court waistcoat

Summary

White satin waistcoat, embroidered in coloured silks and chenille. White satin embroidered;fronts lined white satin;back and back lining white cotton. Fastening to 8.8 cm below high round neck with ten embroidered buttons and buttonholes;join each side near shoulder;flared skirt seamed at and cut away below lowest button;pocket with shaped flap at seam level;neck and front edges embroidered in coloured silks and chenille,mainly in satin stitch,with trees,rocks and flowers;bottom edges with trees,rocks,birds(including peacock) and rising sun;pocket flaps with bushes,rocks and bird in cage;rest of front covered with short lines of white chenille in groups of five;back in two sections,centre back open from waist with overlap;slit sides. Professional embroidery. Worn by Sir John Thomas Stanley (6th Baronet; 1753-1807).

Display Label

Decoration on men's clothing in the eighteenth century could be highly florid, extravagant, exaggerated and flamboyant, mirroring in design the large-scale floral patterns popular for women's woven dress silks. This example has been lavishly embroidered with heavy chenille threads in a bold multi-coloured design, aimed to impress with colour and texture, and to draw the eye to the masculine chest below. The mid eighteenth century fashion-conscious male had no intention of being over-shadowed by his female companion! Waistcoats like this were invariably embroidered "in the piece", that is as flat separate sections, which could then be assembled and stitched together to fit the individual wearer. For this quality of embroidery, the workers were often professional, frequently French, usually male, and highly skilled. Sometimes, however, experienced amateur female embroiderers also produced such items as a present for loved ones, to exhibit their needlework skills, and as a special token of affection. The pocket detail from another, but later, eighteenth century waistcoat, also shows superb embroidery.