Man's frock coat, 1830s, English; Brown cloth

Double-breasted frock coat with a nipped-in waist and broad lapels faced with silk velvet. It has a crescent-shaped outbreast pocket and two larger curved pockets on the front of the skirts

Given by Messrs Harrods Ltd.

This was part of a very large collection of items of dress and accessories which was given to the Museum by Harrods, the department store, in 1913. The collection had been formed by the artist Talbot Hughes, who wrote a book on the history of dress, illustrated with photographs of models wearing items from his collection. A large firm in America had offered to buy the collection and present it to the Metropolitan Museum, New York, but Hughes did not want it to go abroad. At the suggestion of Cecil Harcourt Smith of the V&A, Harrods bought it for £2,500 and gave it to the Museum for the 'public good'. Harrods displayed the collection for three weeks in December 1913.

The waisted frock coat came into fashion in about 1816 and became an enduring style. Typically it had a narrow waist and full skirts hanging vertically in front. The frock coat was worn for everyday purposes such as morning dress, usually with a top hat, cane and trousers.

By 1830 frock coats were made in a variety of designs according to taste, fashion or type of activity. This example has an outbreast pocket, a feature which appeared on coats during the 1830s.

T.748-1913