Dress suit
- Place of origin:
France (possibly, made)
Great Britain, UK (possibly, made)
- Date:
- Artist/Maker:
- Materials and Techniques:
Silk, lined with silk, linen and buckram, hand-sewn
- Museum number:
- Gallery location:
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This is an example of a man’s matching coat, waistcoat and breeches from the late 1720s or early 1730s. It is an early example of a ‘woven to shape’ coat and waistcoat. The pattern outlining the front edges and hem of the coat and waistcoat were woven on the loom, so that the resulting length of silk could only be made into a coat and waistcoat. The pattern of the coat was woven in brown thread on a similarly coloured ground, while the same design on the waistcoat was executed in white thread on brown ground for a contrasting effect. The sleeve of the coat has a very deep cuff, reaching up to the elbow. It is cut in a wide curve, characteristic of the late 1720s and 1730s. This was known as a ‘boot-cuff’ sleeve.
Physical description
Man's dress suit of brown silk. The design is woven to shape on the coat and cuffs. Matching waistcoat with pattern of white silk.
[Coat] Cream-coloured silk satin and linen lining. Fifteen buttons down front (one missing), five on each cuff, five at each pocket, eight on tails, one at back (one missing); all covered with same damask.
[Waistcoat] Seventeen buttons down the front, five at each pocket, all covered with same damask. Cream-coloured lining, linen back.
[Breeches] Eleven buttons round waist, four with strap and buckle at each knee (one buckle missing, right knee); all buttons covered with brown silk. There is a linen lining.
Place of Origin
France (possibly, made)
Great Britain, UK (possibly, made)
Date
ca. 1730 (made)
Artist/maker
Unknown (production)
Materials and Techniques
Silk, lined with silk, linen and buckram, hand-sewn
Dimensions
[Coat] Length: 41.5 in, Width: 57 in including sleeves
[Waistcoat] Length: 37.5 in, Width: 13.75 in of one side
[Breeches] Length: 35 in, Width: 21 in waist
Object history note
Purchased. Registered File number 30319/1902.
Descriptive line
Man's dress suit, silk, lined with silk, linen and buckram, France or Great Britain, ca. 1730
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Victoria and Albert Museum (Nathalie Rothstein, ed.) Four Hundred Years of Fashion. London, Victoria & Albert Museum, 1984, cat. 85.
Materials
Silk (textile); Linen (material)
Techniques
Hand sewn
Categories
Formal wear; Men's clothes
Collection code
T&F
