Jenna Devenberg

Annotated Bibliography

History of Dress

10/20/21

The topic I selected is the mantua. The mantua is a gown that originated in France. Rather than having
the bodice and skirts made separately and sewing them together, the bodice and skirts of a mantua are
made from a single piece of fabric with lots of draping, gathering, and folding. They were inspired by
draped robes coming into Western Europe from the east and were originally an alternative to the tigher-
fitting gowns inspired by court dress of the time. The draping construction of mantua was different
enough from the construction of other garments that they were made by a new trade, called mantua-
makers, rather than by (male dominated) tailors. Many of these mantua-makers were women. Mantua
received early pushback because of this, with tailors guilds unhappy at what they saw as competition. I
believe this makes the mantua an interesting garment to study. It was born of the influence of far away
styles brought to France by newly opened trade routes, it violated the established social order, and it
made a lasting impact on dress. The mantua and the gowns it evolved into are a defining feature of our
societies collective memory of the era’s it was worn in. Any show that depicts pre-industrial European
court is likely to include many mantua. So, despite no longer being worn widely, the mantua remains a
part of our cultural consciousness.

Sewell, Dennita. "Mantua." The Berg Companion to Fashion. Ed. Valerie Steele. Oxford: Bloomsbury
Academic, 2010. Bloomsbury Fashion Central. Web. 21 Oct. 2021.
<http://dx.doi.org.proxy.lib.pdx.edu/10.5040/9781474264716.0010933>.

This article is short, but it gives a good overview of what a mantua is and its earlier history. The example
of a straightforward explanation of the garment will be helpful to me in writing my own explanation.
Additionally, it gives me a base line knowledge I can begin my research from and branch out from. It
contains small amounts of information about a lot of mantua related topics, helping me form intelligent
questions to research.

Inder, Pam.. "‘The art and mystery of mantua-making’." Busks, Basques and Brush-Braid: British
dressmaking in the 18th and 19th centuries. London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2020. 25–48. Bloomsbury
Fashion Central. Web. 21 Oct. 2021. <http://dx.doi.org.proxy.lib.pdx.edu/10.5040/9781350060920.ch-
002>.

This source goes into more detail about the specifics of mantua in Britain in the 18 th and 19th centuries.
Not only does it speak about the garment itself, but about the societal views about and impact of
mantua. It is also a good source for information about the process of making the garment and about
mantua-makers and their place in society. The socio-political history of mantua and mantua-makers is
extremely interesting, and this source will help me include this information in my paper and
presentation. At certain points in history, it seems like mantua were an interesting case study in when
the rules of Dress and the way actual individuals are dressing come into conflict.
Unknown. Mantua. 1710-1720. Victoria & Albert Museum, London. Bloomsbury Fashion Central. Web. 21
Oct. 2021. <https://www-bloomsburyfashioncentral-com.proxy.lib.pdx.edu/products/berg-fashion-library/
museum/victoria-albert-museum/mantua-2>.

This source is an image. This source is useful for several reasons. First, it establishes the mantua as
existing in the time period appropriate for this project, being from the early 1700s. Second, it does a good
job illustrating the construction and intent of early mantua. Though they became very elaborate as the
decades passed, early mantua were made to be lose fitting, with a bodice and skirt made from a single
cut, and meant to be worn with the petticoats and stays or corset exposed. Although it was formal, it was
day wear, not evening wear early in its existence and the piece exemplifies that.