Vest

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Considering the formal code of etiquette that governed eighteenth-century life, it is not surprising that gentlemen did not generally remove their jackets in public. Tailors made men’s waistcoats of the most beautiful fabrics in front and used sturdy linen or cotton, often of a very coarse weave, to finish the back. Although formal attitudes have changed, today men’s vests are still made with a contrasting and usually less expensive fabric for the backs. Sportsmen were allowed to play cricket or to bowl in their shirt-sleeves. This elaborately laced waistcoat embroidered on both sides was certainly not intended to be covered by a jacket. Perhaps it was a man’s undress wear for casual hunting or riding on his estate.

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