Man's waistcoat, ca.1790, French; woven-to-shape silk velvet and cannelé weave stripes, with warp adn weft resist dyed border; black, blue and pink, altered 1870-1910

Man’s waistcoat with a ¾ -inch (1.8 cm) standing collar, revers, straight fronts and hem, hip-length, with a welted pocket on each front. The fronts, collar, pocket welts and revers are made of cut silk velvet woven-to shape ('à disposition') with a chiné (warp and weft resist dyed) border of swagged draperies surmounted by a triple-leafed plant with drooping flower sprays and below, a floral garland on a black ground, on the collar and along the front edges. The body of the waistcoat has cannelé weave stripes in blue and white with a central staggered double stripe in shaded red and white with black, banded by black velvet. The back is made of fustian and the waistcoat and pockets are lined with fustian. There are 10 worked buttonholes along the left front edge with 11 self-covered buttons on the right front. There are 3 pairs of linen tape ties at the back.

The waistcoat was altered in the late 19th century, probably for fancy dress. The back lining was taken in at the sides, and later, the centre-back seam unpicked.

Given by Mrs M. Sidwell

The border of the waistcoat has been woven to shape, its 'clouded' pattern of swagged draperies and floral garlands in velvet contrasting with the sharply defined ribbed and alternating velvet stripes on the rest of the body. The complexity of designing for silks in which the warp and weft were resist-dyed in this way, merited a chapter in the first manual of silk design, Le dessinateur pour les étoffes d'or, d'argent et de soie, published in Paris in 1765.

T.173-1966