Man's waistcoat, 1780s, British; made of a Kashmiri moon shawl

Man's waistcoat with a round neckline, revers, straight front and hems, hip length. There are no pockets, only a pocket welt stitched to each front. The fronts and revers are made from a Kashmiri wool moon shawl with a white ground, patterned with alternating rows of small green boteh (pine cones) with yellow centres. The shawl borders on the revers, front edges and hems, are woven with alternating pink and yellow flowers, edged with small yellow leaves on a black ground. Parts of the shawl corners face the lapels, with a design of pink flowers against narrow black stripes. The waistcoat fronts and pocket welts are made from the main ground of the shawl, but omitting the central, round motif of a moon shawl. The shawl fringe edges the revers. The back is made of cotton, the waistcoat lined with cotton. The waistcoat has a double-breasted effect with 12 self-covered buttons set back from 8 worked buttonholes along the left front and 11 (1 missing) self-covered buttons set back from the right front edge.

Given by J. Gordon Macintyre

An Indian cashmere shawl was ingeniously remade into this man’s waistcoat from the 1780s. An attractive feature is the fringed ends of the shawl, which have been incorporated into the edge of the revers (lapels). Revers, or the ‘reverse’ of the coat or waistcoat front, appear in men’s fashionable dress during the 1780s. One of the innovations of this new style was to wear the revers of a brightly decorated waistcoat over that of the coat. This fashion was eventually assimilated into men’s evening dress and can be seen in the silk lapels found on all formal tail coats and dinner jackets.

T.440-1966