Bed jacket
Object name
Date made
1920s-1930s
Place made
Description
1920s-1930s kimono-style bed jacket with white embroidered flowers.
Content description
A kimono-style ladies' bed jacket of peach-coloured silk crepe de chine, with white perle cotton embroidery in the shape of large padded flowers and leaves. It has a high neckline, panelled front, and wide, three quarter length sleeves. The embroidered detail of the white peonies is most prominent on the back, where it takes up almost the entirety of the fabric's surface. Toward the bottom of the jacket's back are butterflies. The peonies, stems, and leaves grow from the back of the bed jacket to its sleeves and front. The embroidery is worked in padded split stitch (laid work padding), satin stitch, French knots, and couching. The bed jacket is lined with white silk.
Originally designed for warmth and not style, bed jackets eventually became fashionable loungewear in the 1920s. Bed jackets became particularly trendy in the 1920s and 1930s with the influence of Hollywood, resulting in pyjamas and household loungewear being seen as elegant rather than purely functional.
This bed jacket merges Japanese design influences with the bed jacket trend of the period. Fashion that fused Japanese and European/American styles was introduced in the 1920s, following the introduction of European and American fashion to Japan in the Meiji period (1868-1912). The 1920s also saw affordable, ready-to-wear kimonos become very popular in Japan. Moga, or modern girls, became trendsetters in 1920s Japan, creating flapper-esque outfits that merged western hair styles, cloche hats, and dresses with traditional Japanese dress like kimonos. This blending of styles also moved in the other direction, to Europe and America, to result in clothing such as this bed jacket. The peach colour of this bed jacket was immensely popular in loungewear and lingerie of the 1920s and 1930s.
Originally designed for warmth and not style, bed jackets eventually became fashionable loungewear in the 1920s. Bed jackets became particularly trendy in the 1920s and 1930s with the influence of Hollywood, resulting in pyjamas and household loungewear being seen as elegant rather than purely functional.
This bed jacket merges Japanese design influences with the bed jacket trend of the period. Fashion that fused Japanese and European/American styles was introduced in the 1920s, following the introduction of European and American fashion to Japan in the Meiji period (1868-1912). The 1920s also saw affordable, ready-to-wear kimonos become very popular in Japan. Moga, or modern girls, became trendsetters in 1920s Japan, creating flapper-esque outfits that merged western hair styles, cloche hats, and dresses with traditional Japanese dress like kimonos. This blending of styles also moved in the other direction, to Europe and America, to result in clothing such as this bed jacket. The peach colour of this bed jacket was immensely popular in loungewear and lingerie of the 1920s and 1930s.
Dimensions
width: 138cm
length: 76cm
length: 76cm
Materials
Stitches
Motifs
Credit line
Gift of Mr and Mrs G. Stoddart, 1990.
Catalogue number
COL.42
Other numbers
RSN 134
© Royal School of Needlework