Dress

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Late in the reign of Louis XIV, loose-flowing gowns with pleats gathered at the back neckband were worn as undress wear by daring ladies who liked the ease and comfort of this garment. The famous actress Madame Dancourt popularized these gowns by wearing one in Terence’s Andria, after which such gowns were often called andriennes. As the style developed the gathers were formalized by being drawn into one or more flat pleats, and a dome-shaped hoop or pannier was worn to extend the material around the wearer. When a lady moved, air was trapped under the hoops and she appeared to be floating; thus the name robe volante. This type of dress is often erroneously called a "Watteau sack," despite the fact that Antoine Watteau had little to do with the creation or dissemination of the fashion. According to the Mercure de France, by 1729 robes volantes were "universellement en règne, on ne voit presque plus d’autres habits" (universally in vogue, one hardly ever sees any other kind of dress).

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