Tea gown

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This teagown belonged to Amelia Beard Hollenback (1844-1918), wife of the prominent financier and philanthropist John Welles Hollenback (1835-1927). In 1874, the Hollenback family settled in the modestly affluent neighborhood of Clinton Hill in Brooklyn. The first teagowns, which were worn as at-home attire when entertaining guests, made their first appearance in the late 1870s. Worn in the months immediately after the Hollenback's first daughter was born, this early example illustrates Amelia Hollenback's keen awareness of fashion.

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