History's Runway: An Embroidered and Beaded Silk Tea Gown, 1900

Tea Gown, 1900
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This frothy frock is a tea gown of ivory woven silk damask embroidered with glass, metal thread and beads. It is decorated with chain-stitch embroidered net and a long pleat of lace which drops from the neck to the hem in a style known as the “Watteau pleat.”

Tea gowns were developed in the 1870s as easy, comfortable dresses which were appropriate for a woman to wear for tea with family and friends in the home. However, as things often do, they became increasingly elaborate and fitted as time went on. By the 1890s tea gowns showcased exotic fabrics and threads and were worn for public appearances, such as dinner parties.

The gown we see here is a combination of influences and materials. The embroidered front panel of this gown was made in India for export as it was designed to appeal to European taste.