Jacket
ca. 1818 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This ensemble demonstrates the very high-waisted styles of the period 1815-1820. Following the plain appearance of Neo-classical dress, a new decorative trend can be seen in the patterning of the gown and the embellishment of the shoulders. In order to provide warmth for lightweight gowns, jackets such as this one in blue velvet were worn. It follows the high-waisted style of the dress, but has long sleeves and a high collar. Such jackets were known as ‘spencers’. They were named after George, 2nd Earl Spencer (1758-1834), who is said to have worn short jackets without tails in the 1790s and started the fashion for them. Similar spencers for walking dress can be seen in fashion magazines of the period 1815-1825.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Velvet faced with satin, hand-sewn |
| Brief description | velvet, 1818c, English; Blue |
| Physical description | This is high-waisted and fastens edge to edge with a hook and eye at the neck. The sleeves are long with short puffed oversleeves, trimmed with satin-faced matching bows and fastening with similarly trimmed wrist bands. The rounded collar is stiffened so that it can be worn turned up. It is faced with satin. Short jackets were worn for walking dress until the 1820s. |
| Credit line | Given by Messrs Harrods Ltd. |
| Summary | This ensemble demonstrates the very high-waisted styles of the period 1815-1820. Following the plain appearance of Neo-classical dress, a new decorative trend can be seen in the patterning of the gown and the embellishment of the shoulders. In order to provide warmth for lightweight gowns, jackets such as this one in blue velvet were worn. It follows the high-waisted style of the dress, but has long sleeves and a high collar. Such jackets were known as ‘spencers’. They were named after George, 2nd Earl Spencer (1758-1834), who is said to have worn short jackets without tails in the 1790s and started the fashion for them. Similar spencers for walking dress can be seen in fashion magazines of the period 1815-1825. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.890-1913 |
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| Record created | December 15, 1999 |
| Record URL |
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