Nightgown, now the term for women’s or girl’s garment worn to bed, is historically a somewhat confusing term. From the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries, it was a man’s loose gown. In the seventeenth centuries, it was a woman’s informal day dress which was, as the name implies, originally an evening dress-hence women might quite modestly go to church in their nightgowns. While authorities believe that for much of western history no specialized clothing-and sometimes no clothing-was worn for sleep, by the sixteenth century, nightclothes closely related to basic day wear had been adopted by both sexes.
Below Is a Brief History of a Nightgown
Nightgown in the Nineteenth Century
In the nineteenth century, nightgowns became increasingly distinguishable from other feminine undergarments, featuring collars, yokes, and cuffs. Some published guide gives directions for economically cutting out and making several types of nightdresses, and notes that the high-collared style is neater in appearance, but that nightgowns with wide necklines waste less fabric and are particularly convenient for the ill, since they are easy to don and doff and allow ‘blisters and leeches, &c.’ to be applied.
Ready To wear Nightgown
Ready-made nightgown became available in the mid-nineteenth century, but not until late in that century, did nightgowns become more elaborate. Still cut loose and long, embellishment on the yoke, front placket, and cuffs could include all manner of ribbon, beading, lace, insertions, pin tucks, embroidery, and ruffles. Now usually of cotton, white remained the standard colour, although the turn of the century saw occasional use of washing silk and colours, such as pink, which was said to wash well. Pajamas entered the feminine wardrobe in the late nineteenth century, but long nightgowns remained popular, even after women’s skirts shortened in the early twentieth century, glamorous and luxurious lingerie grew ever more accessible and affordable . By the twenties, straight-cut silk and rayon nightgowns in delicate colours such as ‘flesh’, orchid, and green were popular, while the mid-century favoured gowns with strappy bosom-hugging bodices above sinous skirts. The advent of nylon allowed women to have as the slogan for chemstrand of the mid 1950s said- ‘all the luxury but none of the fuss’, with easy care yet washable nightgowns and peignoirs that elegantly enhanced their femininity. Nightwear, however became increasingly more colourful and diverse, responding to new fashion impulses. Young women’s ‘nighties’ could be anything from men’s pajama tops to shortie ‘baby-doll’ gowns, sometimes with matching panties.
In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, nightgowns offered by companies such as victoria’s secret included romantic old-fashioned white cotton ‘nightdresses’, comfortable oversize knit sleep shirts, and sexy polyester satin baby dolls, reflecting the many roles and moods of modern women.
Pajamas as Sleepwear
Pajamas are generally thought to have been introduced to the western world about 1870, when British colonials, who had adopted them as an alternative to the traditional nightshirt, continued the practice upon their return. By the end of the nineteenth century, the term pajama was being used to describe a two-piece garment: both the pajamas (trousers) and jacket-styled top worn with them.
