Agown, from theLatin word,gunna,[1] is a usually loose outergarment from knee-to-full-length worn by people of both sexes inEurope from theEarly Middle Ages to the 17th century, and continuing today in certain professions; later, the termgown was applied to any full-length woman's garment consisting of abodice and an attachedskirt. A long, loosely fitted gown called aBanyan was worn by men in the 18th century as an informal coat.
The gowns worn today byacademics,judges, and someclergy derive directly from the everyday garments worn by their medieval predecessors, formalised into auniform in the course of the 16th and 17th centuries.
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A modern-day gown refers to several types of garments. It can refer to a dress, especially a formal or fancy dress.[2][1] It may also refer to anightgown or adressing gown.[2] Inacademia, and other traditional areas, such as the legal world, gowns are also worn on various formal or ceremonial occasions.[2]
Thegunna was worn byAnglo-Saxon women and consisted of a long, loose outer garment.[1] Thegunna was also called a cote, surcoat, or robe.[1]
Gowns were worn by students attending early European universities in the 12th and 13th centuries.[3] The gowns, and the hoods that accompanied them, would indicate their status.[3] From the 14th to the 17th centuries, the term "gown" was used to describe any long, loose, robe-like garment.[1]
In the 1500s inItaly, a gown was known as acamora or by regional names in various locations.[4] The look of thecamora changed over time, starting out with a high waist and low neckline at the beginning of the century and gradually becoming low-waisted and high-necked by the end.[4] Italian women also wore an overgown called avestito or aroba.[5] In turn, these might be covered by arobone which was lined with fabrics or furs for warmth.[5]
By the late 16th century, gowns were no longer in style in Italy except where they were worn to denote a professional station, such as a banker or priest.[6]
In the 17th century, women's gowns in theAmerican colonies included trimming around the neck and down the bodice, or in the case of an open gown, down front edges from hem to neck.[7] Gowns may also have borders of silk, ribbons, and other decorations.[7] Women in the American colonies woreshort gowns as working clothing and informal clothing during the 18th century.[8] The gowns were t-shaped and had sidegodets for additional volume.[8][9]
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