Fig Leaf Patterns Italian Gown c.1780s
From the collection of the DAR Museum; this "Italian" gown was featured in the exhibit "An Agreeable Tyrant" . The signature feature of this new “Italian” style gown is a back bodice cut in four pieces dipping to a deep center point. The “quartered bodice” was a departure from the uncut, pleated back bodices which had dominated women’s dressmaking through most of the eighteenth century. This type of cut and fitted back became widespread in the 1780s. This block printed gown has been altered from a round gown into an open robe with partial or faux self petticoat. The three-quarter length sleeves are also less fashion-forward than long sleeves. This is an excellent example of how many women continued to combine old and new features in their dresses.
- This pattern contains instructions for the current styling of the gown with its faux petticoat, as well as how the original gown was first constructed.
