Robe à l'Anglaise, British, ca. 1770-1775. Metropolitan Museum of Art. © 2000–2016 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Women with coquettish airs were imposing in robes à la française and robes à l'anglaise throughout the period between 1720 and 1780. The robe à l'anglaise developed with a fitted back after the style of dress worn in England. The silhouette, composed of a funnel-shaped bust feeding into wide rectangular skirts, was inspired by Spanish designs of the previous century and allowed for expansive amounts of textiles with delicate Rococo curvilinear decoration. 

The wide skirts, which were often open at the front to expose a highly decorated underskirt, were supported by panniers created from padding and hoops of different materials such as cane, baleen or metal. The robes à l'anglaise are renowned for the beauty of their textiles and the meticulous fit of their bodice back.