Sir Christopher Hatton in a full-length, fur-lined gown with hanging sleeves, c. Sir Christopher Hatton (1540 &ndash November 20, 1591) was an English politician the lord chancellor of England and according to speculation 1591

A gown (medieval Latin gunna) is a (usually) loose outer garment from knee- to full-length worn by men and women in Europe from the early Middle Ages to the seventeenth century (and continuing today in certain professions); later, gown was applied to any woman's garment consisting of a bodice and attached skirt. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Clothing (also called clothes, accoutrements, accouterments, or habiliments) protects the Human body from extreme Weather As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar A bodice is an article of Clothing for women covering the body from the neck to the waist A skirt is a tube- or cone-shaped Garment that hangs from the Waist and covers all or part of the Legs In European culture, skirts are usually

A long, loosely-fitted gown called a Banyan was worn by men in the eighteenth century as an informal coat. A banyan (through Portuguese banian and Arabic بنيان banyān, from the Gujarati વાણિયો vāṇiyo, meaning

The gowns worn today by academics, judges, and some clergy derive directly from the everyday garments worn by their medieval predecessors, formalized into a uniform in the course of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Academic dress or academical dress is traditional Clothing for academic settings primarily tertiary and sometimes secondary A judge, or justice, is an Official who presides over a Court of law Clerical clothing is non- liturgical Clothing worn exclusively by Clergy. A uniform is a set of standard Clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity

Women's dress

In women's fashion, gown was used in English for any one-piece garment, but more often through the eighteenth century for an overgarment worn with a petticoat (called in French a robe); compare the short gowns or bedgowns of the latter eighteenth century. Fashion refers to styles of dress (but can also include cuisine literature art architecture and general comportment that are popular in a culture at any given time A petticoat or underskirt is an article of Clothing for Women; specifically an Undergarment to be worn under a Skirt, dress or A robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. A robe is distinguished from a Cape or Cloak by the fact that it usually has Sleeves The English A bedgown (sometimes bedjacket or shortgown) is an article of women's Clothing for the upper body usually thigh-length and wrapping or tying in front

Before the Victorian period, the word "dress" usually referred to a general overall mode of attire for either men or women (such as in the phrases "Evening Dress", "Morning Dress", "Travelling Dress", "Full Dress" etc. ), rather than to any specific garment — and the most-used English word for a woman's skirted garment was "gown" (as in Jane Austen's novels). Jane Austen (16

By the early twentieth century, both gown and frock were essentially synonymous with dress, although gown was more often used for a formal or heavy garment and frock for a light-weight or informal one. Frock has been used since Middle English as the name for an article of Clothing for men and women ( see also Clothing terminology)

Only in the last few decades has gown lost its general meaning of a woman's garment in the US in favor of dress. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Today the usage is chiefly British except in specialized, formal cases such as evening gown, ball gown, coronation gown, princess gown, and wedding gown. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located An evening gown is a long flowing lady's Dress usually worn to a formal affair A ball gown is the most formal female attire for social occasions A wedding dress or wedding gown is Clothing worn by a Bride during a Wedding ceremony

See also

• Boubou gown of West Africa
• Skirt
• Dress
• Frock
• Robe
• Banyan (clothing)
• Clothing terminology
• 1550-1600 in fashion
• 1600-1650 in fashion

Types of gowns

• Academic dress (cap and gown)
• Ball gown
• Bedgown
• Coronation gown
• Evening gown
• Hospital gown
• Nightgown
• Surgical gown
• Tea gown
• Wedding gown

References

Arnold, Janet: Patterns of Fashion 2: Englishwomen's Dresses and Their Construction C. The Boubou / Bubu is one of the names for a flowing wide sleeved robe worn in most of West Africa and to a lesser extent in North Africa, related to the Dashiki West Africa or Western Africa is the Westernmost Region of the African Continent. A skirt is a tube- or cone-shaped Garment that hangs from the Waist and covers all or part of the Legs In European culture, skirts are usually A dress (also frock, gown) is a garment consisting of a Skirt with an attached Bodice or with a matching bodice giving the effect of a one-piece Frock has been used since Middle English as the name for an article of Clothing for men and women ( see also Clothing terminology) A robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. A robe is distinguished from a Cape or Cloak by the fact that it usually has Sleeves The English A banyan (through Portuguese banian and Arabic بنيان banyān, from the Gujarati વાણિયો vāṇiyo, meaning Clothing terminology comprises the names of individual Garments and classes of garments as well as the specialized vocabularies ofthe trades that have designed Academic dress or academical dress is traditional Clothing for academic settings primarily tertiary and sometimes secondary A ball gown is the most formal female attire for social occasions A bedgown (sometimes bedjacket or shortgown) is an article of women's Clothing for the upper body usually thigh-length and wrapping or tying in front An evening gown is a long flowing lady's Dress usually worn to a formal affair A hospital gown, also known as a patient gown, exam gown, johnny shirt or johnny gown, is a short-sleeved thigh-length garment A nightgown (also called a nightdress) is a loosely hanging item of Nightwear nowadays mostly for women. A tea gown or tea-gown is a woman's at-home Dress of the late 19th to mid-20th centuries characterized by unstructured lines light fabrics and frothy or feminine A wedding dress or wedding gown is Clothing worn by a Bride during a Wedding ceremony Janet Arnold ( 1932 - November 2, 1998) was a British Clothing Historian, Costume designer, teacher conservator 1860-1940, Wace 1966, Macmillan 1972. Revised metric edition, Drama Books 1977. ISBN 0-89676-027-8

Ashelford, Jane: The Art of Dress: Clothing and Society 1500-1914, Abrams, 1996. ISBN 0-8109-6317-5

Black, J. Anderson and Madge Garland: A History of Fashion, Morrow, 1975. ISBN 0-688-02893-4