Unknown Maker, English

This garment from The RISD Museum’s collection was once owned by the Royal School of Needlework and was likely used as an example for embroidery instruction. Jumps, a casual women’s garment, were frequently embroidered, and this illustrates fine needlework in the Indian style.

Popular in the 17th and 18th centuries, jumps were worn at home as a comfortable alternative to stays. Stays (later known as corsets) were laced bodices made rigid with whalebone to give the body proper upright comportment. For upper-class women-and those who aspired to be-stays were considered de rigueur for public appearances.