V&A - Long Waistcoat                                       V&A - Man's full dress                                                          V&A - Short Waistcoat

 

The above pictures are of waistcoats from the Victoria and Albert Museum's collections. The first (left) was made approximately sometime between 1710-1720. It is a typical example of an early eighteenth century waistcoat in its length, long sleeves, and no collar. The cut of the waistcoat is also curved which created the open shape, as in the central photograph, when worn. The waistcoat displayed on the model in the second photograph (middle) was made and worn in the 1740s, approximately 1745. The waistcoat is slightly shorter than the coat, but the shape remains the same and it is still long sleeved. The final photograph displays the most drastic change in design which occurred towards the end of the eighteenth century. This waistcoat (right) approximately made between 1780 - 1790 is much shorter, sleeveless, square cut, and has a standing collar; these are all characteristics which are typical of the late eighteenth century waistcoat.

 

Waistcoat Embroidery

 

Waistcoats that belonged to the gentry, and especially court waistcoats which would be worn on special occasions such as to royal occasions and important balls, would be heavily embroidered with silk thread, gold and silver thread, sequins and paste jewels. Whilst the front of the waistcoat would be decorated to display the wealth of the wearer, the back of the waistcoat was often made of less valued material such as cotton or linen, as it is not on show. 

 

                                                   National Trust: Embroidered Waistcoat detail

 

                   

                                           National Trust: Embroidered Waistcoat front                         National Trust: Embroidered Waistcoat back

 

 

Date: 1775-85

Front: Ivory fancy ribbed silk

Back: Cream linen

Trimmings: Sprays of flowers and leaves embroidered in multicoloured silks and silver purls and sequins on leading edges and pocket flaps; single flowers embroidered overall

Fastenings: 11 fabric-covered buttons, embroidered with silk in a sunburst design

 

There is a stark contrast between the front and back of the waistcoat. The front of the waistcoat is made of ribbed silk, and is heavily embroidered all over with a mix of silk embroidery, sequins and jewels. The entire waistcoat is decorated, with special attention on the pocket detail and lining of the waistcoat; these were the parts that are most exposed when worn with an open coat and so decoration was centred here. Waistcoats such as these would have either been produced in a workshop, or also by the ladies and servants of the house.

 

Althea Mackenzie writes in her book, Embroideries, that an eighteenth century gentleman of style might have as many as 300 waistcoats in his wardrobe, all richly embellished with decorative motifs and sparkle. The embroidery designs can often be heavily floral, but also reflective of the wave of exoticism found in the East and across the world. For example, the waistcoat below includes an symmetrical embroidered image of two monkeys collecting fruit from beneath a palm tree. This waistcoat was made in approximately 1780-89 and clearly reflects an interest and excitement about the growing relations between continents, and the knowledge gained of these 'exotic' lands through trade and travel diaries that society would have been reading at the time. Commonly, waistcoats were decorated with pleasing floral and beaded images, but more elaborate designs could include pictures of animals and scenes from popular operas. The design for these monkeys can be found in a watercolour at the Musée Historique des Tissus in Lyon, which according to the V&A website 'The Lyon pattern books contain lions, air balloons, architectural ruins and pastoral scenes among their wealth of designs.'

 

                                 

                    V&A - Monkey Embroidered Waistcoat                                                 V&A - Monkey Embroidered Waistcoat detail

 

 

Many of these waistcoats are examples of formal or court dress. For the aristocracy, the most flamboyant, expensive, and decorated items would have be reserved for formal and royal occasions, not worn day to day. This Court Waistcoat from the National Trust's Snowshill Wade Costume Collection is a prime example of the elaborate designs that went in to court dress.

 

 

                                             National Trust - Court Waistcoat detail

 

        

              National Trust - Court Waistcoat buttons                                                                                          National Trust - Court Waistcoat

 

 

Date: 1770 - 1780

Front material: Ribbed, cream silk

Back material: Linen

Lining: Linen, with cream ribbed silk facing to foreparts

Trimmings: Extensive embroidery with flowers and leaves in multi-colour silk, silver threads, sequins and paste glass jewels. Whole surface scattered with sequins. Three false buttons on each pocket (one missing)

 

This waistcoat is sequinned all over, not just around the central edge which would have been exposed by an open coat. Extensive metal and silk embroidery and flowering covers the entire waistcoat and is more heavily embroidered specifically down the centre, around the buttons, and pockets of the waistcoat. It is clearly delicately designed, and would have been extremely expensive to make, and most probably made in an embroidery factory due to the extent of detail. If the waistcoat that Pamela is flowering for Mr B. was of this level of detail, should would have taken a lot longer than she already does.

 

 

 

Waistcoat Buttons

 

As well as a love for elaborate design and heavily embroidered waistcoats, waistcoat buttons also became increasingly important and dazzling in the eighteenth century, especially towards the end of the century. It was another way to flaunt wealth, with buttons made of precious metals and decorated with jewels being the most expensive and exclusive. This fashion for increasingly large and decorative buttons caught the attention of satirists, who began creating satirical prints with elaborate buttons.

 

                                                  

 

This satirical print from 1777, entitled 'Coup de Bouton' ('Coup' meaning knock/blow/shock) satirises the fashion for large sparkling buttons. Two obviously very fashionable members of society meet, and the woman is shocked and blinded by the shine coming from the buttons of his waistcoat and coat. As Dawn Hoskin explains in her entry on the Victoria and Albert Museum website, 'As the fashion for eye-catching buttons developed, they became increasingly large and dazzling, with some as big as two inches in diameter. As with any conspicuous fashion, the trend for such ‘outlandish’ buttons became the subject of satirists.' Decorative buttons added another distinguishing feature to waistcoats, and allowed the wearer the flaunt their style and wealth - the larger and sparklier, the more expensive.

 

Waistcoats in Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded

 

In the first part of Samuel Richardson's novel, Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded, Pamela's initial reason for not being able to leave Mr. B's home where she is being mistreated, is because Mr. B has insisted that she must first finish her work in flowering his waistcoat, 'I think the Creature had best stay till she has finish'd it' (page 40). Pamela agrees, believing that she must maintain and keep up her work and duties toward her master and have finished her ongoing work before she can leave. In the letters to her parents Pamela complains, '...And yet I work all hours with my needle, upon his linen, and the fine linen of the family; and am besides about flowering him a Waistcoat' (page 22). The Waistcoat becomes an effective device of delay and prolonging Pamela's stay. This waistcoat is referred to on several occasions as a tiresome aspect of her work; one can imagine that it must have been a rather detailed embroidery. Pamela's attitude towards the waistcoat does appear to vary according to her agitation and feelings towards Mr B and his behaviour - she first exclaims that 'I never did a prettier piece of work; and I am up early and late to get it finish'd' (44) but just two days later refers to it as his 'ugly waistcoat' (47). What we can learn from Pamela is something about the domestic labour of female servants. Pamela shows us that it was extremely common for the ladies of the house, namely the servants, to be expected to undertake tasks in fixing and making their owners clothing and fashioning waistcoat embroidery.

 

We are never given a description of Pamela's finished product, however two other waistcoats belonging to Mr. B are described in the novel, and which give an impression of the elaborate court dress that a man of Mr. B's stature would have owned. Pamela describes the gold lace and finery of the waistcoat, part of a 'birth-day suit' which Mr. B wears to London to court where he is to be made a Lord, and that Mr B 'looked very grand' (68) in it - and so we can imagine that it would have been of a similar level as some of the flowered silk waistcoats above. As well as this, a more detailed description is given to us of the waistcoat that Mr B. wears for the King's Birthday. Much later in the novel, Pamela describes Mr. B's appearance: 'And my dear sir, in a fine laced silk waistcoat, of blue paduasoy, and his coat a pearl-coloured fine cloth, with gold buttons and button-holes, and lined with white silk; and he looked charmingly indeed.' (487). This waistcoat is corded silk, and would have most likely had matching gold buttons to that of the coat she describes. It has very similar details to the items of court dress and embroidered waistcoats which I have included earlier; silk material, metal and silk lace, gold decorative buttons.

 

What this novel does also give us a very brief insight to is the 'everyday' dress of high class men such as Mr. B. When Pamela's father comes to visit, Mr. B offers him suits, waistcoats, coats, stockings and buckles to take his choice of. Here we see an insight in to Mr. B's wardrobe, and the items of clothing which are not elaborate and only for special occasions. Pamela notes that, 'my master saw not any her thought too good, and my father none that he thought bad enough' (312) before finally it is decided by Mr. B that Pamela's father should try on a coat and waistcoat which was 'a fine drab, which he thought looked the plainest'. These items that are given to Mr. Williams are described as 'plain, and lined with the same colour, and made for travelling in a coach' (312). Mr Williams is offered an everyday waistcoat of Mr. B, plain in colour, with no mention of silk or gold lace or any embroidery - and being design for travelling in a coach, it would not often be seen and so would be designed more for comfort as opposed to for a display of wealth and class.

 

 

Everyday Dress

 

All of the waistcoats in the images provided so far have been those which belong to gentleman, which are elaborate and would have been very expensive to purchase and have taken a long time to make. Most of the waistcoats that have survived to be displayed in places like the Victoria and Albert museum are strikingly embroidered and decorated - waistcoats that were owned by the wealthy and kept in good condition. It is interesting however also to study the everyday dress of English society in the 18th century. John Styles in The Dress of the People analyses the fashion of the 'everyday' men and women in the 18th century. He explains how there is much less surviving materials and clothing from the lower working class, and so other sources such as diaries, travel documents, artwork and crime records must be relied upon to paint a picture of plebeian dress. For example, Styles looks at travel documents which have noted that 'foreign travellers in England marvelled at the quality of ordinary people’s dress’ (2). It is apparent from documents by European travellers, such as Friedrich August Wendeborn who noted that ‘all do their best to wear fine clothes, and those who cannot purchase them new buy the old at second hand, that they may at least have the appearance of finery’ (20), that even those of lower ranks dressed in high quality every day clothing - or at least a notable majority.

 

                                                

                                                 The muffin man                                                            Welsh Peasants

 

Whilst there is of course a clear contrast between the clothes worn by the rich and poor, it is apparent from documents such as this that these difference lay less in the type of clothing they wore and more in the materials and accessories. Styles notes in his study of everyday dress that 'overwhelmingly, their outer garments comprised the familiar combination of waistcoat, coat and breeches’ (39). The materials of the working class wardrobe however would have differed. Waistcoats have been recorded in advertisements as being made from a wide range of materials (woollen cloth, linen, cotton) whereas the majority of waistcoats I have referred to in earlier sections that belonging to wealthy gentlemen, are made of silk or velvet - much more expensive materials. Evidence of this can be seen in the crime records from the eighteenth century where accounts of stolen waistcoats give an indication of the varying price. In the Ordinary's Account 28th May 1753 there is a record of a cloth waistcoat being stolen, approximately priced at 1 shilling. Another account, 17th March 1749, documents a waistcoat worth around 2 shillings. In contrast, in an account where a silk waistcoat was stolen, the thief is documented to have gone on to sell the blue silk waistcoat for a price of 10 shillings. Again, in another Ordinary Account from 4th Februrary 1736, a coat and silk waistcoat with silver buttons were stolen and then sold on for 4 pounds (approx. 80 shillings). The worth of the item very much depended on the material, as well as any additions such as the silver buttons. Some accounts even document only the metal thread being ripped and stolen from the lining of waistcoats, as this was an expensive part of the garment which could be sold on.  Waistcoats worn by the 'everyday' man would have lacked the dazzling steel buttons and silk and metal thread embroidery, as in the two paintings above, where the men are shown in plain coloured, non-embroidered clothes.

 

Eighteenth century 'it' narratives may also offer an explantation as to how there was such an 'appearance of finery' amongst the poor, as noted by Friedrich August Wendeborn.  There was a large culture of recycling within 18th century society, and these narratives give an insight in to how objects are passed between owners, gradually reducing in quality and value and therefore moving down class boundaries.

 

It-narratives: waistcoats and material culture

 

A sub-genre that emerged in the eighteenth century was the object narratives, or 'it-narratives' - in which objects such as clothing become animate and narrated their lives and experiences. These narratives  'embrace garments and accessories, animating them with their own secret histories' (Women, work and clothes in the 18th century novel - 73 'Speaking Clothes'). The object narration gives an insight in to the material world of the eighteenth century. Clothes are given thoughts and feelings, and describe their 'life-cycle' of being passed between owners, stolen or neglected in a cupboard; 'Petticoats, waistcoats, and gowns constituted a form of currency, easily traded up and down the social ladder, passed from mistress to maid, lost, stolen, or exchanged at the pawnbroker's shop - all favourite plots for object narratives about clothes' (73). These texts give an idea of the material sufferings of clothes becoming stained and tattered, or left in a cupboard for weeks. As well as being comical, these items of clothing and objects comment on members of eighteenth century society, as well as offering a study of commodity culture. It is apparent from it-narratives that there was a culture of recycling; clothes were not thrown out when tattered and torn, they were taken to shops to be fixed and re-sold, or else passed between friends. Clothing makes its way down the class boundaries through these exchanges, as well as through theft, and therefore moves between the spheres of society. The growing material culture in the eighteenth century then, arguably, actively broke down class barriers.

 

Memoirs and interesting adventures of an embroidered waistcoat

 

In this it-narrative, publish in 1751 - but with no known author - the tale begins with a gentleman entering a shop where the waistcoat awakens before him and begins his tale. The narrative is therefore, the retelling by a gentleman of the tale which was told to him by the waistcoat - it is still written however, in first person perspective from the waistcoat's point of view. In this tale, the waistcoat narrates his experiences with various owners, some who were fine gentlemen, and others who were less admirable. The waistcoat is used in the theatre, visits bawdy houses, and frequently finds himself in the bedroom. At the beginning of the narrative, the waistcoat claims to have allowed his first owner to, ‘distinguish himself by my means, in the boxes at the play; he shone with great superiority of grandeur at the opera, he captivated twenty hearts at the Oratorio; and to my certain knowledge, he stole the virginity from upwards of thirty good natured girls, who believed his protestations; and, struck with my sparking dignity, yielded their beauties to his arms, in expectation of his sincerity being as real inwardly as my embroidery render’d him brilliant outwardly.' (5-6). Though ridiculous, these humorous memoirs told by a waistcoat tell us a lot about the importance of dress in the eighteenth century. Waistcoats were the central part of a man's dress, and integral to a gentleman's appearance.  A man always had his waistcoat on show as the coat was worn open, and so the level of decoration and detailed embroidery became a show of wealth and class. In this story, as the waistcoat claims, it is the beauty of the embroidered waistcoat that offers the noble Lord advancement in society, as well as much attention from women.

 

As the story progresses the waistcoat becomes noticeably used and tattered, and accidents occur which damage the clothing resulting in it being passed to a new owner: 'an accident, never to be forgotten, sully'd my reputation, and reduced me to a lower sphere than I had been accustomed to move in' (11). The waistcoat gradually moves down the social ladder, firstly frequently visiting the opera and theatre, and then finding himself more often in bawdy houses and being sold for a much reduced price. When the waistcoat was first bought by the gentleman, it was for a price of 7 guineas - but by the time the waistcoat has had a further 4 owners his price is reduced to 1 guinea, and then being given away for free. As the waistcoat becomes used, torn and degraded he sold at a lower price, or passed to a man of a lower social sphere. The culture of fashion and materials then is one which is heavily focuses around renting, re-using and recycling clothes. This indicates the importance of dress to class, and perhaps suggest the possibility of (overcoming, being better than) your class by creating an outer image of wealth. In Memoirs and interesting adventures of an embroidered waistcoat, the waistcoat often comments that he finds himself in the hands of men who do not deserve his level of beauty; those which are regularly in bad company. Class then, is to an extent determined solely by a persons clothing; the ownership of a grand waistcoat may create himself a particular image, that of a gentleman of a higher social standing than he actually is, and therefore gain access to places and people who they would not have otherwise.

 

 

 

Annotated Bibliography

 

Primary Sources

 

Memoirs and Interesting Adventures of an Embroidered Waistcoat, Eighteenth Century Collections Online. London: J. Brooks, 1751. Print.

     An extremely useful text for looking at the life-cycle of a Waistcoat as it is passed down through society.

 

Old Bailey Proceedings Online. (www.oldbaileyonline.org, access 12th March 2015) 4th February 1736, Ordinary's Account (OA17360204)

     The old bailey accounts have been extremely useful in giving values to stolen items. In this, the thief has written an account of his many robberies, and how much he sold particular items on for.

 

Old Bailey Proceedings Online. (www.oldbaileyonline.org, access 12th March 2015) 17th March 1749, Ordinary's Account (OA17490317)

     The old bailey accounts have been extremely useful in giving values to stolen items. It is really interesting to see what robbers considered worth stealing - sometimes even just a handkerchief.

 

Old Bailey Proceedings Online. (www.oldbaileyonline.org, access12th March 2015) 28th May 1753, Ordinary's Account (OA17530528)

     This account helpfully gives both the price and the type of waistcoat stolen (cloth) which allowed me to look comparatively at where a silk waistcoat was stolen.

 

Richardson, Samuel. Pamela. Oxford University Press, 2001. Print.

     Finally we know why it took Pamela so long to flower the waistcoat - the level of embroidery on some of the eighteenth century waistcoats I have found are  incredible, and certainly explains why Pamela felt the need to stay up all night working on it.

 

Secondary Sources

 

Emsley, Clive, Tim Hitchcock and Robert Shoemaker, 'London History - Currency, Coinage and the Cost of Living'. Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org version 7.0, 12th March 2015).

     This was extremely useful to work out the cost of waistcoats in various accounts where they were given a price in pounds, or shillings, or then in guineas. I needed to be able to line them all up and look at how prices compared across accounts and texts.

 

De Marly, Diana. 'King Charles II's own fashion: The Theatrical Origins of the English Vest'. Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes Vol. 37 (1974). The Warburg Institute. 378 - 382. Print.

     When I was looking at the OED definition of the waistcoat and found Samuel Pepsy's diary account of when the vest was introduced as correct dress, this article was a very useful follow up to explore the origins of the waistcoat.

 

Hoskin, Dawn. The Brown Suit: Coup de Douton! Victoria and Albert Museum: Creating the New Europe 1600-1800 Galleries. 2014. Web.

     http://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/creating-new-europe-1600-1800-galleries/the-brown-suit-coup-de-bouton

     A hilarious satirical print where a woman is blinded by the buttons on a man's suit. I didn't dwell on waistcoat buttons too long as all of the other similar prints always showed the ridiculous buttons on the coats, rather than the waistcoats. However as I have gathered from my research the buttons would have been identical or at least very similar on the waistcoat. It is so interesting to see how when heavy embroidery may have become too 'normal' to show off wealth, having large and dazzling buttons became the new craze towards the end of the century.

 

Lupton, Tina. 'The Knowing Book: Authors, It-narratives, and Objectification in the Eighteenth Century.' Novel: A Forum on Fiction. Vol. 39 No. 3. Duke University Press, 2006. 402 - 420. Print.
     Thanks Tina. This and the seminar on it-narratives certainly made me re-read Memoirs and Interesting Adventures of an Embroidered Waistcoat and think about it again and consider how it-narratives offer a social commentary as well as informing us a lot about material culture.

 

Mackenzie, Althea. Embroideries from Snowshill. National Trust, 2004. Print.

     Mainly pictures but still helpful to see how the waistcoats were embroidered and specific types of thread and methods of embroidery.

 

Metropolitan Museum of art, Waistcoat Collection in images

     http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search?ft=waistcoat&noqs=true

     Just looking at various different waistcoats from the period was very helpful, especially when the museum has information about specific date, material and sometimes even the wearer.

 

Styles, John. The Dress of the People: Everyday Fashion in Eighteenth-Century England. Yale University Press, 2008. Print.

     Extremely useful text. Styles looks at newspapers, travel documents, crime records and everything else to give an account of everyday dress in great detail and with great images as examples. 

 

The National Trust. 'The Hidden Wardrobe'. Eighteenth Century Waistcoats from the Snowshill Collection.

     'Wearing the Garden', 'The Incredible and Incroyables!', 'Gorgeous Georgians... The Court Waistcoat'

     https://historicalcostume.wordpress.com/category/18th-century-waistcoats/

      The national trust was such a useful resource. As well as fantastic images, with extreme close ups of the detailed embroidery, these blog posts gave more information about materials, threads and buttons, and an insight in to fashion across the period. 

 

Victoria and Albert Museum. Introduction to Eighteenth Century Fashion.

     http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/i/introduction-to-18th-century-fashion/

     The V&A was another fantastic resource. I spent hours and hours just looking at photographs of their waistcoat collection and how much the designs vary, and how much the waistcoat changed from the beginning or the eighteenth century to the end.  This gives a great introduction to the clothing of the period.

 

Wigston Smith, Chloe. Women, Work and Clothes in the Eighteenth Century Novel. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013. Print.

     Helpful little snippets of information about how clothes were made, whether in a factory or by the women of the house - helpful when looking at Pamela. A good insight in to material culture in the eighteenth century.

 

 

 

Images

 

V&A - Long Waistcoat

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O78782/waistcoat-unknown/

 

V&A - Man's full dress

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O13931/waistcoat-unknown/

 

V&A - Short Waistcoat 

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O112019/waistcoat-unknown/

 

National Trust embroidered waistcoat

https://historicalcostume.wordpress.com/category/18th-century-waistcoats/

From the post: 'The Incredible and Incroyables!' 

 

V&A - Monkey Embroidered Waistcoat

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O127190/waistcoat-unknown/

 

 National Trust - Court Waistcoat (Snowshill Wade Costume Collection)

http://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/1348762.2

 

Coup de Bouton - Yale University Library

http://hdl.handle.net/10079/digcoll/291640

 

The Muffin Man - Yale Centre for British Art
http://collections.britishart.yale.edu/vufind/Record/1665775

 

Welsh Peasants - Lewis Walpole Library

http://images.library.yale.edu/walpoleweb/oneITEM.asp?pid=lwlpr08806&iid=lwlpr08806