Unique A woman's gown and petticoat, 1780s, English; cream gauze painted in coloured floral trails, 1780s, French A woman's gown and petticoat of cream silk gauze painted in floral trails, in brown and shades of blue, pink and green. The gown is open at the front with elbow-length sleeves. The bodice and skirt are cut separately and stitched together at the waist. The bodice and sleeves are unlined. The bodice meets at centre front. The back is made of 4 shaped pieces, tapering to a point below the waist at centre back. The seam allowance of the centre back seam forms a casing for a bone on either side. The hem at the neckline of the bodice fronts forms a casing for linen cord drawstrings. The skirt is made of 4 widths of gauze, finely pleated into the waist seam. There are no pocket openings. A broad ruching of pinked, scalloped and box-pleated gauze runs down the front edges of the skirt. A narrower ruching trims the neckline, the lower edge of the bodice fronts and the sleeve openings. There are two linen tapes at the waist corresponding to one half-way down the skirt on each side seam, for looping up the skirts. The petticoat is made of 4 widths of gauze, with a box pleat at centre back and centre front. The front and back of the waist are bound with a narrow band of gauze, with linen tape ties on either side. There are cut and hemmed pocket openings at either side. The petticoat has a broad flounce of pinked, scalloped and box-pleated gauze, all the way around.