| History of the Christening Gown |
 |
 |
 |
| Written by Sarah McGallan | |||||||
| Friday, 28 November 2008 22:55 | |||||||
|
Until the seventeenth century, young babies were carried to the font in a "bearing cloth"; a large square piece of silk, edged with trimmings of gold lace and braid and wrapped tightly in swaddling clothes.
Until the seventeenth century, young babies were carried to the font in a "bearing cloth"; a large square piece of silk, edged with trimmings of gold lace and braid and wrapped tightly in swaddling clothes. As we now know it as the "Christening Robe"; it evolved when babies were freed of swaddling at a younger age in the mid-eighteenth century. The earliest example to survive were made of white silk and consisted of a front opening which could be fastened with ribbon ties or left open to reveal a petticoat underneath. Like the women's gowns of the period, the robe had similar decorative curving lines of braid. Made in the same style as every day eighteenth century boys and girls, the first Christening robes wore worn by both boys and girls. Boys and girls wore "slip" dresses; these dresses had a very long flowing skirt which fell from a short bodice and a low neck and short sleeves. Other items such as bonnets and bootees could be made to go with the robe. A number of exquisite Christening sets survived from the seventeenth and eighteenth century, these included bibs, mittens, pincushion covers, head bands and handkerchiefs in embroidered linen. Victoria era babies wore Ayrshire decorated gowns. Ayrshire is a delicate form of white-on-white embroidery that originating in the Scottish Lowlands. An old Scottish custom was to pin a piece of shortbread to the Christening robe and was to be worn for the duration of the ceremony. Afterwards, if an unmarried girl ate the shortbread, she was sure to dream of her future husband that very night. It was also deemed necessary that the baby sleep in its Christening robe for the first night after the baptism in order to bring good luck and good health in the future. A timeless tradition The same fashion has remained popular for Christenings ever since. This is partly due to the tradition of handling Christening robes down from one generation to the next, so that dozens of babies may wear the same gown over many years. You can create an heirloom for future generations if your family has no antique gown. Our range of gowns are made in the traditional method using pure fine natural silk, beautifully decorated with delicate embroidery and tucking. About the Author: Interested in buying or learning more about Christening Gowns? Pop over to the Poppet Baby Wear website for more.
3.26 Copyright (C) 2008 Compojoom.com / Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved." |
