The Cut of Men's Clothes

1600-1900

Norah Waugh

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781135855895
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Médias et arts de la scène
• Subtopic: Théâtre

This book traces the evolution of the style of men's dress through a sequence of diagrams accurately scaled down from patterns of actual garments, many of them rare museum specimens. The plates have been selected with the same purpose. Some are photographs of suits for which diagrams have also been given; others, reproduced from paintings and old prints, show the costume complete with its accessories. Quotations from contemporary sources--from diaries, travelers' accounts and tailors' bills--supplement Norah Waugh's text with comments on fashion and lively eyewitness descriptions.

Part One

1600-1680

1600-1680

At the beginning of the seventeenth century a man’s suit of clothes consisted of doublet, breeches, and cape or casaque (cassock).

DOUBLET

The doublet was the main body-garment which men had worn since the Middle Ages and continued to wear until the third decade of the seventeenth century, when it finally disappeared to be replaced by the coat. Throughout its long existence the doublet, originally a military garment, was always very close-fitting and heavily interlined. The body of this doublet was cut with wide shoulder seams and two side seams, set towards the back, and later a centre back seam. At the beginning of the seventeenth century the extra ‘peascod’ padding in the centre front of the doublet might still be seen, but in the more fashionable doublet this padding was replaced by ‘belly-pieces’—that is, two triangular pieces of extra stiffening which formed a lozenge centre front fitting into the slightly pointed waist-line and reaching half-way up the centre front. These belly- pieces are found in all seventeenth-century doublets. The sleeves were straight with epaulettes, and the basque was broken into separate tabs.

About 1620 the waist of the doublet began to rise, and as the body got shorter the tabs became longer and consequently their number was reduced. This type of doublet, fashionable until 1635–40, was usually slashed, or paned, across the chest in the front, across the shoulders in the back, and down the sleeves to the elbow. If there was no slashing the straight centre back seam was left open at the shoulders, and the upper part of the sleeve was wide with the front seam left open to within three or four inches of the wrist.

By the late 1630’s the waist was still higher and the tabs were often reduced to four—two front, two back—long enough to be referred to as skirts. Sometimes the centre fronts, as also the centre backs, were cut in one without a waist seam, and one tab was inserted on each side from the high under-arm waist line.

By the 1640’s the doublet had been reduced to four pieces only, two fronts and two backs stitched waist length, and a few years later it stopped at the waist. In England and most European countries this short doublet had small tabs round the waist to cover the gap between the doublet and the breeches. In the fashionable French Court it was usually worn very short, exposing a volume of shirt. The typical sleeve of these later doublets was rather wide, usually worn with the front seams open and often only elbow length. The centre back seam was still left open across the shoulders.

BREECHES

Although the Englishman of the sixteenth century was criticized for following foreign fashions and wearing Dutch hose, French hose, Venetian breeches, etc., the last, as well as the square-based trunk hose worn with canions, appear to have been the most popular. Canions were the tight-fitting thigh pieces sewn to the full padded upper hose and were added when knitted stockings came into vogue. The somewhat rigid shape of the trunk hose as worn at the turn of the century was soon replaced by a softer line; they then became very full breeches attached to a wide band just above the knees.

When the waist of the doublet rose the balance of design was kept by reducing the fullness in the breeches, especially round the bottom which now came below the knee, a length more in keeping with the fashionable short boots. The slight fullness below the knee was gathered into a very narrow band.

The straight line of the doublet of the late 1630’s was repeated in the long straight breeches. There was still fullness round the waist but none at the bottom, which was often trimmed with loops of braid or ribbon to hide the awkward gap between breeches and boots.

Unfortunately, when in 1645 the doublet shortened the breeches did likewise. This somewhat ridiculous style was, however, soon improved by putting more material into the breeches, which then became so wide that they were called ‘petticoat-breeches’. The petticoat-breeches were of two different styles. The legs would be separate and worn over under-drawers, not visible except for their deep flounces, often of lace, which fell over the knee. This was probably a left-over from the wide tops of the boot hose which continued to be worn for a few years even after the boots themselves had been discarded c. 1650. These flounces were called ‘canons’ and were often separate pieces of decoration. The other variation was a skirt, or petticoat, short enough to show the full bloomer-breeches worn underneath, with canons or only with ornamental garters tied in a large bow.

The early method of lacing the breeches to the doublet—by tags round the waist, visible when tied outside—was discarded about 1620. The breeches were then attached by large hooks, sewn on their waistband, which hooked into rings or straps inside the doublet waist.

CAPES, CASAQUES

For full dress a circular cape always accompanied the doublet and breeches, but for travelling or on military campaigns, the cape might be replaced by the casaque. This casaque (or mandilion) was a cape, but cut with two fronts, two backs, and two shoulder pieces. It was cleverly designed so that the fronts and backs could be buttoned together to form a coat, the shoulder pieces becoming sleeves. By the second quarter of the century it had lost its cape-like form and was always worn as a coat, still slit centre back and sides for convenience in riding, and these slits retained their buttons and buttonholes. It had become a very practical garment and could be termed a riding-coat. It is not therefore surprising to find this loose coat being increasingly worn over the extravagant and impractical short doublet and petticoat-breeches.

Except for full dress Court occasions, by the end of the 1660’s the coat had come into general use. The next step was to give it more style. Pepys’s and Evelyn’s ‘Persian Coat’, Randle Holmes’s ‘Tunick and Vest’ were probably all experiments to that end. The French now called it Justaucorps. The doublet lost its stiffness, sometimes it was short, sometimes long, but gradually it took on the role of an unde...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Part One: 1600–1680
• Part Two: 1680–1800
• Part Three: 1800–1900
• Bibliography
• List of Artists, Engravers and Illustrators
• Index