Woman's Dress (Robe à l'anglaise)1770-1780

Not on view

18th-century women's dress ensemble on a white mannequin: cream-colored striped floral robe with blue accents, sage green petticoat, wide straw hat, and white ruffled kerchief

18th-century women's ensemble displayed on a headless mannequin, rear three-quarter view: cream silk robe à la polonaise with blue stripe and small floral pattern, deeply gathered skirt pulled up at back, over a sage green quilted petticoat, with white lace fichu at neckline and a flat-brimmed straw hat.

Detail photograph of a historic textile: cream silk brocade with floral pattern and blue vertical stripes, topped with a white broderie anglaise collar featuring cutwork and raised embroidery in a symmetrical floral design with scalloped edges.

18th-century silk robe à la française, back view, cream ground with woven floral pattern and blue stripe trim, fitted boned bodice with radiating seams, pleated skirt fullness at back, white eyelet lace fichu at neckline.

Close-up detail of an 18th-century silk brocade gown back, cream ground with woven pink and green floral sprays, vertical blue striped trim at seams, tightly pleated skirt fanning outward from the waist.

Close-up of an 18th-century silk brocade robe à la française, cream ground with woven floral sprigs and blue and green stripes, showing the back pleats, elbow-length sleeve with ruffles, and a large folded sack-back drape at the waist alongside a white linen engageante and green petticoat.

Close-up detail of a silk brocade garment, cream ground with woven vertical stripes in blue and green, scattered pink and peach floral sprigs, with visible texture from a fine checked weave structure.

Woven silk textile with horizontal decorative bands alternating between cream diamond-lattice grounds and striped borders in pale blue and navy; scattered floral clusters of pink roses and white blossoms with green foliage throughout.

Close-up of folded silk brocade textile with woven floral motifs in muted pink, green, and blue on an ivory ground, with striped borders and visible aged discoloration.

Title: Woman's Dress (Robe à l'anglaise)
Place Made: France
Date Made: 1770-1780
Medium: Silk plain weave with supplementary warp- and weft-float patterning
Dimensions: Center back length: 54 1/4 in. (137.8 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Derek A. Colls in memory of Mrs. Joanna Christie Crawford
Accession Number: M.70.85
Classification: Costumes
Collecting Area: Costume and Textiles
Curatorial Notes: The long, full skirts of eighteenth-century dresses were not always practical, so women frequently tucked the corners of their overgowns into side pockets for ease of movement. In the 1770s, internal systems of cloth tapes and loops were added to raise the overskirt, dividing it into three distinct draped sections. The style was called robe à la polonaise (Polish-style gown) to commemorate the 1772 partition of Poland into three territories under Austrian, Prussian, and Russian rule.
Selected Bibliography: Maeder, Edward et al.. An Elegant Art: Fashion & Fantasy in the Eighteenth Century. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1983.
Takeda, Sharon Sadako and Kaye Durland Spilker. Fashioning Fashion: Deux Siècles de Mode Européenne, 1700-1915. Paris: Arts Décoratifs; Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich; New York: Delmonico Books-Prestel, 2013.
Takeda, Sharon Sadako and Kaye Durland Spilker. Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail, 1700-1915. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich; New York: Delmonico Books/Prestel, 2010.
Takeda, Sharon Sadako and Kaye Durland Spilker. Fashioning Fashion: Europäische Moden, 1700-1915. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich; New York: Prestel, 2012.
Edwards, Lydia. How to Read a Dress: a Guide to Changing Fashion from the 16th to the 20th Century. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2017.

Related Unframed

Woman's Dress (Robe à l'anglaise)1770-1780

Not on view

Title: Woman's Dress (Robe à l'anglaise)
Place Made: France
Date Made: 1770-1780
Medium: Silk plain weave with supplementary warp- and weft-float patterning
Dimensions: Center back length: 54 1/4 in. (137.8 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Derek A. Colls in memory of Mrs. Joanna Christie Crawford
Accession Number: M.70.85
Classification: Costumes
Collecting Area: Costume and Textiles
Curatorial Notes: The long, full skirts of eighteenth-century dresses were not always practical, so women frequently tucked the corners of their overgowns into side pockets for ease of movement. In the 1770s, internal systems of cloth tapes and loops were added to raise the overskirt, dividing it into three distinct draped sections. The style was called robe à la polonaise (Polish-style gown) to commemorate the 1772 partition of Poland into three territories under Austrian, Prussian, and Russian rule.
Selected Bibliography: Maeder, Edward et al.. An Elegant Art: Fashion & Fantasy in the Eighteenth Century. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1983.
Takeda, Sharon Sadako and Kaye Durland Spilker. Fashioning Fashion: Deux Siècles de Mode Européenne, 1700-1915. Paris: Arts Décoratifs; Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich; New York: Delmonico Books-Prestel, 2013.
Takeda, Sharon Sadako and Kaye Durland Spilker. Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail, 1700-1915. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich; New York: Delmonico Books/Prestel, 2010.
Takeda, Sharon Sadako and Kaye Durland Spilker. Fashioning Fashion: Europäische Moden, 1700-1915. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich; New York: Prestel, 2012.
Edwards, Lydia. How to Read a Dress: a Guide to Changing Fashion from the 16th to the 20th Century. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2017.

Related Unframed

50 Works 50 Weeks: Robe à l’anglaise Ensemble

December 2, 2025
Costume and Textiles Department