Coat

1790s
Not on view
This young man’s tailcoat, with its high turned-down collar, narrow back, and wide lapels, exemplifies the exaggerated silhouette fashionable in post-revolutionary France. Striped textiles, modish from the 1760s, were ubiquitous in the dress of both sexes by the end of the century. In menswear, stripes served as a decorative substitute for the ornate, polychrome embroidery of earlier suits. The trend reflects the influence of Orientalism and neoclassical taste; in earlier centuries, stripes had pejorative connotations in the West and were associated with the clothing of socially marginalized groups.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Coat
  • Date: 1790s
  • Culture: French
  • Medium: silk
  • Credit Line: Purchase, NAMSB Foundation Inc. Gift, 1999
  • Object Number: 1999.105.2
  • Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute

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