An unusual fad for men in the 18th century: out and about in a dressing gown. These luxurious robes were originally designed for in the home. Comfortable and warm in the cold winter months. One type was all the rage among Holland’s wealthy burghers, it was known as a Japanese robe, made of expensive fabrics such as chintz, brocade or silk and often quilted. Both the name and the form stem from the kimonos that Dutch traders saw on the travels in the Far East. Wealthy men who had their portraits painted would pose in an exotic Japanese robe in their study. It lent a sense of status. For the viewer it was clear that this person did not have to do actual physical work. The Japanese vogue became such a rage that fashionable gentlemen would wear their gowns in town and to church. Preachers denounced this habit of wearing lavish, colourful clothes in the House of God. A tourist even suspected that an epidemic had broken out when he saw so many young men wandering about the streets of Leiden in their dressing gowns.