Man's Vest with Removable Chest Padscirca 1840

Not on view

Pale champagne silk waistcoat with diagonal chevron stripes in ivory and cobalt blue embroidery, displayed on a white dress form against a dark background

Man's waistcoat displayed on a headless white form, made of cream silk with diagonal stripes of ivory and blue woven or embroidered pattern, double-breasted front with small buttons, and a low V-neckline.

Close-up detail of a cream-colored textile garment, showing vertical trim with layered tan mesh and blue woven braid, a small round button, and visible stitching along seams.

Textile garment detail showing an open seam or pocket, revealing a woven interior lining in tan and cream stripes with blue braided trim, enclosed within an off-white outer fabric.

Close-up of woven textile with diagonal stripes in tan and cream, interspersed with narrower bands of blue featuring an interlaced geometric pattern in cream and brown.

Title: Man's Vest with Removable Chest Pads
Place Made: England
Date Made: circa 1840
Medium: Vest: silk satin with supplementary weft-float patterning; pads: cotton twill with cotton wadding
Dimensions: Center back length: 19 1/4 in. (48.895 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by Suzanne A. Saperstein and Michael and Ellen Michelson, with additional funding from the Costume Council, the Edgerton Foundation, Gail and Gerald Oppenheimer, Maureen H. Shapiro, Grace Tsao, and Lenore and Richard Wayne
Accession Number: M.2007.211.823
Classification: Costumes
Collecting Area: Costume and Textiles
Curatorial Notes: By design, the stripes in this vest point diagonally from the shoulder to the center front, fostering the illusion of a broad chest narrowing into a tapered waist. In reality, extra padding created the fashionable “barrel” chest. To achieve the silhouette, this vest was constructed with open front spaces between the outside and the lining into which variable thicknesses of padding could be inserted.
Selected Bibliography: Takeda, Sharon Sadako and Kaye Durland Spilker. Fashioning Fashion: Deux Siècles de Mode Européenne, 1700-1915. Paris: Arts Décoratifs; Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich; New York: Delmonico Books-Prestel, 2013.
Takeda, Sharon Sadako and Kaye Durland Spilker. Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail, 1700-1915. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich; New York: Delmonico Books/Prestel, 2010.
Takeda, Sharon Sadako and Kaye Durland Spilker. Fashioning Fashion: Europäische Moden, 1700-1915. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich; New York: Prestel, 2012.

Man's Vest with Removable Chest Padscirca 1840

Not on view

Title: Man's Vest with Removable Chest Pads
Place Made: England
Date Made: circa 1840
Medium: Vest: silk satin with supplementary weft-float patterning; pads: cotton twill with cotton wadding
Dimensions: Center back length: 19 1/4 in. (48.895 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by Suzanne A. Saperstein and Michael and Ellen Michelson, with additional funding from the Costume Council, the Edgerton Foundation, Gail and Gerald Oppenheimer, Maureen H. Shapiro, Grace Tsao, and Lenore and Richard Wayne
Accession Number: M.2007.211.823
Classification: Costumes
Collecting Area: Costume and Textiles
Curatorial Notes: By design, the stripes in this vest point diagonally from the shoulder to the center front, fostering the illusion of a broad chest narrowing into a tapered waist. In reality, extra padding created the fashionable “barrel” chest. To achieve the silhouette, this vest was constructed with open front spaces between the outside and the lining into which variable thicknesses of padding could be inserted.
Selected Bibliography: Takeda, Sharon Sadako and Kaye Durland Spilker. Fashioning Fashion: Deux Siècles de Mode Européenne, 1700-1915. Paris: Arts Décoratifs; Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich; New York: Delmonico Books-Prestel, 2013.
Takeda, Sharon Sadako and Kaye Durland Spilker. Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail, 1700-1915. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich; New York: Delmonico Books/Prestel, 2010.
Takeda, Sharon Sadako and Kaye Durland Spilker. Fashioning Fashion: Europäische Moden, 1700-1915. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich; New York: Prestel, 2012.