__NOTOC__ The sack-back gown or ''robe à la française'' was a women's fashion of 18th century Europe. At the beginning of the century, the sack-back gown was a very informal style of dress. At its most informal, it was unfitted both front and back and called a sacque, contouche, or ''robe battante''. By the 1770s the sack-back gown was second only to court dress in its formality. This style of

gown A gown, from the Saxon word, ''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 17th century, and continuing today in certain professions; later, the term ''gown ...

had fabric at the back arranged in box

pleat A pleat (plait in older English) is a type of fold formed by doubling fabric back upon itself and securing it in place. It is commonly used in clothing and upholstery to gather a wide piece of fabric to a narrower circumference. Pleats are cat ...

s which fell loose from the shoulder to the floor with a slight

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...

. In front, the gown was open, showing off a decorative

stomacher A stomacher is a decorated triangular panel that fills in the front opening of a woman's gown or bodice. The stomacher may be boned, as part of a corset, or may cover the triangular front of a corset. If simply decorative, the stomacher lies ...

and petticoat. It would have been worn with a wide square hoop or

panniers A pannier is a basket, bag, box, or similar container, carried in pairs either slung over the back of a beast of burden, or attached to the sides of a bicycle or motorcycle. The term derives from a Middle English borrowing of the Old French '' ...

under the

petticoat A petticoat or underskirt is an article of clothing, a type of undergarment worn under a skirt or a dress. Its precise meaning varies over centuries and between countries. According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', in current British En ...

. Scalloped ruffles often trimmed elbow-length sleeves, which were worn with separate frills called

engageante Engageantes are false sleeves worn with women's clothing. They were worn during the 18th and 19th centuries, with a brief revival in the 20th century. In the 18th century, engageantes took the form of ruffles or flounces of linen, cotton, or ...

s. The

casaquin A casaquin is a short-length closely fitted coat worn by middle- and upper-class women during the 18th century. The garment was popular in both France and Italy. A casaquin was made from linen which was then covered by embroidery, silk and lace to ...

(popularly known from the 1740s onwards as a pet-en-l'air) was an abbreviated version of the robe à la française worn as a jacket for informal wear with a matching or contrasting petticoat. The skirt of the casaquin was knee-length but gradually shortened until by the 1780s it resembled a peplum. The loose box pleats which are a feature of this style are sometimes called Watteau pleats from their appearance in the paintings of

Antoine Watteau Jean-Antoine Watteau (, , ; baptised October 10, 1684died July 18, 1721) Alsavailablevia Oxford Art Online (subscription needed). was a French painter and draughtsman whose brief career spurred the revival of interest in colour and movement, a ...

. The various Watteau terms, such as ''Watteau pleat'', ''Watteau back'', ''Watteau gown'' etc., date from the mid-19th century rather than reflecting authentic 18th century terminology, and normally describe 19th and 20th century revivals of the sack-back.

Notable wearers

A popular story, traced back to the correspondence of

Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans (13 September 1676 – 23 December 1744) was a ''petite-fille de France'', and Duchess of Lorraine and Bar by marriage to Leopold, Duke of Lorraine. She was regent of Lorraine and Bar during the minority (1729– ...

, Duchess d'Orléans, is that the earliest form of the sack-back gown, the ''robe battante'', was invented as

maternity clothing Maternity clothing is worn by women as an adaptation to changes in body size during pregnancy. The evolution of maternity clothing began during the Middle Ages, and became fashionable as women became more selective about style and comfort in the t ...

in the 1670s by

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

's mistress to conceal her clandestine pregnancies. However, people would comment: "

Madame de Montespan Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ( ...

has put on her ''robe battante'', therefore she must be pregnant." A similar story is associated with

Marie Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans Louise Élisabeth, Duchess of Berry (born Marie Louise Élisabeth, Mademoiselle d'Orléans; 20 August 1695 – 21 July 1719) was Duchess of Berry by marriage to the French prince Charles, Duke of Berry. She is known affectionately by the mo ...

, Duchess of Berry, who during the

French Regency French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

of 1715-1723 was known for wearing this style of gown which showcased her bosom and face whilst, as with Madame de Montespan, disguising illicit pregnancies.Philippe Erlanger, ''Le Régent'', Paris, Gallimard, 1966 (1st ed. 1938), pp. 227-228

Galleries

18th century

File:Gersaint-detail.jpg, ''L'Enseigne de Gersaint'' (detail), 1720, by

. Early example of a sack-back gown. File:Declarationoflove.jpg, ''La Déclaration d'amour'', 1731, by

Jean François de Troy Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Je ...

. Front and back views of women in sack-back gowns. File:Woman’s Robe à la Française, Amsterdam, 1740-1760.jpg, ''Robe à la française'', Netherlands, silk satin brocaded with silk and metallic threads, 1740-60. LACMA M.2007.211.928 File:Eleanor Frances Dixie by Henry Pickering.jpg, Eleanor Frances Dixie, c. 1753, by Henry Pickering. The sitter is wearing a

bergère hat A bergère (French for shepherdess) hat is a flat-brimmed straw hat with a shallow crown, usually trimmed with ribbon and flowers. It could be worn in various ways with the brim folded back or turned up or down at whim. It is also sometimes called ...

and a brocaded silk sack-back gown. File:Robe à la Française block-printed cotton c. 1770.jpg, ''Robe à la française'', France, block-printed cotton, c. 1770. LACMA M.2007.211.718

Post-18th century revival styles

File:Wiktor Elpidiforowitsch Borissow-Mussatow 002.jpg, Two women in Watteau back gowns, painted by

Victor Borisov-Musatov Victor Elpidiforovich Borisov-Musatov (russian: Ви́ктор Эльпидифо́рович Бори́сов-Муса́тов), ( – ) was a Russian painter, prominent for his unique Post-Impressionistic style that mixed Symbolism, pure d ...

, Russia, 1899. File:Tea gown 1899.jpg,

Tea gown A tea gown or tea-gown is a woman's dress for informal entertaining at home. These dresses, which became popular around the mid-19th century, are characterized by unstructured lines and light fabrics. Early tea gowns were a European development in ...

with a Watteau back, December 1899. Published in ''La Mode illustré''.

References

Bibliography

*Arnold, Janet. ''Patterns of Fashion 1: Englishwomen's dresses & their construction c. 1660–1860.'' Drama Publishers, 1977. *Burnston, Sharon Ann. ''Fitting and Proper: 18th Century Clothing from the Collection of the Chester County Historical Society.'' Scurlock Pub Co, 2000. *Hart, Avril, and Susan North. ''Seventeenth and Eighteenth-Century Fashion in Detail.'' V&A Publishing, 2009. * * Ribeiro, Aileen: ''The Art of Dress: Fashion in England and France 1750–1820'', Yale University Press, 1995, *Ribeiro, Aileen: ''Dress in Eighteenth Century Europe 1715–1789'', Yale University Press, 2002,

External links

18th Century Robes à la FrançaiseHow to Make a Contouche, also known as sack back dress, saque, or robe à la française
{{Historical clothing, state=expanded Gowns

Fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

History of clothing (Western fashion)