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Riding habit jacket

Riding habit jacket

  • Place of origin:

    England, Great Britain (made)

  • Date:

    1750-1759 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Unknown (production)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Woven wool, silk lining and metal braid; handsewn

  • Museum number:

    T.554-1993

  • Gallery location:

    In Storage

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Women’s riding outfits, known as riding habits, of the 18th century adapted elements of men’s dress. This jacket of the 1750s is styled after a man’s coat, although it has been modified with a waist seam to fit over stays and a wide petticoat. Careful mitring and gathering of the heavy braid allows its arrangement around the pockets and into rococo curves down the jacket front. The trim consists of three parts: a wide ribbon of silver thread woven in a geometrical pattern, and a narrow gimp of silver on either side.

Physical description

Brown camlet lined with brown silk and trimmed with silver braid

Place of Origin

England, Great Britain (made)

Date

1750-1759 (made)

Artist/maker

Unknown (production)

Materials and Techniques

Woven wool, silk lining and metal braid; handsewn

Dimensions

Height: 73 cm, Width: 84 cm, Depth: 6 cm

Object history note

Purchased. Registered File number 1993/1280.

Historical context note

By the early 1700s, the riding habit was an established element of the fashionable ladies wardrobe, worn not only for riding and following the hunt, but also for travelling and informal daywear, both in town and country. It was a great deal more comfortable and warm than other fashionable dress, and made of more robust materials. It would have been worn with a skirt, referred to at that date as a petticoat, the generous amounts of fabric incorporated in the skirt meant that it was often recycled, assuming it survived the mud and heavy wear. Habits could be in a full range of colours, although certain shades were specificed for the jacket and cuffs when following a particular hunt. By the end of the 18th century, a contrasting colour for the lining was highly fashionable.

Descriptive line

Riding habit jacket, woven wool, silk lining and metal braid, England, 1750-1759.

Exhibition History

All the Queen's Horses (International Museum of the Horse 26/04/2003-26/04/2003)

Materials

Silk (textile); Metal; Wool (textile)

Techniques

Hand sewn

Categories

Fashion; Sport; Women's clothes

Collection code

T&F

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Qr_O84125
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