The history of nightshirts
Definition
The Oxford English Dictionary, defines a nightshirt as, "a shirt or loose garment worn by boys or men when in bed."
According to the Fairchild dictionary of fashion a nightshirt or nightshift is a "sleeping garment worn by both men and women and made in both his and hers styles. Resembling a man's shirt, it can be knee or calf length. Formerly worn by men and boys before the introduction of pyjamas in the 1880s".
The dictionary of costume by R Turner Wilcox, defines a nightshirt as a tailored garment reaching below the knees with side seams part way open. It was worn by men and boys until the appearance of pyjamas until the late ninetheenth century. The centre front is usually buttoned to the waist, and the garment has long sleeves and a standing or turned down collar, with cuffs. The front is often decorated with embroidery.
History
Nightshirts or "bedshirts" first seem to have been mentioned in the late Middle Ages. Before then people slept naked or in their day clothes. Nightshirts are probably the successors of the long undergarments people wore under their clothes. They simply removed the outer clothes when they went to bed and slept in the undergarment. The chemise or undergarment was often the only item of clothing to be washed regularly!
"Wrought nightshirts" were included in the accounts of the wardrobe of Henry VIII and mentioned in Thomas Kyd's drama Spanish Tragedy in 1594 and were probably roughly similar to day shirts of the time.
Night caps were also common and were sometimes mentioned in wills, suggesting that they could be of some value. They came into fashion in the late 16th century; Elizabeth I received one as a Christmas present. Men's night caps were often quite elaborate velvet embroidered caps, which they also wore during the day. Women's tended to be made of cotton with embroidery, lace and frills.
Between the middle of the seventeenth century and the early eighteenth century, a gentleman's nightwear could be almost as elaborate as the clothes he wore during the day, with lace inserts at the neck and in the sleeves. The sleeves were very full and would have ruffles at the wrist. However, the neck opening was usually much deeper than that of a day shirt. Black nightclothes were worn during mourning. Linen nightshirts during the eighteenth centuries were longer than day shirts and tended to have wide turned down collars. They often had no cuffs, but may still have had frills.
Women wore a nightdress, nightgown, "night rail" or "rayle "or a "night shift". In the 17th and 18th centuries their nightwear was referred to as a "night smock".
By the middle of the nineteenth century, night shirts were much plainer with a turned down collar and were fastened with buttons at the neck and were at least knee-length. Nightcaps were were coloured and often had a tassel. White cotton crocheted or knitted caps were much less fashionable and by the late nineteenth century they were beginning to go out of fashion altogether.
Catalogues of men's' underwear dating from around 1915 mention "Longcloth nightshirts" which cost between two and five shillings and sixpence. Those made of silk were considerably more expensive at seventeen shillings and sixpence.
By the 1890s, there were far fewer advertisments for nightshirts as they were being steadily replaced by pyjamas which had been worn in South and West Asia as least as far back as the 17th century. By the 18th century they were being worn by British missionaries and gradually outstripped nightshirts in popularity.
References
Fairchild dictionary of fashion. CALASISBETTA, Charlotte Mankey, 2003 Laurence King Publishing
The dictionary of costume. WILCOX, R Turner. 1969, BT Batsford Ltd
The history of underclothes. WILLET, C and CUNNINGTON, Phillis. 1951, Michael Joseph
Costume and Fashion. Vol 3. NORRIS, Herbert.1938, JM Dent & Sons