Pelisse
Category
Costume
Date
1815 - 1820
Materials
Silk, quilted silk, wool, calico, tassels, hooks & eyes.
Measurements
1280 x 1000 mm
Order this imageCollection
Springhill, County Londonderry
NT 602782
Caption
Military dress influenced fashionable civilian style for men and women in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, as Europe experienced over 20 years of continuous conflict. The Napoleonic Wars (1799 –1815) between Britain and France accelerated the trend, and the braids, tassels and frogging associated with uniforms were echoed in the styling of women’s clothes. The pelisse was a long, open-fronted coat with a high waist and fitted bodice and sleeves. It evolved from the heavily trimmed jackets worn by hussars – light cavalry regiments with a reputation for splendour. Made of dusk-brown silk, this example features corded piping finished with tassels across the bodice, collar and puffed sleeves; it is decorated along its opening with frogging and leaves. As the pelisse was worn over a lighter-weight gown for walking and carriage journeys, this example conceals insulating layers of wool in the sleeves and the interning of the quilted, cream silk skirt to keep away the worst of the cold. Emma Slocombe
Summary
A woman's pelisse made from fawn coloured silk. The pelisse is decorated on the bodice, front facings, collar, puffed sleeve-heads, cuffs and hem with a combination of applique silk leaves, twisted cord, piping and tassels, in matching fawn silk. The skirt of the pelisse is fully lined in quilted cream silk with a wool interlining, with the bodice fully lined in calico and the sleeves lined in wool. It fastens with 3 hook and eye fastenings centre front on the bodice, intact.
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, p. 97.