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Skeleton Suit

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

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
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Skeleton Suit Jacket
  • Skeleton Suit Trousers
Materials and techniques
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
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](01/07/2023)
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
Accession number
T.165&A-1915

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Record createdJuly 1, 2009
Record URL
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