House dress

[1] The term originated in the late nineteenth century to describe at-home garments designed for maximum practicality and usually made from washable fabrics.

[3][4] Such dresses were a necessary part of the housewife's wardrobe in the early twentieth century and could be widely purchased through mail-order catalogues.

[5] The concept of attractive house dresses was popularised in the late 1910s by Nell Donnelly Reed, whose "Nelly Don" housedresses (manufactured by The Donnelly Garment Company) established that house dresses could be both attractive and practical.

[6] The company, renamed Nelly Don after Reed's retirement, quickly became one of the most successful American clothing manufacturers of the 20th century.

[8] Today house dresses remain in common use in areas where women are frequently full-time homemakers.