breeches
date: label: Date made
content: 1780 - 1810
label: date made
content: 1765-1780
notes: label: Description
content: Black silk twill (sateen) forked breeches with medium-width fall front; sufficient lap under the fall front was gained by adding extensions along the left and right sides of the opening, with a further horizontal extension along the base of the waistband for the lowest center front button and buttonhole; three-button center-front closing, with the lowest button doubling as the center button of a three-button fall; flat, self-covered buttons at the center-front , fall, pocket, and knee openings; four flat, self-covered buttons (left and right front, left and right back waistband), for suspenders; pocket welt in right front waistband; two pockets (one at each side of the fall) are concealed by panels that button to the waistband above the side seam; two pairs of eyelets with a natural linen tape lace flank the off-white, bias-cut linen gusset at center back of the waistband; center back seam is reinforced with off-white linen to the crotch; black silk is pieced or repaired at crotch; waistband is lined with off-white linen and interlined with coarse brown linen; the fall and the two panels covering the pockets are lined with glazed black twill wool; set-in pockets are made from half-circles of off-white linen, folded in half to make quarter-rounds; four flat buttons at each knee; the button sides of knee opening are faced with the turned-back edge of the black silk over off-white linen; buttonhole sides of knee openings are faced with black wool over off-white linen interfacings; each knee is finished with a long narrow tab extension on one side, corresponding to a buttonhole worked through the surface fabric but not through the off-white linen lining of the knee band; waistband, pocket welt in waistband, and knee-bands are edge-stitched; fall and panels concealing pockets are edge-stitched and top-stitched.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Costume
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Barbara Donald
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: CS.245981.001
label: catalog number
content: 245981.001
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Breeches
label: Other Terms
content: Breeches; Lower Body; Main Dress; Male
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall length (side): 72 cm; 28 3/8 in
label: Measurements
content: waist (without gusset): 92 cm; x 36 1/4 in
label: Measurements
content: fall width--straight, top edge: 24.3 cm; x 9 9/16 in
label: Measurements
content: fall width--straight, base: 25 cm; x 9 13/16 in
label: Measurements
content: fall height--center seam: 13 cm; 5 1/8 in
label: Measurements
content: pockets, side, maximum: 18 cm x 19 cm; x 7 1/16 in x 7 1/2 in
label: Measurements
content: pocket, waistband, maximum: 7.5 cm x 14 cm; x 2 15/16 in x 5 1/2 in
label: Measurements
content: pocket welt, waistband: 2.2 cm x 8.8 cm; 7/8 in x 3 7/16 in
label: Measurements
content: waistband width, cb: 6 cm; 2 3/8 in
label: Measurements
content: waistband width, side: 9 cm; 3 9/16 in
label: Measurements
content: waistband width, cf: 13.8 cm; 5 7/16 in
label: Measurements
content: gusset, cb, length at spread edge: 13 cm; 5 1/8 in
label: Measurements
content: gusset, cb, width: 12 cm; x 4 3/4 in
label: Measurements
content: buttons, diameter, fall: 1.5 cm; x 9/16 in
label: Measurements
content: buttons, diameter, side pockets: 1.5 cm; x 9/16 in
label: Measurements
content: buttons, diameter, suspender: 1.5 cm; x 9/16 in
label: Measurements
content: buttons, diameter, knee: 1.2 cm; x 1/2 in
label: Measurements
content: buttons, knee, span: 6.2 cm; x 2 7/16 in
label: Measurements
content: opening at knee, length: 11 cm; 4 5/16 in