1835-1840 ca. Man’s Gold Silk Banyan. Made from 18th century quilted gold patterned silk. A Banyan is an 18th century men’s garment often worn as a morning gown, dressing gown or informal coat. This banyan is like a fitted coat. 1835-1840 (garment); 1740-1790 (material) via American Textile History Museum. athm.org
Banyan: Also called a dressing gown, morning gown or Indian robe. Originated in India but adopted in England by the late 1600s. Informal wear, not night attire, and came in assorted shapes from loose kimono-style robes to more fitted robes. They were worn instead of a coat in informal situations, such as with family or for an evening at home with close friends, or for a country breakfast. Underneath a banyan, a man usually wore a shirt, matching waistcoat and breeches. During the Georgian Era, a matching cap was often worn instead of a wig, making the whole a fashionable outfit and not just a robe. Victorian smoking jackets were based on earlier banyans.
1780 ca. Gold Silk Banyan, British. For at-home wear, a gentleman had a dressing gown, often with a matching waistcoat, and an undress cap or turban. “This yellow damask banyan with its bold Chinese Chippendale – inspired pattern would have been an imposing sight on the streets or in the drawing rooms of London.” via Metropolitan Museum New York City, U.S.A. metmuseum.org Credit: Catharine Breyer Van Bomel Foundation Fund, 1978 Accession Number:1978.135.1
From the Curator: ‘For at-home wear, a gentleman had a dressing gown, often with a matching waistcoat, and an undress cap or turban.As for breeches, they were not designed especially for this casual ensemble, but rather borrowed from other suits.The dressing gown was cut like a man’s loose coat and usually hung to the floor, though there were also versions that stopped below the knees. Since there were no fastenings, the wearer overlapped the dressing gown in front when he walked so that the sides did not billow out behind him.The sleeves were originally rolled back to form cuffs, but later dressing gowns display the fashionable cuff of their period.In England these dressing gowns were called “banyans” or “Indian nightgowns” because of their kimono-like form and Eastern origin. Banyans were made in a variety of fabrics, including silk brocades, damasks, and printed cottons. By the 1780s, gentlemen ventured out of doors in this comfortable and stylish costume. According to Town and Country Magazine in 1785: “Banyans are worn in every part of the town from Wapping to Westminster, and if a sword is occasionally put on it sticks out of the middle of the slit behind. This however is the fashion, the ton, and what can a man do? He must wear a banyan.”This yellow damask banyan with its bold Chinese Chippendale – inspired pattern would have been an imposing sight on the streets or in the drawing rooms of London.’ via Metropolitan Museum New York City, U.S.A. metmuseum.org
1780 ca. Front View. 1780 ca. Back View.1780 ca. Back View. 1780 ca. Fabric View. RL_2_D2D_RetailerBuyLink_RL_2
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16th-19th Centuries Gentlemen’s Banyans. Banyan’s were worn before the Georgian Era and continued to be popular through the Regency and Victorian Eras for Men’s At-Home Fashion. After this, banyans were replaced buy shorter smoking jackets, yet all through these many hundred years banyans served the same purpose of being a comfortable yet respectable item of clothing that could be worn at home by men when they spent time in the evenings with family or friends.
Fabrics imitating animal patterns and colors appeared in European fashionable dress as early as the 18th century, when elaborate trompe l’oeil silk designs emulated exotic furs intertwined with expensive laces. Such fabrics communicated a sense of luxury, wealth and power. Cultural crossdressing was a long-established tradition among merchants working in the East. While it helped them to assimilate into the local community, adopting exotic forms of dress at home also played an important part in fashioning their identity as a worldly traveller. International experience heightened social standing so wearing a banyan showed a high social status. Surviving garments from the 18th and 19th centuries show that it changed little over time, other than to loosely reflect the fashionable line of menswear of the period in the cut of the skirts, choice of collar and fit of the body.
16th-19th Centuries. Collage of Gentlemen’s BanyansDefinition Banyan: Loose coat worn by men as a dressing gown. Often worn with a matching waistcoat over shirt and pants in the comfort of their own home.
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