Is a housecoat the same as a robe?

[Beth76]

As part of a giving tree, I have to get a "pink housecoat" for a 9yo girl. I always thought of a housecoat as a dress-type thing that old ladies wear around the house while cleaning to keep their clothes from getting dirty. I looked at Target yesterday to see if I could find anything and I couldn't. I'm wondering if maybe this is what some people call a robe. Any ideas?

 

[cepmom]

I had the same thought about housecoats as you....I remember my grandmother wearing them. But if this is for a 9 year old girl, I would go with a robe.

 

[Buckalew11]

I think it is the same thing. Growing up, we called them housecoats. Here in TN, is when I started saying "robe" or bathrobe". I am not sure if that is a regional thing (I'm from NJ) or not because my grandparents were from NC and Nana always said housecoat for robe too.It is a coat you wear in the house. A house dress would not be the same. I'm not sure what they call those things but I know I'll never be wearing one!

If I was you, I'd buy her a bathrobe.

 

[hollieplus2]

Another southerner here. I always thought a robe was what you put on after taking a shower and a housecoat was one of those dress looking thingys that zip up (or button) up the front. I usually only see older ladies w/ housecoats on. they will have pj's on and then the housecoat over it. I could be wrong though. Although, if I was asked to buy a housecoat for a 9yo I would just buy a robe.

 

[HelenePA]

Just a thought could it be for her mom or grandmother?? Housecoats are those ugly looking things

 

[maelstrom]

Where I live, a housecoat and a robe are two different things. A robe is the one you tie in the front with a belt. A housecoat is the dress-type thing that zips up the front. My Nana always wore a housecoat and we had her cremated in one (she didn't get out much, and she literally only wore housecoats for years; it would have been silly to put her in something else).

However, for a nine-year-old girl, I'd go with a robe.

 

[Beth76]

I think it is the same thing. Growing up, we called them housecoats. Here in TN, is when I started saying "robe" or bathrobe".

I was hoping it was a regional thing. So I have person who calls them the same thing. I'm going with a robe then.

Just a thought could it be for her mom or grandmother?? Housecoats are those ugly looking things

No, it's for a 9 year old girl. That's why I can't imagine that she wants my definintion of a housecoat. I don't even think they make them for little girls.

 

[ducklite]

It's possible that she lives with her grandmother, and it's a generational thing. I agree with everyone, I'm sure it's a robe she wants.

 

[doxdogy]

I would go with a robe. My mother always referred to a robe as a housecoat. They were usually cotton and about knee lenght and snapped up the front for summer use. In the winter it was long and zipped up the front and was usually made of fake velour.

 

[horseshowmom]

I think you're safe. We mostly called them housecoats when I was a kid. Now I generally say robe, but I mean the same thing.

 

[NotUrsula]

DH *always* says housecoat when he means his bathrobe. If you look in a catalog for those granny smocks, they usually call them a "housedress" not a housecoat. I'm pretty sure that a 9 yo wouldn't be looking for a housedress unless she was planning to give it to Grandma.

That said, a bathrobe can come in many styles, from the traditional wrap kimono to the kind that buttons or zips. When I was a kid we tended to have the kind that zipped or buttoned, because they were warmer than the wrap kind and less trouble to keep closed if you were being active, which a kid would usually be.

 

[fltwinmom]

I'm pretty sure that a "housecoat" is not a "bathrobe"

A housecoat would have buttons or a zipper down the front and is usually padded and not made of terrycloth or "bath type" material.

 

[ChrizJen]

I think they're the same concept, just a generational difference.
"Back then", I think women and men wore different "cover-ups" (men wore the terry robes, and women wore the button/zipper thingies.), so they had different names. (bath robes for men, and house coats for women)

But bottom line, I think it's all interchangeable, bath robe / house coat. Just depends what generation you're from...

 

[smkiss02]

My definition of robe and housecoat are the exactly the same thing! I'm picturing what you guys are picturing a robe as.

This http://www.maranellosales.com/store/images/full/MT186.jpg

 

[babytrees]

It's possible that she lives with her grandmother, and it's a generational thing. I agree with everyone, I'm sure it's a robe she wants.

This is what I was thinking...I bet she is living with an older generation and asked grandma what it was she was wanting and put housecoat.

Go with the robe...it seems to be what all the girls want this year (at least in my family)

 

[Beth76]

My definition of robe and housecoat are the exactly the same thing! I'm picturing what you guys are picturing a robe as.

This http://www.maranellosales.com/store/images/full/MT186.jpg

Yes, I consider that a robe. The thing that was posted 2 up from yours is what I would consider a housecoat. Not really something used by little girls which is why I was hoping some people would say "yes, where I come from, we use housecoat and robe interchangebly."

 

[#1hockeymom]

I teach in Flint. I was surprised to learn that a housecoat is a robe quite a few years ago. All of my children use this term. I just recently found out that house shoes are slippers! Here I thought they were their play shoes!