Man's Suit (Coat, Waistcoat, and Breeches)circa 1755

Not on view

Eighteenth-century men's suit on a white mannequin: brick red and gold patterned coat with brass buttons, matching waistcoat, breeches, white lace cuffs, and powdered wig

Close-up detail of a red silk brocade coat sleeve and pocket flap, woven with a dense pattern of dark red and cream flowers; four large circular gilt buttons with raised decorative borders fasten the cuff.

18th-century man's coat displayed on a mannequin, rear three-quarter view. Deep red fabric with an allover floral pattern in dark crimson and gold. Row of brass buttons along the back vents and cuffs, with white lace ruffles at the wrists. Mannequin wears a white powdered wig with ribbon bow.

Close-up of red silk brocade textile with an all-over pattern of dark crimson velvet floral motifs and small cream blossoms on trailing vines; two gilt metal buttons visible at right edge.

Close-up of red silk voided velvet textile with a repeating floral pattern; large deep crimson velvet blooms alternate with smaller cream-colored flowers on a ribbed woven ground.

Title: Man's Suit (Coat, Waistcoat, and Breeches)
Place Made: France
Date Made: circa 1755
Medium: Silk cut, uncut, and voided velvet (ciselé) on satin foundation
Dimensions: (Overall) Coat skirt silhouette: 70 × 34 × 30 in. (177.8 × 86.36 × 76.2 cm) Center back length (Waistcoat): 32 1/2 in. (82.55 cm) Length (Breeches): 21 1/4 in. (53.98 cm) Inseam (Breeches): 14 1/8 in. (35.88 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.2007.211.947a-c
Classification: Costumes
Collecting Area: Costume and Textiles
Curatorial Notes: The three-piece suit emerged in the late seventeenth century and quickly established itself as a male uniform for the ages. Originally, the suit consisted of a coat, long-sleeved waistcoat, and breeches. By the 1740s, however, sleeveless waistcoats were more common. Here, false waistcoat cuffs protruding from the coat’s sleeves create the illusion that more of the richly textured velvet has been used.
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.
Selected Exhibition History: Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 12, 2022 - October 30, 2022

Related Exhibitions

Related Unframed

Man's Suit (Coat, Waistcoat, and Breeches)circa 1755

Not on view

Title: Man's Suit (Coat, Waistcoat, and Breeches)
Place Made: France
Date Made: circa 1755
Medium: Silk cut, uncut, and voided velvet (ciselé) on satin foundation
Dimensions: (Overall) Coat skirt silhouette: 70 × 34 × 30 in. (177.8 × 86.36 × 76.2 cm) Center back length (Waistcoat): 32 1/2 in. (82.55 cm) Length (Breeches): 21 1/4 in. (53.98 cm) Inseam (Breeches): 14 1/8 in. (35.88 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.2007.211.947a-c
Classification: Costumes
Collecting Area: Costume and Textiles
Curatorial Notes: The three-piece suit emerged in the late seventeenth century and quickly established itself as a male uniform for the ages. Originally, the suit consisted of a coat, long-sleeved waistcoat, and breeches. By the 1740s, however, sleeveless waistcoats were more common. Here, false waistcoat cuffs protruding from the coat’s sleeves create the illusion that more of the richly textured velvet has been used.
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.
Selected Exhibition History: Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 12, 2022 - October 30, 2022

Related Exhibitions

Related Unframed

A Mouse Ate My Coat!—Conservation of an 18th Century Boy's Coat

October 26, 2020
Catherine McLean