Light Indian Coat

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A form of the word "seersucker" in 1757 is first cited by the Oxford English Dictionary as "sirsakas." By this time, the light Indian fabric of crimped or puckered surface was being imported into Europe. Later, it would be imitated in European and American manufacture, its lax and washable cotton fabric becoming favored for menswear and children's clothing. A summer frock coat of this kind assumes the same cut as a wool coat, distilling at this time into black or gray, for winter.

The Costume Institute

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Costume Institute's collection of more than thirty-three thousand objects represents seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories for men, women, and children, from the fifteenth century to the present.

Metropolitan Museum of Art