Dressing Gown, circa 1925
Donated by Carol Rodin
(Estate of John Lenfesty, Jr.)

The fashions of the 1920s are easy to identify. Filmy flapper dresses, whimsical accessories, and sumptuous brocade outerwear were all part of fashion's emphasis on the young. Women and men co-mingled at evening soirees, cocktail parties, and dances. Central heating, electric lighting, telephones, automobiles, movies, radio, and many other advances turned fashion in altogether new directions.

This man's midnight blue velveteen dressing gown, a rare article of men's loungewear, speaks of evening relaxation and intimate gatherings. A gentleman would doff his heavy overcoat, remove his suit coat, unbutton his celluloid collar and slip into his dressing gown and flannel slippers in order to enjoy a martini (very dry), and discuss current literature with his wife, most likely clad in silk lounging pajamas.