Man's waistcoat, 1787, British; Maze & Steer, woven-to-shape, brown silk satin, figured with purple, blue, green

Man’s waistcoat with a 1¾-inch standing collar (4.5 cm), revers, straight fronts and hem, hip-length, with a welted pocket on each front. The fronts, collar, revers and pocket welts are made of brown silk satin, woven-to-shape with pale purple, blue and green in a pattern of wheat-sprays on the collar, pocket welts, revers, along the front edges and hems, the rest of the fronts filled with repeating floral sprigs and semi-circles. The back is made of linen. The waistcoat and pockets are lined with linen. There are 10 worked buttonholes along the left front with 9 self-covered buttons (1 missing) on the right front.

The waistcoat was altered for size in the 18th century; a triangle of linen was inserted into the centre-back seam. The linen tape ties at the back were probably added later.

This waistcoat is made of silk woven by the company, Maze and Steer, who operated in the late 1770s and the 1780s. The design imitates embroidered waistcoats with decorated borders along the edges, pockets and collars, and floral sprigs filling the waistcoat fronts. A pattern book of Maze and Steer designs, ‘Fancy Vestings and Handkerchief Goods’ in the Museum’s collections (Museum no. T.384-1972), features a variety of similar waistcoat designs in various colourways. The square-cut shape, standing collar and welt pocket are characteristic of the waistcoat styles in the late 1780 and early 1790s.

T.311-1982