Brown Silk with Blue Dot Suit
1P (1964.061.001)
I am calling this one Mr ‘Odd One Out’.
Though, probably slightly better sewn than some of the others, the cut of this coat and breeches has a feel of being drafted quickly, badly or having never seen the person to whom it is to fit. The nape to waist is significantly longer than the other coats, the proportions feel awkward too and I don’t know….I can’t just put my finger on it.
The silk is superb however – a woven brown stripe with a blue dot inter mixing over the stripe. And the stitching, especially at the CF, seems of better quality than the rest – creating a neater and more regular stitch with a smaller gap, as the two folded edges of the silk and silk lining are whipped together.
The cut seems to support it being made as one of the later coats from the collection. The waistline has moved up a little and the chest shaping to the CF is quite prominent, something that appears to emerge during the 1790s as the puffed chest grows as a required shape. In our first assessment of the collection and the pattern drafting, this coat echoed traits similar to those of the early 1790s and was placed on the timeline as early 1790s – possibly as a suit made for his travels to Russia, or made along the way.
