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Collections

Man's Suit (Coat, Waistcoat, and Breeches)circa 1785

Not on view
Museum display of an 18th-century men's three-piece suit in marigold yellow silk, with pewter buttons, black velvet cuffs, and matching tricorn hat on a white mannequin
18th-century men's suit displayed on a white mannequin: bright golden-yellow wool coat, waistcoat, and knee breeches with dark navy trim and buttons, paired with a tricorn hat, white ruffled cuffs, and black buckle shoes.
Rear view of a bright yellow wool frock coat on a white mannequin with a powdered wig, featuring pleated back vents with round pewter buttons and dark cuffs with ruffled white linen, 18th-century style.
Title
Man's Suit (Coat, Waistcoat, and Breeches)
Place Made
Spain
Date Made
circa 1785
Medium
Coat: Wool plain weave, full finish, with cotton velveteen, wool cord, and metal buttons; Waistcoat: Wool plain weave, full finish, with silk velvet, wool cord, and metal buttons; Breeches: Wool plain weave, full finish, with metal buttons
Dimensions
Center back length (Coat): 45 in. (114.3 cm) Center back length (Waistcoat): 28 3/4 in. (73.03 cm) Length (Breeches): 25 3/8 in. (64.45 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.2007.211.801a-c
Classification
Costumes
Collecting Area
Costume and Textiles
Curatorial Notes

This wool three-piece suit illustrates the nascent influence of English sportswear on European fashions. Wool fabric, plain buttons, and the absence of suit trimmings reference the simplicity and practicality of suits worn in the English countryside.

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.
  • Edwards, Lydia. How to Read a Suit: A Guide to Changing Men's Fashion from the 17th to the 20th Century. London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2020.

Related Unframed

A Mouse Ate My Coat!—Conservation of an 18th Century Boy's Coat
A Mouse Ate My Coat!—Conservation of an 18th Century Boy's Coat
  • October 26, 2020
  • Catherine McLean