Its shortcomings have been laid bare for about the last 50 years.
In NHS hospitals across the land, embarrassed patients wander gingerly around wards and corridors with their dignity hanging out of their gowns.
There's a top-to-bottom gap all the way down the back and if you need to do anything at the front, you might as well just take the whole thing off.
Dignified: The new hospital gown, designed by Ben de Lisi, will save patients from the embarrassment of the traditional backless garment
Modest: The gown features snap fasteners on the side to allow instant access by medical staff
But now the end is in sight for the traditional hospital gown.
Or rather, it's not in sight.
A swish design launched yesterday actually covers all the relevant bits without hindering access for medical tubes and gizmos.
And it won't have 'Hospital Property' humiliatingly stamped all over it.
Instead, there will be a top designer label in the back.
Fashion entrepreneur Ben di Lisi, whose creations normally adorn the likes of Kate Winslet or Rachel Weisz, came up with the new version after a groundbreaking collaboration between the NHS and the Design Council.
The result is a gown that not only preserves patients' modesty - it also acknowledges that safeguarding their dignity should be an essential part of their treatment.
