The House Dress! best of all worlds

Shawn Foster wrote:

The line between “nightgown” and “dress” is…wobbly. The Victorians would agree with your “waist definition” delineation, I think, but in current fashion it’s quite less clear. I’ve seen plenty of items marketed as nightwear that I’d absolutely wear as day clothing (though generally not to an office job, even on the very casual West Coast USA), and dresses I’d be fine with wearing as nightwear.

Yes, contemporary swing dress or tent dress can be quite flattering without a waist seam.

The problem I have with loose dresses without holding in the waist is that unless the neckline is fairly small, otherwise when I bend over, people in front of me would be able to see my underwear all the way to my toes!

I just finished a house dress!  There must be something in the air causing a renewed interest in a formerly despised garment.

If you like sewing, check out mrsdepew.com.  She has patterns from 1890 - 1970s and many of them are housedresses and aprons.  Mine is from the 1920s and super simple.  Fold the fabric, cut a hole for the neck, sew up the sides, done!  There is minimal shaping with some gathers at the sides over the hips.  The pattern comes with pockets (which I ignored) and embroidery patterns (ditto).

I do believe I will make more of these :)

I recall the house dress remark from the movie "As good as it gets" and the reply, and the apology.

When I watched that movie, I had been totally clueless that a house dress wasn't adequate fashion! Thank goodness I wasn't a wine and dine girl.

I have all kinds of house dresses for all occasions including poultry cleanup, "robes-de-grand-mère", and also those one piece fuzzy jumpers like babies wear "combines" -- when not in thick waffle thermal underwear which we find the blackfly can't penetrate.

Mind you, people will go get gas wearing thermal underwear as normal clothing, pygamas or house coats to the mailboxes or to walk their kids to the school bus -- and ignore poaching and cultivation regulations entirely. So there's that.

If a neighbour comes onto your land it is an emergency, and they are the ones apologizing when you step out wearing a towel.

My mom always wears a house dress. It's something I will remember her by.

My wife wears one too. I love it.