A man's formal day coat, 1740s, English; Green and yellow shot silk

A man's formal day coat of green and yellow shot silk. The round neck is bound with a narrow strip of silk. The sleeves are cut in two shaped pieces, loosely fitted and ending in a deep closed cuff - 12 cm at the front, 13.5 cm at the back. The front edges of the coat curve from neck to hem, with apex at the waist. The fronts are shaped to the torso, with wide skirts below the hip, set in 2 pleats (ca. 18 cm deep) front and back at the side, held in place with stitching. There is an inverted pleat on either side of the centre back opening of the skirts. There is a deep scalloped pocket flap at hip level, on each front. The sleeves are lined with bleached linen; the body of the coat, pockets and pocket flaps with very pale blue silk. The skirts are interlined with buckram and padded. There are 9 cast gold buttons on the right front from neck to hip, with 9 corresponding buttonholes worked in green silk twist; only the top one and bottom 3 are cut. Three buttonholes adorn the pocket flaps, the outer two cut, with 3 cast buttons on the pocket. There are three uncut buttonholes each side of the back vent. There is a button holding the top of the pleats on the right side (missing on the left side) and 2 buttons holding the pleats on each side. Three uncut buttonholes and 3 cast buttons decorate each cuff.

Given by F. C. P. Macpherson

This coat illustrates formal daywear for men in the 1740s. The fabric of the coat is a rich shot green and yellow silk. The very wide skirts, pleated at the hip, and curving fronts of the coat are fashionable for this decade. Somewhat unusual is the lack of additional decoration in the form of embroidery or applied braid, reflecting perhaps the understated taste of the wearer.

T.147-1964