Breeches
Date1800-1820
OriginEurope, Spain
MediumCream silk twill; embroidered with metallic bullion and sequins and buttoned with metallic covered buttons; white tabby cotton and linen waistband linings and pockets; silk twill fall lining.
DimensionsL: 30"
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1941-215,2
DescriptionBreeches, part of three-piece court suit, of white silk twill, trimmed with silver bullion and sequins. Breeches cut with high waist and slim legs. Front opening with three buttons on waistband above the fall and two hidden below; medium wide fall front buttoned at the upper hip; one welted watch pocket. Tight legs end in knee band embroidered with heavy metal threads, and four metallic buttons above. Breeches back has four small tucks for seat fullness and center back adjustment with two eyelets and a vent filled with twill. Drawstrings run through linen tape casing from side seams 3" below the waistband, horizontally over to 4" from center back seam, where they emerge from eyelets. Suspender buttons sewn on front and back.Label TextFormal or Court Suit
Spain, 1800-1820
Silk velvet, silk woven with silver threads, and silk twill, all embroidered with silver gilt, sequins, and beads, lined with silk and cotton-linen, reproduction ruffles
1941-215, 1-3.
Combining brilliant color, elegant materials, and heavy metallic embroidery, this suit epitomizes the richness of men's European court wear in the early nineteenth century. The silhouette is attenuated, with slim skirts and a high collar that reaches almost to the ears. In contrast to earlier suits of the mid-eighteenth century, shoulders are square and broad. The shape of the coat, which curves away from the body, hints at the cutaway coat that becomes the standard for men's formal wear into the twenty-first century.
