tea-gown

A woman wears a tea-gown while reading in her sitting room.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A loose, elegant gown worn by women: A "tea-gown" is a stylish, semi-formal dress, typically long and flowing, worn by women in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for informal entertaining at home, especially during afternoon tea.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • She wore a silk tea-gown when receiving guests for afternoon tea. (A loose, elegant gown for informal home entertaining.)
  • The museum displayed a Victorian tea-gown with lace trim. (A historical garment worn for afternoon social events.)

Advanced Usage

• "to slip into a tea-gown": to change into a relaxed yet elegant dress for home entertaining.
  • After the guests arrived, she slipped into her favourite tea-gown. (She changed into a comfortable but stylish gown for the event.)

Variants and Related Words

• Tea gown (alternative spelling): the same garment, often written without a hyphen.

  • She ordered a custom tea gown from the dressmaker. (A tailored version of the gown.)

• Tea dress (related term): a similar but often less formal dress worn for tea or daytime events.

  • The tea dress was shorter and simpler than the tea-gown. (A lighter, more casual alternative.)

Synonyms

• Hostess gown: a formal, often long dress worn by a hostess for entertaining at home.
• At-home dress: a garment worn for receiving guests in one's residence.

Phrasal Verbs

• (No common phrasal verbs are directly associated with "tea-gown.")

Related Idioms

• (No idioms are directly associated with "tea-gown.")