| used
| - Fine wool university coat with a velvet collar, Great Britain, 1870-1875 (en)
- British Galleries:
During the last quarter of the 19th century three main types of coat were worn by fashionable men during the day: the morning coat, the frock coat and the coat that formed part of a lounge suit. The morning coat was popular for day and business wear. It was made in a range of styles to suit formal or informal occasions. [27/03/2003] (en)
- Fine wool morning coat with a velvet collar. Edges bound with wool braid, buttons covered in sateen, partially lined with twilled silk, and sleeves lined with twilled cotton.
Single breasted made of blue-black cloth, reaching to just below the hips. Three buttons. The revers are broad. The fronts are cut on a slant so that the front edges are cut away below the second button. Two flap pockets at the waist seam and a sloping jetted breast pocket. The sleeves are wide and taper to narrow cuffs without buttons.
The back is cut with a centre back and two side seams. There is a centre back vent and two side pleats each finished with a button at the back waist but stitched flat at the hem by the braid trimmings. There are no waist seam at the back, only at the front.
The entire coat is trimmed around the edges by black wool braid including the pockets, but not at the cuffs. Partially lined with black twilled silk with a brown twilled cotton lining to the sleeves. The chest fronts are slightly padded. The buttons are placed in a slanting line away from the edge. (en)
- Object Type
The morning coat was originally a single-breasted tailcoat, worn in the early 19th century, and also known as the riding coat (or 'Newmarket'). By the 1850s it was shaped halfway between a riding coat and a frock coat. It was usually single-breasted and was known as the 'cutaway', as the fronts sloped away elegantly to the broad skirts behind.
This example is a variation of the morning coat. It was introduced in 1870 and was known as the 'University' or 'Angle-fronted' coat. The fronts were cut at an acute angle from the second button, exposing much of the waistcoat.
Ownership & Use
The morning coat was worn during the daytime, as the name suggests. It became so popular that it began to rival the frock coat for day and business wear. Manners for Men (1897), by Mrs Humphry, stated:' For morning wear the morning-coat or jacket of the tweed suit is correct. After lunch, when in town, the well-dressed man may continue to wear his morning coat or the regulation frock-coat, with trousers of some neat, striped grey mixture.'
Materials & Making
Morning coats were usually made of dark colours, and the fabrics included worsteds, diagonals, hopsack, ribbed meltons and beavers. The collars were often faced with velvet and the edges were bound, corded or stitched.
Design & Designing
This example has large wide sleeves, as was fashionable for the period. It also has wide lapels and is buttoned very low on the chest. After 1875 coats tended to be buttoned much higher. The Gentleman's Magazine of Fashion (1875) justified this fashion for health reasons: 'Medical men ascribe many deaths during the past winter to the fashion of low collars and to gentlemen not being sufficiently protected by their clothing at the throat and neck.' (en) |
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