18th Century European Women's Wear
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Glasgow Museums has a collection of approximately 55 items of eighteenth-century European women's wear main garments, such as dresses and petticoats, dating from 1716 to 1800.
Women's wear from this period is quite rare as many items were re-used and recycled, with some being passed on to servants or sold on the large second-hand clothing market. Several items that survived were then altered or remade during the 1800s and early 1900s, often for fancy dress. The pieces in Glasgow Museums' collection were worn by the lower gentry and middle classes, whose families may have retained them for their sentimental value. They include formal and semi-formal dresses made from expensive silks, including
or sack back gowns, robes à l'Anglaise or English gowns, including one with an unusual gathered bodice in printed muslin, as well as a rare example of a robe à la polonaise or polonaise gown. Several pieces reflect their long histories with evidence of later alterations and adaptions. In addition, there are some examples of women's accessories, such as fans, lace and shoes, under 18th Century European Dress Accessories.
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