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Doublet

ca. 1620 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Man’s doublet of crimson silk grosgrain, interlined with linen, and lined with crimson silk taffeta. It has a 3-inch (7.5 cm) standing collar, 4¼-inch (10.7 cm) deep shoulder wings and curving 2-piece sleeves, with a high, pointed waist and 8 deep laps. A woven lace, ⅛-inch (3 mm) wide, of crimson silk floss and silver filé, applied in parallel rows, covers the seams and decorates the collar, shoulder wings and laps. The belly piece is made of cork and layers of linen stitched together and covered with the crimson silk lining. There are 12 worked buttonholes on each sleeve, 28 down the left front, and 5 button loops of the woven lace on the collar. The buttons have a wooden core covered with crimson silk floss and silver filé; 53 remain. The laps have 7 lacing holes, except for the 2 laps at centre front which each have 5. These are decorative; there is a lacing band inside at the waist with originally 12 metal eyes; 8 now remain. There is a lacing loop of the crimson lining inside each front above the waist. A length of the woven lace is stitched on each front at the waist to hold the belt.

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read In the pink: colour in menswear For centuries, colour in men's clothing has been a means for both imposing conformity, or expressing individuality. The associations of colour have changed over time – In the 1700s European men wore pink, for example, as a sign of wealth and power, rather than gender. Today the spectrum of...

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silk, linen, cork; hand-woven and hand-sewn
Brief description
Man's doublet, 1620c, English; Crimson silk grosgrain, trimmed with crimson silk and silver
Physical description
Man’s doublet of crimson silk grosgrain, interlined with linen, and lined with crimson silk taffeta. It has a 3-inch (7.5 cm) standing collar, 4¼-inch (10.7 cm) deep shoulder wings and curving 2-piece sleeves, with a high, pointed waist and 8 deep laps. A woven lace, ⅛-inch (3 mm) wide, of crimson silk floss and silver filé, applied in parallel rows, covers the seams and decorates the collar, shoulder wings and laps. The belly piece is made of cork and layers of linen stitched together and covered with the crimson silk lining. There are 12 worked buttonholes on each sleeve, 28 down the left front, and 5 button loops of the woven lace on the collar. The buttons have a wooden core covered with crimson silk floss and silver filé; 53 remain. The laps have 7 lacing holes, except for the 2 laps at centre front which each have 5. These are decorative; there is a lacing band inside at the waist with originally 12 metal eyes; 8 now remain. There is a lacing loop of the crimson lining inside each front above the waist. A length of the woven lace is stitched on each front at the waist to hold the belt.
Dimensions
  • Overall length: 63.0cm (approx)
  • Chest under armholes circumference: 97.0cm (approx)
Bibliographic reference
Jenny Tiramani, ‘Crimson silk grosgrain doublet’, in 17th-Century Men’s Dress Patterns, 1600-1630 by Melanie Braun et al. Thames & Hudson and V&A Museum, 2016, pp.88-111
Collection
Accession number
268-1891

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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