The cut of the suit conforms to that shown in the patterns in Diderot's Enyclopaedia in the early 1770s, the only difference being the tightness of fit of the coat across the upper body and the height of the collar, both of which had altered according to fashionable taste by the 1780s. The suit was most likely made to measure by a skilled tailor, newly made ready-to-wear clothing still being in its infancy. The wool of this coat is an expensive closely woven fabric called broadcloth, a material that was shrunk, napped and shorn to produce a felted cloth which would have been waterproof and hardwearing. This treatment also prevented any cut edges from fraying. It is of a type manufactured in 18th-century France in Elbeuf and Louviers, near Rouen and Sedan in Flanders, and in England in the West Country. The cut steel buttons are the type of goods classified as toyware in the 18th century. While the French made steel items like this, there was also a substantial trade with Birmingham, Sheffield and London in such goods in which they excelled. Many of those who traded with France were of French Huguenot descent, such as Peter Chamont of Glvoer and chamont in Birmingham. Cut steel looking like either diamond or stone was one of their main specialities, probably reminiscent of the sophisticated buttons on this coat.