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Skeleton Suit

ca. 1800-1805 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
England (made)

Boy's skeleton suit of a pale yellowish cloth known as nankeen, consisting of a jacket and trousers.

The jacket is cut high at the neck with small lapels and straight at the waist. There are elbow length sleeves and a button through front.

The trousers are cut tight at the waist with ankle length legs and a button through small fall front.

Object details

Category
Europeana Fashion Project
Object type
Skeleton suit
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Skeleton Suit Jacket
  • Skeleton Suit Trousers
Materials and techniques
Nankeen
Nankeen
Brief description
Boy's skeleton suit, jacket with elbow length sleeves and button through front, trousers with ankle length legs and button through small fall front, nankeen, England, ca. 1800-1805
Physical description
Boy's skeleton suit of a pale yellowish cloth known as nankeen, consisting of a jacket and trousers.

The jacket is cut high at the neck with small lapels and straight at the waist. There are elbow length sleeves and a button through front.

The trousers are cut tight at the waist with ankle length legs and a button through small fall front.
Dimensions
  • Jacket height: 410mm (Note: Measured flat)
  • Jacket width: 450mm (Note: Measured flat)
  • Jacket depth: 30mm (Note: Measured flat)
  • Trousers height: 600mm (Note: Measured flat)
  • Trousers width: 445mm (Note: Measured flat)
  • Trousers depth: 30mm (Note: Measured flat)
Gallery label
(01/07/2023)
Activewear

Childrenswear needs to be robust, resilient and fit for active lives.

The two-piece skeleton suit was fashionable from the 1780s onwards. At the time, it was considered boys’ clothing, as trousers were associated with the military. But from about 1900 onwards, practical, all-in-one outfits, from babies’ buster suits to toddlers’ dungarees, were designed for all children to wear.

1 Buster suit
Manufacturer: Tick-a-Tee Kiddies Wear
Date: 1948
Location: England
Material: Cotton
Given by Angela Coubrough
Museum no. B.90-2011

2 Dungarees
Manufacturer: OshKosh B’Gosh, Inc.
Date: 1984
Location: USA
Materials: Cotton, metal
Kristina Byler Clark gift
Museum no. MISC.714-1992

3 Skeleton suit
Maker: Unknown
Date: 1800–05
Location: England
Material: Nankeen (cotton)
Given by Miss E. Marian Adeney
Museum no. T.165-1915

[Young V&A, Design Gallery, Design makes things last longer, group object label]
Credit line
Given by Miss E. Marian Adeney
Object history
"The first suit of my grandfather born 1796" (letter of donor Miss E Marian Adeney)
[1915/3567.M]
Collection
Young V&A Collection
Accession number
T.165&A-1915

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Record createdJuly 1, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1129110/skeleton-suit-unknown/
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