Banyan

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In contrast to the narrow back, tight sleeves, and fitted torso of male dress in the eighteenth century, the banyan provided an ease of cut that popularized its use as undress. Its simple "T" shape reflects its source in untailored regional traditions.

The Costume Institute

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Costume Institute's collection of more than thirty-three thousand objects represents seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories for men, women, and children, from the fifteenth century to the present.

Metropolitan Museum of Art