Anna_Bacherini_Piattoli_-_Self-portrait_in_Uffizi_Gallery

A Brunswick gown or Brunswick is a two-piece woman's gown of the mid-

eighteenth century The 18th century lasted from January 1, 1701 ( MDCCI) to December 31, 1800 ( MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions. During the century, slave trad ...

Description

The Brunswick comprises a hip-length (or three-quarter length)

jacket A jacket is a garment for the upper body, usually extending below the hips. A jacket typically has sleeves, and fastens in the front or slightly on the side. A jacket is generally lighter, tighter-fitting, and less insulating than a coat, which ...

with a high neckline and a

hood Hood may refer to: Covering Apparel * Hood (headgear), type of head covering ** Article of academic dress ** Bondage hood, sex toy * Hoodie, hooded sweatshirt Anatomy * Clitoral hood, a hood of skin surrounding the clitoris * Hood, a flap of ...

, worn with a matching

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 Engl ...

. The jacket

sleeve A sleeve ( ang, slīef, a word allied to ''slip'', cf. Dutch ) is the part of a garment that covers the arm, or through which the arm passes or slips. The sleeve is a characteristic of fashion seen in almost every country and time period, acro ...

s consist of an upper sleeve with flounces at the elbow and a tight, wrist-length lower sleeve. The Brunswick is one of several informal jacket-and-petticoat costumes popular in the later 18th century, derived from working class costume but made up in fine fabrics (usually silk). Originating in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

(based on a German fashion), the Brunswick was also popular in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

as a traveling costume. Today, the term is generically used to describe a hip-length, close-fitting padded coat with a neckline (and not necessarily with a hood).

Paintings depicting Brunswicks

* ''Portrait of Lady Mary Fox'' by

Pompeo Batoni Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (25 January 1708 – 4 February 1787) was an Italian painter who displayed a solid technical knowledge in his portrait work and in his numerous allegorical and mythological pictures. The high number of foreign visitors tra ...

, 1767. * ''Self-portrait of

Anna Bacherini Piattoli Anna Bacherini Piattoli (1720–1788) was an Italian painter. Biography Born in Florence, Piattoli studied with Francesco Ciaminghi, Francesco Conti, and Violante Beatrice Siries. She married the painter Gaetano Piattoli in 1741; the couple's s ...

'', 1776. * ''Portrait of a Girl Holding a Spaniel'' by

Alexander Roslin Alexander Roslin (spelled Alexandre in French, ; 15 July 17185 July 1793) was a Swedish portrait painter who worked in Scania, Bayreuth, Paris, Italy, Warsaw and St. Petersburg, primarily for members of aristocratic families. He combined insight ...

References

Bibliography

*Baumgarten, Linda: ''What Clothes Reveal: The Language of Clothing in Colonial and Federal America'',

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Universi ...

, 2002. * 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, {{DEFAULTSORT:Brunswick (Clothing) Suits (clothing) Jackets Skirts History of clothing (Western fashion)