Jane, only you could write such an inspiring article about dressing gowns! I Iove the latest addition to your collection...are you taking orders! The painting of the exotic nasturtium dressing gown is sublime, and I will enjoy looking for more of his work . Thanks for another interesting read. I'm guessing all of us will be reviewing our dressing gowns today!
Wow - what a great topic! Instantly brought to mind my little soft red “housecoat” with ladybird buttons & (navy?) cord belt - Woolworths finest in the late 60s 😍🐞
Much enjoyed this, thank you. In Japan this summer we were happy to discover that it is acceptable to wear yukata (informal light kimono, v like a dressing gown) all day including outside. I bought a hand stitched one in a second hand shop which is serving me well as a summer dressing gown.
Who would have thought there was so much to discover in a consideration of dressing gowns, but you’ve done it again! The dressing gown with matching ascot is a classic, but I’ve always found the mid-thigh cut of James Bond’s dressing gowns rather disturbing.
Another gloriously wide-ranging start to a Sunday, Jane - thank you. And one which includes Oblomov and his халат as well! Surely the GOAT of dressing gowns?
Also, I think you would possibly have to order this from your library, but I think you would really enjoy this essay: Gary Saul Morson’s "Prosaics: An Approach to the Humanities" from volume 57 (1988) of American Scholar.
I came home from a bad day at work, which is every day, got into my plum jersey dressing gown and read your dressing gown article. Delicious. Nicely transitioned to being at home and facing my evening in an extremely cosy and relaxed mood.
My happiest Christmas as a child was the year I was given a pink quilted bri nylon dressing gown(stay away from the paraffin heaters) to replace an itchy woollen one I had inherited from my cousins, it may not have been as warm, in, as you say a home without central heating, but the stylish glow it gave my seven or eight year old self kept me warm inside
Oh me oh my, Pretty Peach. You are so right! Another prized possession was the tub of cream which looked like a tub of peaches and the bath foam with the peach on top…more Proustian for me than a madeleine! But when that ran out it was back to those horrible “bath cubes” in old lady scents….
Last year I found an old free pattern from Viyella, dating from the late 1980's, fro a full length dressing gown, so I bought some brushed cotton, as Viyella fabric now unobtainable, and made myself a new dressing gown, with a shawl collar, piped edges and so on. It was much admired when I wore it in hospital when I had to go in for a brief stay. I have always had a dressing gown, such a useful garment.
i haven't done any garment sewing in so many years i had no idea that Viyella is no longer available. wtf? what happened? i guess i'll continue to hoard the 2.5 yds of a lovely plaid i bought back around 1977.
You always find the.most appropriate and charming images, with some of my favourite films here. And you've evoked memories of my favourite dressing gowns.
In the U.S., we call them ROBES (a touch of royalist wistfulness there?), and during the pandemic I invested in so many--I mean, what was I going to buy? clothes for going to nonexistent social or cultural events?--that they are now crowding out regular clothes. I would like one of the checked ones you sewed, please. I do have a green-checked flannel one that is somewhat similar, and I can't wait for cooler weather to wear it again.
Fabulously random read as always! I have a full length red fluffy DG and a light 3/4 length sleeved summer number. Also a full length sweatshirt hoodie affair (not an Oodie) which seemed like a great idea for after my shower but like the fluffy red, after about 10 minutes I'm sweating buckets 🥵 so resort to my tatty cardigan! 😊
My life is largely a mission to find a dressing gown like one of the long embroidered coats in an Ivan Bilibin illustration. Something I can swan around in all winter.
I wasn’t familiar with Ivan Bilibin, so thanks for pointing me towards his work. Fabulous illustrations, and I’d love to have an entire wardrobe based on the garments he depicts.
I love a good dressing gown; I'm planning on making summer and winter ones to replace ones that have shrunk - or that's what I tell myself. Two are Japanese, but they will be put away until, at some later date, they may fit again.
You might also like to google Banyan - which is probably the original dressing gown. I should see if I can find a pattern for one, and make one by next winter (it's spring here in Melbourne in the Dandenong Ranges, although mostly still chilly). The big problem with a proper dressing gown is I'm tall, so one that's long enough takes quite a bit of fabric, although it will be nice to design it with cuffs that aren't uncomfortably bulky but crucially also don't end up in your soup.
Jane, only you could write such an inspiring article about dressing gowns! I Iove the latest addition to your collection...are you taking orders! The painting of the exotic nasturtium dressing gown is sublime, and I will enjoy looking for more of his work . Thanks for another interesting read. I'm guessing all of us will be reviewing our dressing gowns today!
Wow - what a great topic! Instantly brought to mind my little soft red “housecoat” with ladybird buttons & (navy?) cord belt - Woolworths finest in the late 60s 😍🐞
Oh yes! And then the dark brown ones I bought for the children also with ladybird buttons.
Yes - I can still recall how my red one felt 😍
Much enjoyed this, thank you. In Japan this summer we were happy to discover that it is acceptable to wear yukata (informal light kimono, v like a dressing gown) all day including outside. I bought a hand stitched one in a second hand shop which is serving me well as a summer dressing gown.
If I open my fingers a little bit more,
I can see Nanny's dressing-gown on the door.
It's a beautiful blue, but it hasn't a hood.
Oh! God bless Nanny and make her good.
Mine has a hood, and I lie in bed,
And pull the hood right over my head,
And I shut my eyes, and I curl up small,
And nobody knows that I'm there at al
from Vespers .A.A. Milne
My late lovely Mum knew this (and many poems) by heart and it's a lovely reminder of happy days, thank you Angie 💕
My mum too although she sang it. 60 something years later I remember the words.
I knew this as a song before I read the poem
Who would have thought there was so much to discover in a consideration of dressing gowns, but you’ve done it again! The dressing gown with matching ascot is a classic, but I’ve always found the mid-thigh cut of James Bond’s dressing gowns rather disturbing.
Another gloriously wide-ranging start to a Sunday, Jane - thank you. And one which includes Oblomov and his халат as well! Surely the GOAT of dressing gowns?
Also, I think you would possibly have to order this from your library, but I think you would really enjoy this essay: Gary Saul Morson’s "Prosaics: An Approach to the Humanities" from volume 57 (1988) of American Scholar.
thanks for the recommendation - just had a quick look at the first page (all I can access atm) and it's fascinating
I came home from a bad day at work, which is every day, got into my plum jersey dressing gown and read your dressing gown article. Delicious. Nicely transitioned to being at home and facing my evening in an extremely cosy and relaxed mood.
Wonderful feature, as always.
My happiest Christmas as a child was the year I was given a pink quilted bri nylon dressing gown(stay away from the paraffin heaters) to replace an itchy woollen one I had inherited from my cousins, it may not have been as warm, in, as you say a home without central heating, but the stylish glow it gave my seven or eight year old self kept me warm inside
Ahh, bri-nylon! I also received a pink quilted one for Christmas best worn after a Pretty Peach by Avon bubble bath with my big sister 😍
Oh me oh my, Pretty Peach. You are so right! Another prized possession was the tub of cream which looked like a tub of peaches and the bath foam with the peach on top…more Proustian for me than a madeleine! But when that ran out it was back to those horrible “bath cubes” in old lady scents….
After Pretty Peach I think we moved on to Aqua Manda
Fab!
Last year I found an old free pattern from Viyella, dating from the late 1980's, fro a full length dressing gown, so I bought some brushed cotton, as Viyella fabric now unobtainable, and made myself a new dressing gown, with a shawl collar, piped edges and so on. It was much admired when I wore it in hospital when I had to go in for a brief stay. I have always had a dressing gown, such a useful garment.
i haven't done any garment sewing in so many years i had no idea that Viyella is no longer available. wtf? what happened? i guess i'll continue to hoard the 2.5 yds of a lovely plaid i bought back around 1977.
You always find the.most appropriate and charming images, with some of my favourite films here. And you've evoked memories of my favourite dressing gowns.
In the U.S., we call them ROBES (a touch of royalist wistfulness there?), and during the pandemic I invested in so many--I mean, what was I going to buy? clothes for going to nonexistent social or cultural events?--that they are now crowding out regular clothes. I would like one of the checked ones you sewed, please. I do have a green-checked flannel one that is somewhat similar, and I can't wait for cooler weather to wear it again.
Fabulously random read as always! I have a full length red fluffy DG and a light 3/4 length sleeved summer number. Also a full length sweatshirt hoodie affair (not an Oodie) which seemed like a great idea for after my shower but like the fluffy red, after about 10 minutes I'm sweating buckets 🥵 so resort to my tatty cardigan! 😊
My life is largely a mission to find a dressing gown like one of the long embroidered coats in an Ivan Bilibin illustration. Something I can swan around in all winter.
I wasn’t familiar with Ivan Bilibin, so thanks for pointing me towards his work. Fabulous illustrations, and I’d love to have an entire wardrobe based on the garments he depicts.
I love a good dressing gown; I'm planning on making summer and winter ones to replace ones that have shrunk - or that's what I tell myself. Two are Japanese, but they will be put away until, at some later date, they may fit again.
You might also like to google Banyan - which is probably the original dressing gown. I should see if I can find a pattern for one, and make one by next winter (it's spring here in Melbourne in the Dandenong Ranges, although mostly still chilly). The big problem with a proper dressing gown is I'm tall, so one that's long enough takes quite a bit of fabric, although it will be nice to design it with cuffs that aren't uncomfortably bulky but crucially also don't end up in your soup.