The Reality Reports

An eighteenth-century gentleman did not always wear a stiff coat while reading, writing, or receiving close visitors at home. He could replace it with a loose garment called a banyan. The banyan offered comfort, but it was not simply an old bathrobe. Its cut, fabric, and use could express wealth, education, global awareness, and social position.

A pocket in modern clothing is usually sewn into the garment. Many European women in the 1700s used a different system. Their pockets were separate fabric containers tied around the waist and worn beneath a dress or petticoat. These tie-on pockets could carry money, keys, sewing tools, letters, food, and personal objects. They served some of the same purposes as today’s pockets and handbags while giving women a portable place of their own.