Man’s Waistcoat, 1770–83
Collection: National Museum of American History
Object type: Waistcoat
Main Dress
Waistcoat
male
Upper Body
Date made: 1770-1783
wearer: Palmer, Noyes
purchased from: Ginsburg, Cora
maker: unknown
Place Made: World
used in: United States: Connecticut, Stonington
Measurements: center back: 27 1/4 in; 69.215 cm
front length, shoulder to base point: 29 in; 73.66 cm
front width at waist, each side: 11 in; x 27.94 cm
back width at waist: 10 in; x 25.4 cm
Topics: Costume
Clothing and dress
Dress accessories
Description: This extraordinary waistcoat was found with an assortment of other eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century clothing in a curly maple tall chest of drawers that belonged to the Palmer family of Stonington, Connecticut. There were several adult men in the family at that time, but detective work suggests that French and Indian War veteran Noyes Palmer (born 1732) may have worn this particular garment as well as eight of the other items that were packed away with it.
Made in the same size and dating from the same period, the assortment of nine coats, breeches, and waistcoats probably comprised his wardrobe when he died in 1783 at the age of 51. Mr. Palmer’s taste indicates that, like many middle-aged men, he was willing to combine a few new fashionable details with the older styles that he preferred. It is possible that he paired this linen waistcoat with a blue silk coat that was by far the grandest item that he owned.
During the last half of the eighteenth century, a quiet but real social war was brewing over the appropriate relationship between appearance and rank. Some people thought that a person’s clothing should reflect his or her status, while others insisted upon wearing the finest clothes that they could afford. It was even becoming technologically possible to flaunt cheaper knock-offs of fashionable goods, which were useful commodities in a world that was starting to define social position in terms of possessions rather than birth. This waistcoat, with its faux embroidery, is a supreme example of sartorial social-climbing.
Mr. Palmer may have bought his waistcoat as a flat length of linen on which the pieces were printed to form. If so, he would have had it tailored to fit him, with the adjustments made at the waist and the side seams in order to maintain the shape of the borders around the neck, front, and skirt edges. This was an established technique for elaborately embroidered or woven waistcoat panels, which were often made of silk and intended for formal wear. However, this waistcoat lacks waistline seams, suggesting that the borders may have been applied onto an existing piece. One way or another, the remarkable thing about this garment is that it mimics an expensive design convention in an extremely humble manner.
The waistcoat is made of natural-colored linen printed in brown, with a tiny repeat pattern of a horizontal line between two dots. A brown floral trail is printed over the ground pattern around the neck, center front, and skirt edges, as well as around the margins of the double-scalloped pocket flaps. An S-shaped vine is stamped horizontally at each button and buttonhole, and three vertical motifs graduated in size embellish each point of the pocket flap. The neck edge is bound with a narrow strip of the ground print, and the twelve flat buttons are covered with it.
The waistcoat is cut with a hem that angles upward from the spread front points toward the side vents. The center front and hem edges are faced with plain off-white linen and the back is made from a single thickness of the same plain linen. The center back seam is vented at the lower edge. This waistcoat is in extremely fragile condition because its fabric was printed with a combination of natural dye and mordant—a substance that reacts chemically with the dye to make it permanent—that has eaten the fabric wherever it was heavily applied. Each forepart is 29 in. (73.66 cm) long and 11 in. (27.94 cm) wide at the waist. The entire back is 27-1/4 in. (69.215 cm) long and 10 in. (25.4 cm) wide across the waist.
This Web entry was made possible in part by a generous grant from the National Association of Men’s Sportswear Buyers, in memory of Joseph S. Klein.