Images(2)

Waistcoat

Date1775-1785

OriginEngland or Europe, France

MediumSilk, silver, wool, cotton, linen, wood

DimensionsSelvage Width: 17 inches Chest: 52 inches Waist: 52 inches

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number2023-9

DescriptionWaistcoat made from a green, white, and silver compound woven stripe. Waistcoat fronts and lower skirts are lined in a dark green twilled silk. The rest of the front is lined in a natural or brown course linen. The center back is lined with a napped fustian. Each of the pocket bags is made from a green worsted wool serge which is also the exterior back fabric of the garment. On the interior side seam of the waistcoat is stitched a heavy tab with four worked buttons holes. Perhaps these buttoned the waistcoat into the waistband of the breeches.

Construction History:
1) Initial Construction 1775-1785
2) Enlarged down the center back post 1785
Label TextWaistcoats covered the man from the nape to the waist. This example, with its short skirts, shows the transition to the skirt waistcoats that will come into fashion in the coming decade. It is also a wonderful example to show that men came in all sizes and shapes from the 18th and 19th century, measuring with a 52-inch chest and waist. Heavy tabs sewn into the side seam with worked buttonholes into them probably buttoned to the breeches to keep the waistcoat from riding up and exposing his belly.
Provenance?-2023 [Leyla LeBeurrier-Ahi, St. Ouen, France]; 2023-present, purchased by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)