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Men's waistcoats in the eighteenth century provided a rich canvas for imaginative and exotic embroidery, sometimes matching the decoration on coats, and sometimes contrasting. Much of this embroidery was produced by professional workshops, often in France, where the fronts, pockets and collar were worked as separate pieces which could be purchased and then assembled to fit later by a tailor or seamstress. The fronts of this waistcoat have been dramatically decorated with scattered rosebuds in coloured silks alternating with bold applique circles of blue and black satin, sewn with radiating red silk stitches.

This waistcoat was worn by Thomas Carill Worsley (1739 - 1808) who lived at Platt Hall in Manchester, where the Gallery of Costume is currently housed. It is part of a collection of Worsley's clothing which was given to the museum by the family in the 1950s and including suits and coats, a banyan, a wig, a pair of shoes, a number of similar waistcoats, and the large ornate trunk in which they were kept. Some of these items are on display in the eighteenth century gallery.

Full item descriptions:

"waistcoat" [1954.973]

Related Themes:

Embroidery
Waistcoats
18th Century Men's Fashion