European Women's Wear 1800–1837
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Glasgow Museums has collection of approximately 50 women's wear main garments, mainly dresses, dating from 1800 to 1837.
This group covers the late Georgian and Hanoverian period, including the Regency period of 1811–1820, and reigns of George IV (1762–1830) and William IV (1765–1837). It includes a few examples of slim neo-classical gowns from the early 1800s made from fine embroidered muslins imported from Bengal, as well as British-manufactured printed and tamboured cotton dresses, including an important dress made from muslin woven by Brown, Sharp & Co., Paisley. Silk dresses range from light-weight fabrics to brocaded examples, including some in re-cycled fabrics originally woven and worn during the mid-to-late 1700s.
By 1800 the centre of fashion had moved from Versailles to Paris, France, where it was led by the court of Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte (1769–1821) and his first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais (1763–1814). The Imperial court looked to the classical world of ancient Greece and Rome for inspiration resulting in slim-lined, high-waisted gowns. Other historical influences from later periods followed with dresses becoming more heavily-decorated with frills and pleats that widened the shoulders and hem as waistlines slowly dropped back down.
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