A costume maker may be expert in replicating period clothes, but theatrical costumes are not straightforward reproductions of historical dress, but reflect the fashion of their time. Many theatre costumes in Restoration style are heavily pleated and flounced, but the lines of this coat are very slim, emphasised by the vertical stripes, which is entirely in keeping with the uncluttered, minimal look of 1965, when Lila de Nobili designed it for Laurence Olivier as Tattle in William Congreve's Restoration comedy Love for Love.

In 1985, when the production was revived, the costumes had to be cut more generously, as the audience's eye was used to fashion's fuller, romantic line. To have replicated the slimmer line of 1965 would have looked as though the maker was skimping on fabric.

The simplicity of the basic fabric and making is contrasted with the richer embroidery on the heavy cuffs and the delicacy of the waistcoat, which is made of a genuine 18th century fabric. This mix of old and new is characteristic of de Nobili, who carried round a bag of antique fabrics and trims picked up in the Paris flea markets, and had no compunction in cutting them up to use in her theatre costumes.