What did men of the Regency era wear in the bedchamber to cover their “nakedness,” especially when first married and not wishing to shock their virginal brides?
Okay, mayhap I have stretched the idea a bit, but, please remember I am from the generation in America, where women wore short shorts, but were still more than a bit straight-laced when it came to such matters. Yes, some of us had read “Lolita,” but that did not mean we thought it fascinating. Creepy, maybe. Enticing, not so much.
Back to the subject at hand. What was a “banyan”?
The Met Museum website describes the garment as such: “For at-home wear, a gentleman had a dressing gown, often with a matching waistcoat, and an undress cap or turban. As for breeches, they were not designed especially for this casual ensemble, but rather borrowed from other suits. The dressing gown was cut like a man’s loose coat and usually hung to the floor, though there were also versions that stopped below the knees. Since there were no fastenings, the wearer overlapped the dressing gown in front when he walked so that the sides did not billow out behind him. The sleeves were originally rolled back to form cuffs, but later dressing gowns display the fashionable cuff of their period. In England these dressing gowns were called “banyans” or “Indian nightgowns” because of their kimono-like form and Eastern origin. Banyans were made in a variety of fabrics, including silk brocades, damasks, and printed cottons. Winter banyans were occasionally quilted for extra warmth. Gentlemen received friends while attired in banyans as a sign of their informality and of their intimacy with the visitor. By the 1780s gentlemen ventured out of doors in this comfortable and stylish costume. According to Town and Country Magazine in 1785: “Banyans are worn in every part of the town from Wapping to Westminster, and if a sword is occasionally put on it sticks out of the middle of the slit behind. This however is the fashion, the ton, and what can a man do? He must wear a banyan.”
From the Fashion History Timeline website, we learn in The Fairchild Books Dictionary of Fashion (2014), Phyllis G. Tortora offers a definition of the banyan:
“Comfortable, loose-fitted dressing gown worn by men in the late 17th through the early 19th c. Often very decorative, these garments were made from a wide variety of fabrics, including cotton calicos, elaborate silks, and glazed wool. Although this garment was made for indoor wear, it was not unheard of for a man to go outside in his banyan. Derived from banian, a caste of Hindu merchants from the subcontinent of India. Also spelled banian, banjan.” (24)
Silk satin with silk supplementary-weft patterning bound in twill (lampas) ~ Source: Takeda, Sharon Sadako, Kaye Durland Spilker, and Clarrisa M. Esguerra. Reigning Men: Fashion in Menswear, 1715-2015. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich: DelMonico Books-Prestel, 2016. LACMA
I seriously thought about adding an excerpt here regarding the colonel wearing his banyan on his wedding night. Then I debated with whether I am giving too much away. Yet, most of you know that there is a HEA at the end of my story, so perhaps, just a teaser.
Excerpt:
“Thirty minutes,” she repeated, before slipping into the room and teasingly closing the door, inch by delicious inch.
When he heard the click, he was finally able to release the breath he had held. With the clock ticking in his head, he entered the chambers set aside for him to find both Darcy’s Mr. Sheffield and the young footman Edward had selected to be his valet.
“Mr. Darcy thought I might be of service to you by assisting Mr. McKane with your uniform, sir,” Sheffield insisted as he reached for Edward’s belt. “As I have been of service to you often at Pemberley and Darcy House.”
“I would not wish to fail you, sir,” McKane said awkwardly.
Edward wanted to laugh. Instead, he said, “We will permit Mr. Sheffield to lead, but I mean to send Darcy’s man back to my cousin as soon as I am out of this uniform, so watch carefully.
“Yes, sir.”
Like clockwork, Sheffield began to work Edward’s buttons free, while explaining to McKane the meaning of each ribbon and the epaulets. “You will wish to hang, rather than to fold, the major general’s jacket to permit any wrinkles to drop. Generally, the major general prefers to shave himself, but, as this is a special evening, with his permission, I will remove the shadow on his chin, while you set out towels for his bath.” When McKane rushed to do Sheffield’s bidding, Darcy’s long-time servant, said softly, “He is eager to learn. Such is half the battle.”
Edward’s mind was on his bride. “Mrs. Fitzwilliam only provided me thirty minutes.”
Sheffield smiled. “I understand perfectly, sir.”
Wearing only his trousers and his silk banyan, thirty-five minutes later, he tapped on the door that separated their bed chambers.
The Colonel’s Ungovernable Governess
Rather than be forced to marry a man not of her choice, Miss Jocelyn Romfield runs away. She believes spending her life as a governess would be superior to a loveless marriage.
An arrangement has been made by his father for Colonel Edward Fitzwilliam to marry a woman related to his Aunt Catherine’s last husband, Sir Lewis de Bourgh. Yet, how is Fitzwilliam expected to court his future bride, who has proven to be elusive during each of his attempts to take her acquaintance, when the governess of his brother’s stepchildren fills his arms so perfectly?
Jocelyn has no idea the man she has purposely avoided is the same one who fills her heart with love.
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Giveaway! I have three eBook copies of The Colonel’s Ungovernable Governess available to those who comment below or on any of the posts associated with this release. Winners will be chosen on May 9, 2024, and prizes will be awarded on May 10. Good Luck!
Every Woman Dreams... 
I have read about banyans in books. I didn’t know that they were worn outside except in their gardens. The pictures of them are fabulous.
It was usually paired with a soft, turban-like cap worn in place of the formal periwig. An alternative style of banyan was cut like a coat, fitted, with set-in sleeves, and was closed with buttons and buttonholes.
I couldn’t remember what that article of clothing was called so glad to be reminded.
I had to do the same thing when I was writing the book.
Those sure are beautiful where as my bathrobe is more practical & comfortable than “pretty”
I have two Indian print style robes with tassels, etc., which are perfectly lovely, but no one sees them but me.
That excerpt put a smile on my face. The plot is one of my favorite tropes.
The first photo is my favorite banyan style, but it doesn’t actually look as comfortable as the second. I imagine it largely depends on the fabric, fit and the shape of the man.
I am at the age where something so eccentric might make me “interesting” again.
I would not have thought that men during those times would venture out of his home wearing a banyan. But it would have been funny to see him informally dressed. Great excerpt btw which leaves me wanting to read your new book. Congratulations on the impending release, Regina!