A luxurious textile (brocaded Gros de Tours taffeta) was used to tailor the front of the waistcoat, two pocket flaps and the lower back of the waistcoat. The rest (the upper back and the lining) is made of an ivory calamanco twill and fustian.
The silk has a Comber Repeat (asymmetrical) pattern comprising irregular compartments - each enclosing a semi-stylized rose - reversed in alternate line. This is done not only to balance the pattern visually but also to equalize the tension in the weave.
The ground weave is ivory Gros de Tours taffeta and the pattern – which covers it entirely - is executed with silk and metal brocading wefts. While coloured silks are only weaving the roses, the rest is woven by three different types of metal threads (silver filé, silver frisé and gilded lamella or flat strip). Silver filé and the gilded strip are weaving the frames of the compartments which consist of abstract forms resembling stylized shells. The interior of the compartments (the surface beneath the flowers) is covered with silver frisé. The diverse profiles of the metal threads reflect the light differently, enabling these parts of the pattern to be distinguished easily even when observed from the distance, regardless of the same (silver) nuance of the metal.
In the brocading of the coloured roses and their two-leafed stems the so-called points rentrés or berclé system of shading is implemented. It functions on interlocking the brocading wefts of different colours so that the dividing line between the two lines is no longer distinctive but blurred. This produces a subtle gradation of colour which results with the life-like modelled forms. Points rentrés method was the ‘signature’ brocading technique of the renowned silk weaving centres in France since 1735, where the most convincing naturalistic effects where achieved by the master weavers in Lyon. Due to the fact that the level of execution of points rentrés in the case of this waistcoat’s silk is not the highest, it can be assumed that it was woven elsewhere, possibly in Tours.
Nineteen buttons have survived – thirteen in the waistcoat’s central part and three under each pocket flap. Their wooden core is densely covered with silver metal strip, purl and spangles, forming a star-shaped ornament. These expensive, sparkling buttons perfectly complement the textile of the waistcoat.