Waistcoat
Category
Costume
Date
1750 - 1760
Materials
Silk, silk damask, silver, metal thread
Measurements
915 mm (H)
Order this imageCollection
Snowshill Wade Costume Collection, Gloucestershire
NT 1349002
Caption
An elaborate silk waistcoat was a staple of every fashionable 18th-century man’s wardrobe. This exquisite example is made from a golden-yellow silk damask – a popular colour for fashionable dress, reflecting the influence of Chinese culture on European dress and decorative arts. The use of precious metals was not reserved for elite women’s dress. Here, exceptionally fine silver needle lace, using filé and frisé threads, creates a dense pattern of curvilinear lines and foliate motifs that illustrate the influence of the Rococo style. The lace has been worked à disposition, meaning directly onto the textile, which was then cut and made up into the finished garment by a tailor. The ornamentation is completed by 17 dome-shaped buttons that are richly embroidered with silver purl and plate. The overall effect is one of splendour that would have dazzled in candlelight. The high level of ornamentation, quantity of precious metals and quality of the silk damask suggest that this waistcoat might have been worn at court. Kate Bethune
Summary
Waistcoat made from gold silk damask lined with cream twilled silk facings and part lining with a cream linen back. It is trimmed with silver lace 10cm deep around the front and the hem and round and on the pocket flaps. The lace is made en disposition. There are 17 buttons embroidered with silver purl and plate.
Provenance
Given to National Trust with Snowshill Manor in 1951 by Charles Paget Wade
References
Antrobus and Slocombe 2025: Helen Antrobus and Emma Slocombe, 100 Things to Wear: Fashion from the collections of the National Trust, National Trust 2025, pp. 72-73.