18th Century Women’s Round Gowns

Last updated: Oct 14, 2024

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 elsewhere on this site. 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.

• 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 Williambsurg 1989-427, brocaded ivory silk round gown, England, made in c. 1740 and remodeled c. 1750
• Museum of London A7567, brocaded yellow silk taffeta dress, 1743-1750
• National Trust 1348703, silk damask closed robe en foreau, c. 1750-1760
• LACMA M.57.23, closed robe in embroidered silk-and-linen satin with a linen lining, England, c. 1750-1775
• Museum of London 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
• Round gown (France, c. 1770?)
• 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, 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
• Vintage Textile 2226, a 1790s gown remodeled from an earlier block printed fabric
• MFA 54.633, printed cotton dress with brown ground, made in America from English or French fabric, late 18th century

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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