Vest thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Vest

mid 19th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
This vest represents a very practical garment in the Victorian woman's wardrobe and an advance in knitting technology. It was worn to provide additional warmth under conventional clothing and has been knitted to accommodate the bust, waist and hips of a female figure. By following the curvaceous outlines of the corset worn underneath, such shaping prevented the vest bunching around the waist in an uncomfortable manner.

Materials & Making
The advantage of knitting over woven fabric was the former's ability to stretch and cover a three-dimensional form smoothly. This capacity was further enhanced by shaping the knitted fabric through increasing and decreasing the number of knitted stitches. The small gauge of machine knitting allowed for very precise shaping, as this example demonstrates.

Historical Associations
Knitwear was a booming British industry and an important representation at the Great Exhibition. In addition to the well-established stocking production, companies were developing new forms of underwear, as well as informal jackets, headwear and gloves. The demand for knitted jumpers, jackets and cardigans would increase greatly in the second half of the century as the growing popularity of sports such as golf, boating, tennis and cycling required comfortable clothing appropriate to the activity.

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read Knitted underwear Whether socks or swimwear, long johns or leggings, knitting has been as important to what we put on under our clothes as to the clothes themselves. Some of the earliest knitted items were underwear and the growth of the machine-knitting industry was based on underwear's popularity. Even on...

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Machine-knitted wool, mother of pearl
Brief description
Vest of machine-knitted wool, England, mid 19th century
Physical description
Vest for a woman of machine-knitted natural wool. Fully fashioned. Hip length with ribbed welt, shaped to the waist and breasts, and has a high round neck and short sleeves with ribbed welts. It fastens neck to waist in the centre front with the opening reinforced with a band of fine wool. With cotton placket and mother of pearl buttons. There is an open-work knitted mark on the back right hip.
Dimensions
  • Height: 78cm
  • With sleeves stretched out width: 68cm
  • Waist circumference: 29in
  • Length: 31in
Dimensions checked: Measured; 19/01/1999 by sf
Marks and inscriptions
'AP 129 / 3' (Marked on a parchment label attached at the back of the neck)
Gallery label
British Galleries: KNITTED UNDERWEAR
Seven knitwear manufacturers displayed underwear at the Exhibition. Such undergarments replaced traditional woven linen and cotton. These examples show advances in design such as the shaping of women's underwear to fit the female figure or the narrowing of sleeves to prevent gathering underneath clothes.(27/03/2003)
Object history
Made in England
Summary
Object Type
This vest represents a very practical garment in the Victorian woman's wardrobe and an advance in knitting technology. It was worn to provide additional warmth under conventional clothing and has been knitted to accommodate the bust, waist and hips of a female figure. By following the curvaceous outlines of the corset worn underneath, such shaping prevented the vest bunching around the waist in an uncomfortable manner.

Materials & Making
The advantage of knitting over woven fabric was the former's ability to stretch and cover a three-dimensional form smoothly. This capacity was further enhanced by shaping the knitted fabric through increasing and decreasing the number of knitted stitches. The small gauge of machine knitting allowed for very precise shaping, as this example demonstrates.

Historical Associations
Knitwear was a booming British industry and an important representation at the Great Exhibition. In addition to the well-established stocking production, companies were developing new forms of underwear, as well as informal jackets, headwear and gloves. The demand for knitted jumpers, jackets and cardigans would increase greatly in the second half of the century as the growing popularity of sports such as golf, boating, tennis and cycling required comfortable clothing appropriate to the activity.
Other number
AP.129:3 - Previous number
Collection
Accession number
T.55-1959

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Record createdMarch 27, 2003
Record URL
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