A Mantua (from the French Manteuil ) is an article of women's clothing worn in the late seventeenth century and early eighteenth century. Originally a loose gown, the later mantua was an overgown or robe typically worn over an underdress or stomacher and petticoat.
The mantua featured elbow-length, cuffed sleeves. In the earliest mantuas, the long trained skirt was looped up behind to reveal the petticoat beneath.
From this garment arose the term mantua-maker, an early term for a women's dressmaker.
See also
References
Janet Arnold: Patterns of Fashion 1 (cut and construction of women's clothing, 1660-1860) Wace 1964, Macmillan 1972. (ISBN 0-89676-026-X)
External references
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