Coat

Unknown

ca. 1815 · linen · Costume Institute

This summer double-breasted cutaway tailcoat from about 1815 looks fresh enough for wear today. Its shaping is the counterpart of womenswear of the period with its high waist, breadth at the shoulders, and emphasis on the chest. Faux flap pockets occur at each hip front, the flaps of which are rounded to a point in the center. As many have observed, menswear of this period, just before the Great Male Renunciation when men spurned any of the ostensible signs of fashion, was acutely responsive to womenswear.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1815

Medium

linen

Culture

American

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Purchase, NAMSB Foundation Inc. Gift, 1997