fripperiesandfobs: Banyan, 1720-50 From the V&A Gentle readers, I fear that in writing G&a

fripperiesandfobs:

Banyan, 1720-50

From the V&A

Gentle readers, I fear that in writing G&G(FFN/AO3) I may unintentionally have given myself a blue banyankink.

From the V&A website:

The loosely cut style of the banyan (a man’s informal robe) is based on that of the  Japanese kimono. Robes like this became popular in Europe from the mid-17th  century, brought back by members of the East India Company, and by the 1670s  European tailors were making banyans, also known as nightgowns. During the  18th century nightgowns evolved into several different shapes, from the simple T- shape of the original kimono to others cut more like the European coat. Their generically ‘oriental’ air was part of a wider taste for exotic designs that formed part of the fashion for Chinoiserie.