Breeches

Unknown

ca. 1795 · leather · Costume Institute

Leather breeches were popular with sports-minded English gentlemen for hunting and riding. They were usually made in tan or yellow leather with trouser legs long enough to meet the tops of the boots. Gentlemen bought their breeches from special breeches-makers, who, because of the nature of the material they worked in, organized a separate business. The fashion for English leather breeches spread to the Continent during the anglomania of the 1770s and 1780s. European dandies appreciated the tight fit of these breeches while finding them supple enough to wear while riding.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1795

Medium

leather

Culture

British

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Purchase, The German Fur Federation Gift, 1981