noun
- a loose gown worn by women in the 17th and 18th centuries
Usage: historical
Examples
- The portrait showed a lady in an elegant silk mantua.
- Fashion historians study the evolution of the mantua in European courts.
- She wore a blue mantua with elaborate embroidery for the formal occasion.
- The museum’s collection includes several well-preserved mantuas from the 1700s.
- A mantua was typically worn over stays and a chemise.
- The dressmaker specialized in recreating historical garments like the mantua.