Tea gown
Designer
Lucile
(1863 - 1935)
Maker
possibly
c. 1918
Chartreuse silk chiffon, ecru lace, mink, pink silk flowers, and velvet ribbons
Gift of Elizabeth Roberts
Object number90.180.4
Tea gowns were worn for entertaining at home during the waning hours of the afternoon. They occupied a place somewhere between dress and undress, and in the 1910s they often featured an unorthodox combination of colors and materials. This tea gown is trimmed with thick bands of mink, exemplifying the increasingly opulent design of interior garments during the early decades of the twentieth century. In 1922, etiquette expert Emily Post described the tea gown as “a hybrid between a wrapper and a ball dress.”
DescriptionYellow / green silk chiffon peignoir, alternating ecru lace panels, fur collar, cuffs on long kimono sleeve, pink rosette, pink, brown, green velvet ribbon streamers at center front closing; with matching nightgown, slip stylingCollections
Exhibitions