House dress

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A housewife in 1941 wearing a printed cotton house dress. A Day in the Life of a Wartime Housewife- Everyday Life in London, England, 1941 D2360.jpg
A housewife in 1941 wearing a printed cotton house dress.
Nelly Don house dress, May 1922 Nelly Don house dress, May 1922 07.png
Nelly Don house dress, May 1922

A house dress is a type of simple dress worn informally at home for household chores or for quick errands. [1] The term originated in the late nineteenth century to describe at-home garments designed for maximum practicality and usually made from washable fabrics. It is directly descended from the Mother Hubbard dress. [2] House dresses are also known as dusters in American and Philippine English, a term which also encompasses the muumuu. [3] [4] Such dresses were a necessary part of the housewife's wardrobe in the early twentieth century and could be widely purchased through mail-order catalogues. [1] The house dress remains a contemporary and frequently worn garment in some parts of the world.

Although an informal garment, the house dress, particularly during the 1950s, was intended to be stylish and feminine as well as serviceable. [5] The concept of attractive house dresses was popularised in the late 1910s by Nell Donnelly Reed, whose "Nelly Don" housedresses (manufactured by The Donnelly Garment Company) established that house dresses could be both attractive and practical. [6] The company, renamed Nelly Don after Reed's retirement, quickly became one of the most successful American clothing manufacturers of the 20th century. [6] Some designers became known for house dress designs, such as Claire McCardell, whose 1942 'popover' wrap dress was equally wearable as a house dress, a dressing-gown, a beach cover-up or even a party dress. [7] The house dress version of McCardell's popover came with a matching oven glove. [8]

Today house dresses remain in common use in areas where women are frequently full-time homemakers. It may also be used as an informal term for a dress that is mainly worn at home or as a leisure garment.

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Bodysuit One-piece form-fitting garment that covers the torso and the crotch

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Coat Warming outerwear garment for men and women

A coat typically is an outer garment for the upper body as worn by either gender for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and are open down the front and closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners, toggles, a belt, or a combination of some of these. Other possible features include collars, shoulder straps and hoods.

Chemise Loose-fitting, straight-hanging shirt-like underwear for women

A chemise or shift is a classic smock, or a modern type of women's undergarment or dress. Historically, a chemise was a simple garment worn next to the skin to protect clothing from sweat and body oils, the precursor to the modern shirts commonly worn in Western nations.

Bodice Article of clothing or portion thereof for women and girls

A bodice is an article of clothing for women and girls, covering the torso from the neck to the waist. The term typically refers to a specific type of upper garment common in Europe during the 16th to the 18th century, or to the upper portion of a modern dress to distinguish it from the skirt and sleeves. The name bodice comes from an older garment called a pair of bodies.

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Bedgown Womens informal garment for the upper body

A bedgown is an article of women's clothing for the upper body, usually thigh-length and wrapping or tying in front. Bedgowns of lightweight printed cotton fabric were fashionable at-home morning wear in the 18th century. Over time, bedgowns became the staple upper garment of British and American female working-class street wear from the 18th to early 19th centuries, worn over petticoats and often topped with an apron. Made of sturdy cotton, linen, wool or linsey-woolsey, these bedgowns were simply cut to a T-shaped pattern, and were worn overlapped in front or with the front skirts cutaway. The term "bed gown" to describe this item of clothing was used as late as 1876.

Wrapper (clothing) West African dress

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Gown Full-length womans garment

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, gown was applied to any full-length woman's garment consisting of a bodice and attached skirt. A long, loosely fitted gown called a Banyan was worn by men in the 18th century as an informal coat.

Claire McCardell American fashion designer (1905-1958)

Claire McCardell was an American fashion designer of ready-to-wear clothing in the twentieth century. She is credited with the creation of American sportswear.

Banyan (clothing) Loose gown or coat worn by men in the 18th century

A banyan is a garment worn by European men and women in the late 17th and 18th century, influenced by the Japanese kimono brought to Europe by the Dutch East India Company in the mid-17th century. "Banyan" is also commonly used in present-day Indian English and other countries in the Indian Subcontinent to mean "vest" or "undershirt".

Nelly Don

Nelly Don Inc. was a clothing manufacturer and distributor from 1956 to 1978. It was founded by Nell Quinlan Donnelly Reed in 1916 as the Donnelly Garment Company and was renamed to Nelly Don after the founder retired and sold her interest in the company.in 1956.

Mother Hubbard dress A loose-fitting Victorian gown with long sleeves and a high neck

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Wrap dress Dress with a front closure formed by wrapping one side across the other

A wrap dress is a dress with a front closure formed by wrapping one side across the other, and knotting the attached ties that wrap around the back at the waist or fastening buttons. This forms a V-shaped neckline and hugs the wearer's curves. A faux wrap dress resembles this design, except that it comes already fastened together with no opening in front, but instead is slipped on over the head. A wrap top is a top cut and constructed in the same way as a wrap dress, but without a skirt.

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Clothing in the ancient world What people wore in antiquity as inferred from archaeological and historical evidence

The preservation of fabric fibers and leathers allows for insights into the attire of ancient societies. The clothing used in the ancient world reflects the technologies that these peoples mastered. In many cultures, clothing indicated the social status of various members of society.

Ballet flat

Ballet flats are women's shoes for everyday wear which are similar to/inspired by a women's ballet shoes, with a very thin heel or the appearance of no heel at all. The style sometimes features a ribbon-like binding around the low tops of the slipper and may have a slight gathering at the top-front of the vamp and sometimes a tiny, decorative string tie. Ballet slippers can be adjusted and tightened to the wearer's foot by means of this string tie.

Sportswear (fashion) Fashion category of relaxed day clothes, originally separates

Sportswear is an American fashion term originally used to describe separates, but which since the 1930s has come to be applied to day and evening fashions of varying degrees of formality that demonstrate a specific relaxed approach to their design, while remaining appropriate for a wide range of social occasions. The term is not necessarily synonymous with activewear, clothing designed specifically for participants in sporting pursuits. Although sports clothing was available from European haute couture houses and "sporty" garments were increasingly worn as everyday or informal wear, the early American sportswear designers were associated with ready-to-wear manufacturers. While most fashions in America in the early 20th century were directly copied from, or influenced heavily by Paris, American sportswear became a home-grown exception to this rule, and could be described as the American Look. Sportswear was designed to be easy to look after, with accessible fastenings that enabled a modern emancipated woman to dress herself without a maid's assistance.

Nell Donnelly Reed American fashion designer and businesswoman (1889–1991)

Nell Donnelly Reed was an American fashion designer and businesswoman, known for her house dresses, who founded the Nelly Don brand.

Popover is a type of dress originally designed by Claire McCardell in 1942. The outfit type became the basis for a variety of wrap-around dresses.

References

  1. 1 2 Drowne, Kathleen; Huber, Patrick (2004). The 1920s. Westport, Conn. [u.a.]: Greenwood Press. p. 102. ISBN   9780313320132.
  2. Hale Hamilton, Walton; Mark Adams (1938). Price and price policies. McGraw-Hill. p. 301. The house dress has a lowly origin and was the last to leave home and submit to factory production. It is descended from the "wrapper," or Mother Hubbard, which women donned in the morning and wore until the housework was done.
  3. "duster". Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  4. "The Duster". The Tiny Closet. 21 February 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  5. Watt, Judith (2012). Fashion. The definitive history of costume and style. London: Dorling Kindersley. p. 334. ISBN   9781405398794.
  6. 1 2 McMillen, Margot Ford; Roberson, Heather (2002). Called to courage four women in Missouri history. Columbia: University of Missouri Press. pp. 100–126. ISBN   9780826263643.
  7. "Maryland Women's Hall of Fame: Claire McCardell". Maryland State Archives, 2001. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  8. "Claire McCardell: 'Popover' dress (C.I.45.71.2ab)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/C.I.45.71.2ab (October 2006)

Further reading