Description:
Woman's jacket made of finely woven cotton embroidered in silk chain stitch with an overall floral design or repeating floral sprigs. The garment fastens in front with nine buttons down the center; and features a fan-shaped peplum in the center back. It is lined in off-white silk. Fitted jackets worn with separate petticoats were practical and comfortable for work and informal occasions. They were more economical than gowns because they did not require full overskirts with yards of fabric. This jacket was either laced over a triangular stomacher, now missing, or worn with a large kerchief that filled in the front. A poor women might have worn such a jacket of printed cotton as her "best" outfit, while one of greater wealth could have selected it for daytime wear. The cotton fabric is spun in a Z-twist in both the warp and weft directions; the warp threads are thicker and a have a slightly higher twist. Jackets like this became extremely popular in the 1780s. This example, also known as a pierrot (named after the Commedia de l'Arte character, and/or the sparrow like appearance the rear peplum gave its wearer) signaled the new informality in fashion compared to years past.
Subjects:
Silk; polychrome; Embroidery; Cotton; Textile fabrics Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+F.399 |
