
V&A T.31-1973, a closed gown made c. 1730-1740 of blue silk damask woven c. 1725-1730
Colonial Williamsburg 1990-16,1, green silk brocaded with polychrome silk, England, made in the 1730s and remodeled c. 1750
Colonial Williamsburg 1989-427, brocaded ivory silk round gown, England, made in c. 1740 and remodeled c. 1750
London Museum A7567, brocaded yellow silk taffeta dress, 1743-1750
National Trust 1348703, silk damask closed robe en forreau, c. 1750-1760
LACMA M.57.23, closed robe in embroidered silk-and-linen satin with a linen lining, England, c. 1750-1775
London Museum 35.35/1, a bright yellow Chinese silk damask dress with a falling-front skirt and sack back, c. 1751-1770
Henry Ford 79.89.1, lampas gown made in Boston, Massachusetts, c. 1750-1780
Colonial Williamsburg 2022-130, ivory silk damask round gown, probably England, c. 1760
Augusta Auctions Nov 16 2016, Lot 225, cherry silk damask robe a l’anglaise, 1760-1780
Chester County History Center / Museum of the American Revolution, a brown silk taffeta round gown worn by a Quaker in Chester County, Pennsylvania, c. 1760-1780 (see also Fitting & Proper)
Historic New England GUSN 189811, copperplate printed linen dress (Deborah Sampson's wedding dress), 1760-1790
New Hampshire Historical Society 1903.009.02 in silk tobine, said to have belonged to Martha Washington, 1770-1785; see also A round gown in a distinctively patterned silk tobine
Met 26.38a, printed cotton round gown, America, c. 1774
Two-toned salmon-pink damask robe a l'anglaise, Great Britain, c. 1774
Met 1994.406a-c, a round gown in silk, America, c. 1775
FIT 2008.4.1, a round gown in red silk damask, England, c. 1775
Museum Rotterdam, robe à l'Anglaise in red chintz
Philadelphia 1959-113-1, a round gown in a striped cotton plain weave, made in West Chester, Pennsylvania, c. 1775-1780s
Augusta Auctions Apr 2009, Lot 287, a blue silk brocade dress, bodice with center-front lacing and lined with brown homespun linen, skirt and sleeves lined in blue and white checked linen, c. 1775-1790
Historic Deerfield 2003.27.1, blue plain weave worsted wool round gown with an off-white plain weave linen lining, America (Massachusetts?), c. 1775-1795 (see also Interesting Round Gown, c. 1780)
Manchester 1960.272, pieces of a woman’s gown probably made in Lancashire c. 1780, cream cotton printed with floral and dotted pattern
Closed robe (à l'anglaise), c. 1780
Nationalmuseet W.18, an English gown in printed cotton, 1780s
DAR 2763.1, brown printed cotton dress, America, c. 1780-1789
Museum Rotterdam 20647, red cotton chintz with large multicolored flowers, c. 1780-1785
V&A T.230-1927, white linen gown, block-printed with floral sprigs, England; “The gown may have originally been made as an open-fronted gown in the early 1780s. Later in the decade, the waistseam was unpicked and sewn straight across the back at the natural waist (the original point at the centre back of the bodice remains in the seam allowance). Part of the gown skirt at the front may have been removed, and the skirt stitched closed. The skirt front was box pleated at the centre, finely flat pleated on either side and bound with a pieced waistband. A linen tape was stitched to either end of the waistband for fastening. The removed panel may have made the ruflle of gathered linen at the hem of the skirt.”
Martha Washington's silk gown (National Museum of American History 1987.0080.01), painted silk taffeta, 1780s
Nationalmuseet W.18, an English summer dress in printed calico, Denmark, 1780s (with a pattern)
Historic Deerfield 2002.11, block printed and hand painted plain weave glazed cotton round gown with a blue and white checked plain weave lining, America, 1780-1790
Manchester 1947.1610, pink silk gown trimmed with brown ribbon and a wide vandyked collar, c. 1780-1790
KCI AC3837 81-15-2AD, painted white china silk round gown, England, c. 1785
Winterthur 1994.0108, a block-printed cotton dress made in England, 1785-1795
Met 1989.85a, b, silk dress, Denmark, 1725-1789
MFA 54.633, printed cotton dress with brown ground, made in America from English or French fabric, late 18th century
Evolution of the higher-waisted round gown into the 1790s
Kunstmuseum Den Haag 0322459, white cotton chintz printed with floral spray motifs, last quarter of the 18th century
Monmouth County Historical Association 2097.1, plain weave olive drab silk round gown, c. 1780-1800
Mint Museum 1998.116, silk moire gown made in England or France c. 1790
LACMA M.2007.211.933, round gown in silk plain weave with weft-float patterning and embroidery, Europe, c. 1795
Met 1979.20a-e, g, silk round gown, Italy, c. 1795
KCI AC9123 1994-14-1, white muslin round gown, Italy, c. 1795
KCI AC9124 1994-14-2, embroidered white silk taffeta brocade round gown, Italy, c. 1795
Colonial Williamsburg 1945-19, silk compound round gown with linen lining, made in England or France but worn in Virginia, c. 1795-1800
DAR 2004.2.1, a roller-printed cotton round gown, c. 1795-1800
DAR 1795-1800, taffeta round gown, probably made in the United States c. 1795-1800
Amsterdam Museum KA 15065, green-blue silk damask, 1795-1800
Colonial Williamsburg 1991-465,A, block printed cotton round gown with pencil blue and overprinted yellow and blue to form green, with white tabby linen sleeve and bodice linings, America, c. 1795-1810
Met 1998.222.1, cotton round gown with wool embroidery, Britain, c. 1798
Additional Resources
From Classic to Romantic: Changes in the Silhouette of the Regency Gown
Dressing in a 1790s Round Gown
The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking