ticketsMember | Make a donation

Three-Piece Suit (habit à la française)

ca. 1778–79
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
This habit à la française belonged to Benjamin Franklin; it may be the plum-colored silk suit he bought in Paris in 1779, the year he was made American minister to France. The simplicity of dress he became known for was deceiving; tailor bills record luxury suits of vicuña wool, silk, and taffeta. It was the lack of embroidery and the absence of a wig that made Franklin stand out at the court.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Three-Piece Suit (habit à la française)
  • Date: ca. 1778–79
  • Culture: French
  • Medium: Ribbed silk and linen (reproduction shirt, shoes, and stockings)
  • Dimensions: Mounted on form: 60 × 30 × 24 in. (152.4 × 76.2 × 61 cm)
  • Classification: Main dress-Menswear
  • Credit Line: Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, Washington, D.C. (2012.0187.001)
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts