noun
- plural of mantua: loose gowns or robes worn by women in the 17th and 18th centuries
Usage: historical; fashion
Examples
- The museum displayed several elegant mantuas from the Georgian era.
- Ladies of the court wore elaborate mantuas made of silk and brocade.
- The fashion historian studied the construction of 18th-century mantuas.
- Wealthy women commissioned tailors to create custom mantuas for special occasions.
- The portrait showed the duchess in one of her finest mantuas.
- Colonial American women adapted European mantua styles to local materials.