Today the main museum in Edinburgh was extremely busy with children and I was pleased to see that they were not only in the popular animal or interactive technology sections but also in many others including the Fashion section with the strange clothes and shoes.  This dress seemed to attract some.
This Court Mantua is described ;
For court wear in the early 18th century, women wore the open-fronted mantua, with a train and matching petticoat.  To give the figure the required shape, a corset and hooped petticoat or panniers were worn underneath.   Designed to reflect the wearer’s status, it was usually decorated with opulent embroidery incorporating gold or silver thread or gilt lace. This example is thought to have belonged to the Countess of Haddington.
This mantua, which dates between 1750 and 1770, is two and a half metres wide and has beautiful frilly sleeves with great detail on the back.  It must have been extremely heavy and uncomfortable to wear especially as the lady would be tightly laced in and she would find it hard to move.