Description:
Pair of breeches in dark purple silk taffeta with four buttons at the knee and lined in linen. Until the nineteenth century, fashionable men's dress included breeches, or bifurcated garments that ended below the knee. Such legwear, fastednw ith buttons and sometimes knee buckles, were more labourious to wear well than longer trousers, and therefore served as a sign of wealth and sophistication. Frequently breeches had a fall front for putting on and taking off. While constructed to be fitted in front, breeches' seats were made to be full in back to accomodate sitting. When standing, this baggyness would be covered by the tails of a coat, always worn in public settings. This example is made from a vibrantly colored blue and red silk. The difference in colors between the warp and weft of the fabric created a changeable or "shot" silk, a third color, in this case purple. Silk breeches like these are an example of better quality styles available to New England men in the second half of the 18th century.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+F.397 |
