Project Description
This quilted Japanese dressing gown is made of blue and red silk with a wool inner layer. The hems, plackets, back belt loop, and pockets are embroidered with flowers. This degree of detail would have made the garment quite expensive, although the mechanization of silk production in the latter half of the century made silk less costly than in the past. Predating sewing machines’ popularity in Japan, this piece was most likely crafted entirely by hand. A dressing gown like this would have only been worn in private, either before getting dressed or after undressing. Following the Meiji Restoration’s ending of sumptuary laws in 1868, this piece mixes elements of upper- and lower-class styles, using both luxurious embroidered silk and humbler blue pigment.
– Meredyth Wilson, Class of 2024