I remember Grandma’s wardrobe.

Grandma’s wardrobe was almost like this one.  When Grandma didn’t need it anymore, she passed it on to me.  I used it for clothes mostly, but when we moved from Long Island I left it behind.

Victorian Wardrobe (Closet)

After I became an interior designer, I thought about it from time-to-time.  If it were today, there would be no way it would be left behind.  Now, as an interior designer, my appreciation for well-designed and functional furnishings take precedent.  This one is handsome in solid mahogany, Queen Anne hardware, a Chippendale bracket feet at the base and a pierced pediment with a center shell motif.  There are several other designs applied to it like a true Victoriana wardrobe.

Dream.  Imagine what you could stuff into this amazing wardrobe, namely today’s storage cabinet.  Bottom drawers to hold cool summer clothes in the winter and hold snugly winter warm clothes in the summer.   Mirrored doors hide hanging clothes and more drawers and shelving in-between.  Those studio apartments in New York could use this wardrobe as a room divider.

The wardrobe, also known as an armoire from the French, is a standing closet used for storing clothes. The earliest wardrobe was a chest similar to this cassone, a 16th century Italian chest. This type of chest  usually referred to by its Italian name, was most often used as marriage chests to hold brides’ household linens, every item of which would have been woven by hand and embellished with hand lace or embroidery or other fancywork. The cassone was especially popular from the 14th to the 16th century.

During a large portion of the 18th century the tallboy

Tallboy 1790

was much used for storing clothes.

A common feature was to base future size of the wardrobe on the eight small men method. A considered good size double wardrobe would thus be able to hold within its capacity, eight small men.

What’s your preference? A Victorian wardrobe, a cassone, a tallboy, or eight small men?